Cynthia Robinson-Talks About the Role of the Speech Therapist and Why Early Intervention Gets the Best Results
Episode notes
Candidates for cochlear implants frequently ask about the need or the role of speech rehabilitation.
Cynthia Robinson, the founder of We Hear Here (wehearhere.org) has more than four decades of experience in the field as an educator teaching deaf and hard of hearing children to listen and talk.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of Richmond, she received her master’s degree in Deaf Education from the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia. She was a faculty member and for several years, the Co-Director of the Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech in Jacksonville Florida. With her experience as a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist, she is an advocate for mainstreaming children with a hearing loss. She is the author and co-author of several books on the subject as well as the designer of classroom programs to facilitate this objective.
I had the opportunity to ask her to explain why early intervention is important for pediatric cochlear implant candidates and how delay can influence the success of the outcome.
She also offers insights on success of prelingually versus later deafened adults who receive a cochlear implant.
Cynthia elaborates on the role of speech therapy and offers suggestions for finding local sources for speech and language specialists. TRANSCRIPT IS AVAILABLE AT COCHLEARIMPLANTBASICS.COM