 This group includes children either born deaf or becoming deafened before acquiring any speech. It actually consists of two subgroups: children who will be receiving at least some auditory/verbal training; children whose primary language will be Sign. In either case, a child can benefit in the following ways, although depending on the program, the emphases may be different. • aid in auditory training and speech-language therapy • help with understanding of environmental information such as bells, car horns, or even names • aid in speech-reading • allow the enjoyment of the feel of music For children who will be receiving speech training, the Tactaid VII is the device of choice. We do not yet have adequate data showing that the Tactilator is as good as the Tactaid VII in speech production. However, for many years our Tactaid II+ device has been used in this situation when costs were an issue and the Tactilator presents superior speech information. Therefore, we recommend this device when funds are limited. For children who will be primarily in a Sign program, we recommend the Tactilator (LTD) for environmental sounds and music information. Whichever unit is chosen, training is important. For children in oral programs, this training should be integrated into their schooling. |
Phone: 617-628-1435 |