The Sound Steps Podcast

After years of diligent hard work supporting your deaf or hard of hearing child’s listening and spoken language development, it is time to reflect and acknowledge all that you have done!The Sound Steps Podcast culminates in this final twenty-fourth episode. Pradnya Madbhavi joins Shefali Shah, an LSL Cert. AVT professional as they reflect on their partnership, navigating the challenges of a child who was born with hearing loss and additional difficulties, celebrating in his having emerged as a young leader!A surprise guest joins this episode to regale you with poignant insight and triumphs as he prepares for a career in Aerospace Engineering!Thank you for being the heartbeat of The Sound Steps Podcast. Know that you are not alone. Celebrate each step forward!Listen. Learn. Talk.This is The Sound Steps Podcast.🎧 Top Tips from Episode 21 School supports those who support themselves. Creative school projects shape young minds and help them to flourish. Letting go as parent is critical to your child thriving and also to your relationship with your child. Developing self-advocacy skills is a reflection of children who have a strong sense of self-worth. Tempering ambition and redirecting it productively, is an integral part of parenting. Coping with your child’s hearing loss is an on-going process that is always evolving. Time Stamp: 00:00 The Auditory-Verbal journey begins 01:10 90% of deaf or hard of hearing children are born to hearing parents 02:04 AVT facilitates age-appropriate development 02:23 Abundant choices open up through AVT 02:48  Early identification and the fitting of early and optimal amplification 03:57  Show notes, Top tips and Time Stamps 04:00  Introducing our guest: Pradnya Madbhavi 04:37 Creative school projects: The Evolution Between Architecture & Mathematics  06:37  Seeds of Peace Initiative: Dubai and Maine, USA 07:55 Planning a career in Aerospace Engineering 08:29 School opens up new opportunities  08:38  Leaving home 09:04  Letting go 10:19  Struggling with the fear of the unknown for one’s child 11:27 Dealing with uncertainty 12:02 Dealing with newness 12:42 Common interests make great icebreakers 13:24  Self Advocacy 15:46  Being comfortable in one’s own skin 16:15  Leadership opportunities at school 16:48 Free of limiting beliefs   18:00 How to negotiate with children 18:15 Coping with your child’s hearing loss  19:18 Realistic appraisal of one’s own skills and talents 19:38 Adjusting to change  20:22 Supporting one’s child’s passion 21:03 Tempering ambition 22:01 Purpose of life 22:35  Inspiring other women and colleagues  23:11  A Liberating experience!  24:10 The grit of this mother who has raised a child to overcome his additional difficulties 24:38  The joy of sharing one’s life journey with others to raise awareness 25:33  Sense of self and an inner strength 26:00 Acknowledging that one does falter  27:26 The joy of watching the lives of children unfold as they grow 27:54  Free to choose 28:10  Thank you for walking these Sound Steps with us through to this concluding episode 28:47  You are not alone 28:54  Keep celebrating each step forward 🔗 Resources Mentioned in this Episode: 💬 Submit your question to the show: https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/ 👩‍⚕️ Face-to-face AVT with Shefali Shah (London): https://soundsteps.uk 🌐 Online AVT sessions available via AVT Direct: https://avtdirect.com 🎓 Train online as an LSL professional in AVT: https://learnavt.com 📧 Contact Shefali directly: [email protected]

“Baby Llama! Mama ain’t buying this drama!”How do you weave humour into your everyday conversations at home?In this penultimate Episode 23, an ebullient Rebecca Rajkumar engages with Shefali Shah, a LSLS Cert. AVT professional, to share how she and her husband instilled a sense of humour in their profoundly deaf son.Explaining jokes and then modelling key lines was a technique they found particularly useful.A wide social circle of which their son was always a part, contributed to his growing up confident and advocating for himself. Nurturing your relationship with your growing deaf teenager through conversation and ongoing discussion in which there are no taboo subjects, is key to raising a confident young adult. Listen. Learn. Talk.This is The Sound Steps Podcast.🎧 Top Tips from Episode 21 Instil a sense of humour in  your growing child by immersing him in fun-filled family life  Explain jokes especially sarcasm. Weave the subtleties of humour into your family conversation and every day exchanges. Developing self-advocacy skills is critical. Build a wide social circle. Discuss topics of interest together within your family life. Time Stamp: 00:00 The Auditory-Verbal journey begins 01:12 Do children have an innate sense of humour? 01:22 Introducing our guest: Rebecca Rajkumar 02:08 Participating in extra-curricular activities at school 03:03 Academic work  03:34 Socialising at school and in the community 04:06 Self-advocacy 04:40 Getting back to work 05:17 Sarcasm 05:50 Humour defuses flashpoints! 07:41 How to instil humour in your child 09:12 Cooking as a channel to build vocabulary and expressive language 10:12 Growing up with parents who tease each other  10:45 Explaining jokes 11:00 Using a language rich model 11:30 Family conversation as an engine to power appreciation of humour 12:24 Videos to build understanding of humour 13:45 Timing of the delivery of punchline is critical   13:50 Breaking jokes down, explaining them, modelling and practicing 14:17 Appreciating the subtleties of humour  16:03 Weaving humour into all aspects of family life:bylines of books too! 16:35 Always being a part of family life and its circle of friends 17:24 Nothing was off limits within the family circle 17:44 Wanting to follow jokes and family conversations 18:00 Family Conversations on topics of mutual interest: e.g. History 18:46 To be a citizen of the modern world, free of prejudice 19:15 Discussing Slavery 19:36 Current affairs 20:21 Re-wording and changing presentation 21:19 Self-regulation 22:38 Putting others at ease 23:15 Instilling compassion 24:33 Sports training :Tennis 26:55 Participating in family social events 28:26 Self Advocacy 29:00 Keeping Perspective 29:33 Upcoming episode: Proud Parents of a deaf or Hard of Hearing Child: This could be your reality! 🔗 Resources Mentioned in this Episode: 💬 Submit your question to the show: https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/ 👩‍⚕️ Face-to-face AVT with Shefali Shah (London): https://soundsteps.uk 🌐 Online AVT sessions available via AVT Direct: https://avtdirect.com 🎓 Train online as an LSL professional in AVT: https://learnavt.com 📧 Contact Shefali directly: [email protected]

After all your diligent and consistent follow-up in Auditory-Verbal Therapy, your deaf or hard of hearing child’s development is comparable to those of her peers!Graduation from Early Intervention Services celebrates this milestone! As you and your family prepare for this major event in your child’s life, you linger, struggling to let go of all those who have supported you to come to this point.In Episode 22, Shefali Shah, a LSLS Cert. AVT professional, in conversation with Simi and Chandresh Rugani from her in-person practice in London, UK, reflect on the milestones gone by that facilitated age-appropriate development in their now 4 year old hearing-aided son.They express their gratitude for availing of Genetic Testing.As they celebrate, these parents like so many others, are wistful as they reflect on all the support they have received through early intervention.In a lively conversation with Shefali, the Rughanis share heart-warming experiences from their son’s life to illustrate how his confidence and sense of humour have grown significantly as his vocabulary expanded! Confident, self-possessed and with a delightful sense of humour, this wonderful 4 year old jokes about his quirky ear moulds and is enjoying life in his neighbourhood and at school! Listen. Learn. Talk.This is The Sound Steps Podcast.🎧 Top Tips from Episode 21 Auditory-Verbal Therapy is a finite service: you and your deaf child graduate from early intervention services. Pretend Play can be a powerful tool to build language competence and confidence. The challenges of school: listening in noise and listening at a distance. Developing self-advocacy skills is critical. The influence of social skills on self-confidence. Genetic Testing is valuable. Live one day at a time. Time Stamp: 00:00 The Auditory-Verbal journey begins 01:06 Auditory-Verbal Therapy is modelled on typical development in children 01:13 Auditory-Verbal Therapy facilitates age-appropriate development 01:58 Readiness to graduate from early intervention services 02:30 Introducing our guests: Simi and Chandresh Rughani  02:58 Ready to graduate from the early intervention service 03:13 Encouragement and positive feedback at school 04:10 Confident and interactive 04:37 Readiness for talking over the telephone 05:27 The challenge of listening at school: listening in noise and at a noise 06:04 Developing self-advocacy skills 06:48 Listening and following along in class 07:27 Keeping up with games and their rules at school  09:50 Building friendships with the children in the neighbourhood 10:10 Play Dates and birthday parties 11:03 Role Play to develop social skills 11:34 AV Technique: Sabotage 13:13 Having an opinion  14:18 Offering an explanation 14:58 A sense of humour  17:06 Self confidence 17:50 A supportive school environment 17:59 Niggling worries linger 18:18 The value of Genetic Testing 18:27 Fear of the unknown 18:57 The long term: graduating from services 20:29 Self-belief 21:00 Living one day at a time 21:16 Summary: On-going tracking of your child’s development 21:43 Upcoming episode: Raising a Humourous Deaf Teenager! 🔗 Resources Mentioned in this Episode: 💬 Submit your question to the show: https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/ 👩‍⚕️ Face-to-face AVT with Shefali Shah (London): https://soundsteps.uk 🌐 Online AVT sessions available via AVT Direct: https://avtdirect.com 🎓 Train online as an LSL professional in AVT: https://learnavt.com 📧 Contact Shefali directly: [email protected]

Your journey parenting a child who is deaf or hard of hearing is one that you chart together. We work collaboratively in Auditory-Verbal Therapy, with both you and your child so that you transform into a confident, competent parent.How does this transformation occur? In this twenty-first episode, Shefali coaches a mother from her online practice at Sound Steps, as she reflects on her transformative journey. Over a period of eight months, Rashi Sanghi, has become fearless. Together they explore how this transformation occurred.In this deep conversation with Shefali Shah, a LSLS Cert. AVT professional, Shefali guides the listener to acknowledge how important it is to trust the process and more importantly to trust yourself.Listen. Learn. Talk. This is The Sound Steps Podcast.🎧 Top Tips from Episode 21 Auditory-Verbal Therapy is a collaboration between the family and LSL professional. Competent, confident parents drive therapy. Trust the process. Trust yourself. Success begets success. Success frees you of inhibition and limitation. Time Stamp: 00:00 The Auditory-Verbal journey begins 01:06 Auditory-Verbal Therapy is modelled on typical development in children 01:58 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents 02:40 AVT facilitates age-appropriate development 02:58 Ready to graduate from the early intervention service 03:11 Abundant choices open up through AVT 03:49 A life free of limitations 03:53 Show notes & Top Tips 04:10 Auditory-Verbal Therapy is a collaboration 04:30 Building competence and confidence in parents and their parenting skills 04: 41 Parents drive therapy 04:49 Coming to terms with the diagnosis of hearing loss in your infant or young child  05:08  Pro-active parenting 05:11 Spontaneous parenting 05:30 Special thanks to our guest: Rashi Sanghi 05:34 Tracking the change in parent over eight months 06:07 Casting off diffidence 06:23 Hesitation  07:03 Free of inhibition 07:33 Transformation  08:10 Free of fear 08:40 Love of books 08:57 Pre-judging 10:13 Innovative and Intuitive 11:07 Guiding your child’s development of spoken language & speech intuitively 12.32 Creating learning opportunities 12.55 Reflecting on past fears 13:13 Living free of limitations 13.31 Context gives meaning  13:43 Creating abundant learning opportunities  13:59 The effects of transformation on your parenting style 14:38 A mutually supportive environment 14:43 Imagination blossoms 15:44 Investing in your child 17:35 Creating “real” experiences 18:46 The parent drives therapy 19:07  Self-belief 20:10  Creativity feeds learning 21:06  Trust the process 21:22  Trust yourself 21:52  Success begets success 22:07  Success frees you of inhibition and self-doubt 23:20 This could be you! 23:44  Upcoming episode: Getting ready to graduate! 🔗 Resources Mentioned in this Episode: 💬 Submit your question to the show: https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/ 👩‍⚕️ Face-to-face AVT with Shefali Shah (London): https://soundsteps.uk 🌐 Online AVT sessions available via AVT Direct: https://avtdirect.com 🎓 Train online as an LSL professional in AVT: https://learnavt.com 📧 Contact Shefali directly: [email protected]

Human beings can’t turn their hearing off: we hear through every waking (and often sleeping) moment. Each day offers countless listening opportunities, layered one over the other, competing for our brain’s attention. Our brain is constantly filtering out these competing incoming speech or sound signals if they are identified as “background noise”.Listening and paying attention in noisy environments is exhausting, even for those with normal hearing. It is especially daunting for your deaf or hard of hearing child.In this enlightening twentieth episode, Shefali Shah walks us through the wonder of passive listening: the ability to sift information to overhear and absorb the spoken message without being directly addressed. As families share their joy at witnessing their child learning new vocabulary  through eavesdropping on family conversations, we are reminded that these moments are not accidents: they are signs of strong auditory-verbal development.When listening becomes a habit, deaf or hard of hearing children learn through overhearing, just like children with typical hearing. They participate wholeheartedly in life, grounded in their sense of connection to their family and community.Passive Listening is an essential learning skill.This is The Sound Steps Podcast.🎧 Top Tips from Episode 20 Humans do not have ear lids. We hear even when we’re not trying to, as do our children. Passive Listening is spontaneous. It happens naturally and constantly. Attending to the relevant speech signal. The brain selects which speech signal to attend to; the other signals become part of an auditory background. Passive Listening gives us a sense of belonging. Passive Listening connects us to  community or our environment, making us feel secure. Overhearing conversation helps learning:  Children who overhear conversations begin learning without direct teaching, a hallmark of typical development. Time Stamps:00:00:00 Introduction00:02:21 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents00:02:31 Choosing Auditory-Verbal Therapy for your deaf or hard of hearing child00:02:43 AVT facilitates age-appropriate development00:03:32 Abundant choices open up through AVT00:03:59 Early identification and the fitting of early and optimal amplification.00:04:07 A life free of limitations00:04:16 Show notes, Top tips and Time Stamps00:04:25 Links and contact details00:04:30 Resources00:04:37 Auditory-Verbal Techniques00:04:54 Auditory-Verbal Techniques : Sabotage00:05:20 Hearing cannot be switched-off in those with typical hearing00:05:51 Meaning of Passive Listening00:06:58 The importance of Passive Listening00:10:25 Validate your child’s passive listening experience in conversation 00:12:19 Listening becomes a habit00:14:49 Overhearing conversation to learn00:18:24 Supporting auditory-memory00:19:56 Monitoring Passive Listening00:21:19 Becoming an independent learner00:26:03 Reflection 00:26:31 Our next episode: Transformation: the new me!Resources: 💬 Submit your question to the show: https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/ 👩‍⚕️ Face-to-face AVT with Shefali Shah (London): https://soundsteps.uk 🌐 Online AVT sessions available via AVT Direct: https://avtdirect.com 🎓 Train online as an LSL professional in AVT: https://learnavt.com 📧 Contact Shefali directly: [email protected]