What is AVT?

What is Auditory-Verbal Therapy?

Auditory-Verbal Therapy enables those who are deaf or hard of hearing to use their hearing to listen, process verbal language, and speak. Through Auditory-Verbal Parent Guidance Therapy, families make listening and speaking a natural part of daily life. Since 1980, parents choosing Auditory-Verbal Therapy for their children come to the Auditory-Verbal Communication Center (AVCC) for support and direction. Following a logical set of guiding principles, parents become the primary teachers for their child’s listening and speaking skills. Listening then becomes an integral part of the child’s personality.

Newborn Hearing Screening allows infants in the early days of their lives to begin this process. Auditory-Verbal Therapy is a highly effective method using technology for developing the maximum use of hearing. This approach brings meaningful sound to the brain naturally. Clear speech, natural spoken language and strong literacy skills are results of Auditory- Verbal Therapy. Auditory-Verbal “graduates” can communicate with anyone, using spoken language throughout their lives. 

Adults who receive a cochlear implant choose to work with an Auditory-Verbal Therapist to help them gain maximum benefit from their newly implanted device.

AVCC follows Principles of Auditory- Verbal Practice. We use Auditory-Verbal techniques, but the most important aspect of Auditory-Verbal Therapy is when parents understand and live the philosophy that people who are deaf or hard of hearing can learn to listen and speak. The idea is that "listening is a way of life". As the child develops, AVCC supports the parents as part of the educational team. We collaborate with audiologists, early intervention programs, cochlear implant centers, and school systems.

Auditory-Verbal Therapy expects children to be included in mainstream education starting at preschool.

Parents want to be sure the A-V therapist is a Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist. Jim and Lea Watson became certified in the first class of certified Auditory-Verbal Therapists in 1994. Visit www.agbell.org to learn about the certification process from the Alexander Graham Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language. Certification assures that the professional has the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to teach listening and spoken language in the most efficient way.

Auditory-Verbal Communication Center is a small private practice located in Gloucester, MA USA.