Continued learning course in Querétaro City for our team of therapists

CORAL staff members, Fabiola, Teresa, Mariana and Gisela traveled to the city of Querétaro March 4th and 5th to attend the course "Step by Step, Working with Parents of Infants with Hearing Loss, from Birth to 2 Years Old."

The course was taught in OIGO, Clínica de Enseñanza, by Dr. David Sindrey and Ms. Sandra Medina, both professionals in the auditory-verbal method.

It was important for the therapy team to attend and learn new techniques and activities that can be applied to children from 0 to 24 months because, thanks to early our Early Detection program, we are receiving younger and younger children in our Therapy program all the time.

The course discussed important issues, such as the National Early Detection program and some causes of congenital hearing loss. Great emphasis was also placed on the importance of working with parents and family and that for a child in hearing and speech rehabilitation, parents must be active participants in the sessions, regularly attend therapy, be language models, seek information, be strong advocates for their children, have a network of support with other families and make the effort to understand their child´s diagnosis.

Various strategies for developing language were discussed and it was satisfying to see that they were consistent with the strategies that we use in CORAL. Among them were:

*Use of hearing aids during all waking hours.
*Each day grow a day of language.
*Lend your words - give your baby the words that they will need to say.
*Sing short songs that you know or make them up during activities with your child. *Walk and talk, describe the world, take time for your child to see, smell, taste and hear.
*Recognize and respond, observe your baby carefully to detect what they want to communicate.
*Follow your interest.
*Be aware of all the sounds around you and make your child aware of them by developing the "Listen!" game.
*It is important that you stay within the "circle of sound" of your baby. Rather than standing above them, sit next to them so they can hear what you're saying.
*Do not raise the volume of your voice.
The opportunity for review and a methodological check-up that courses like this afford to all of our therapists are highly motivating. The therapists learned some new strategies and activities to implement, and they were also reaffirmed that they are on the right track, imparting therapies with many qualities and strengths.