Professionals Online Courses | Cochlear

The Communication Corner

Professionals Online Courses

Free one-hour educational seminars are given by internationally known experts on a range of topics relating to the (re)habilitation and educational needs of children, teens, and adults who use cochlear implants or the Baha System.

Available Courses - in partnership with Audiology Online

These are recorded courses which require either a Windows-based computer or a Mac with speakers/headphones to view. More information is available in the FAQs/Help section.

Getting Started with CI/Baha

Assembling a Supportive Team for a Child with a Cochlear Implant A child with a cochlear implant needs a team of people to properly support his or her needs at school. That team should include school-based professionals, CI clinicians, parents, the child and classmates. The purpose of this seminar is to review the role of each team member and discuss how parents and others can encourage a support network so the child can develop and flourish.
A Fresh Look at Getting Started with Auditory Skills This introductory course identifies a hierarchy for auditory skill development in children with cochlear implants that considers linguistic and situational contexts in addition to auditory function. It also discusses practical applications of this hierarchy to a variety of habilitation settings.
Benchmarks of Performance for Children with Cochlear Implants, This presentation describes general guidelines that may be used to set performance expectations for children receiving cochlear implants. Rationale for adapting these general benchmarks to individual implant users will be discussed. Case examples will reinforce the principles described.
How to Reach Cochlear Implantation by 12-18 Months of Age and Why You Would Want To Advances in the diagnosis and treatment of hearing loss have greatly improved opportunities for children with severe to profound hearing loss to develop intelligible speech and the use and understanding of spoken language. Staff from the ECHO/SJIC program at Carle Foundation Hospital will share their experience in maximizing audition so expedient decisions can be made regarding cochlear implantation. They will also present data across groups of children implanted at increasingly older ages demonstrating the distinct benefits that can result from implantation by 18 months if not by 12 months of age.
How to Read a Child's MAP, or the “Ts” and “Cs” of CI This course is designed to provide school personnel with a basic understanding of the measurements that are obtained when programming a child's cochlear implant (CI). It also provides participants with guideline to help determine when a child should return to the center for reprogramming.
Understanding Single-Sided Deafness: Evaluation and Treatment This one-hour course offers insight into single-sided unilateral hearing loss. Cause, effect and treatment will be discussed relative to how single-sided deafness (SSD) presents itself to daily communication situations.

Serving Children at School

An Itinerant Teacher's Work is Never Done: Supporting Mainstream Educators Liaison, collaborator, communicator, consultant, diagnostician, curriculum specialist, advocate, presenter, relationship builder, and time management specialist are all terms used to describe the Mainstream Itinerant Teacher of the deaf or hard of hearing. As the number of students in mainstream classrooms increases, the need for support and resources from itinerant teachers also increases. The mainstream educator has the responsibility of establishing a learning environment within the general and special education settings. Success means meeting the diversified needs of the child, including physical challenges, cognitive development, cultural and linguistic differences, and communication. Itinerant teachers face many challenges; in particular, limited time with students and staff on a day to day basis, the need to develop relationships across disciplines, and the implementation of various forms of communication. This course introduces ways to support the itinerant teacher in a general education program and provides resources to optimize outcomes for the mainstreamed child.
Back to School with Cochlear Implants: The Top 10 Things Parents Need to Know With the majority of children with cochlear implants now attending school in public or private mainstream classrooms, parents should be prepared to aid school personnel in understanding and addressing their children’s needs. This course reviews key topics that can help achieve a favorable classroom environment as well as provide guidance for the classroom teacher. Among the top tips addressed are: FM systems and the school’s responsibility for providing them, acoustics, troubleshooting technology, the role of classmates, and best practices for teachers in the classroom.
Bringing Literacy to the Table: Using Books in Therapy The significance of the complementary relationship between language and literacy is undisputed. It follows then that text is the ultimate tool for speech and hearing professionals to add to their repertoires. This workshop provides practical ideas for incorporating books and other literacy artifacts into the one-on-one therapy session both for young children and for those of school age.
Cochlear Implant Concepts for Non-Programming Professionals When working with a child who uses a cochlear implant(s), a professional is required to monitor a number of aspects of the child to increase the likelihood of success with the device. Among the many issues that must be monitored are consistent use of functional equipment, understanding of typical speech and language milestones, and an understanding of the programming (a.k.a. "mapping") process. This presentation will review the typical techniques used to obtain an appropriate MAP for a young child as well as the methods used to verify the benefits delivered by that MAP. Discussions will include explanations of the typical settings used and the effect changes to these settings may have on a child’s ability to hear with a cochlear implant. In addition, the collaborative nature of a mapping session will be reviewed and suggestions for information that parents, educators, and speech-language pathologists can give the programming audiologist will also be provided. Case studies will provide additional examples of scenarios to elicit discussion surrounding appropriate referrals for follow up.
Gearing up My Classroom: Strategies to Support a Student with a Cochlear Implant This class considers factors that influence student performance and success with specific reference to cochlear implantation. Factors include identifying an appropriate classroom setting, communication between the implant center and school, supports and resources for school personnel, and accountability measures to monitor performance. Participants receive the protocols discussed in the class for their use.
HOPE for Next Year: IEP Goals and Reports As the academic year draws to a close, school-based professionals find themselves writing progress reports and making recommendations for continued skill development for the next school year. This online seminar outlines guidelines for writing progress reports that give clear descriptions of current skill levels and describe the activities that will assist professionals in writing such reports. Specific recommendations for identifying Individualized Education Plan (IEP) objectives in the domains of audition, language development and speech production are also covered.
LSLS Strategies in the Classroom This presentation identifies some of the issues involved in encouraging the development of auditory skills in classroom settings. A closer look at instructional time, classroom grouping, and curricular demands will set the stage for practical suggestions for maximizing a child's opportunity to use a cochlear implant for auditory learning. Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) strategies will be reviewed in the context of utilizing them for teaching content.
Making a Case for Classroom Acoustics Classrooms and other educational spaces are among the least friendly listening environments for children with cochlear implants. Use of assistive technology such as sound field and personal FM systems can be compromised by noise and reverberation in structured classroom settings. Also, one-on-one and small group interactions are also impeded. This presentation provides practical rationale for the benefits of appropriate acoustical environments and provides specific guidance for professionals and parents seeking improved acoustics. Legal and voluntary mechanisms for achieving improvements are reviewed.
Reading to Learn: Vocabulary Strategies for Older Students For all children, especially those with cochlear implants, building a good vocabulary is a critical building block for reading comprehension skills. As children learn to read, the strategies that we utilize to increase their vocabulary will impact their understanding of text as well as contribute to their spoken vocabulary. This presentation discusses concepts and strategies for parents and professionals to utilize in vocabulary expansion and direct instruction for the older listener as they learn new vocabulary through and for reading.
Using Experience Books to Promote Early Literacy This course emphasizes the role that experience books can play in vocabulary acquisition for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Links to early literacy content standards are highlighted, and suggestions are offered for utilizing experience books to maximize literacy development.

Special Considerations

Addressing the Educational Needs of a Child who is Deaf and Blind: A Parent's Perspective DeafBlindness is an overwhelming word, and implies many things. Challenges are placed on parents and professionals when faced with the rarity and complex needs of a multiply sensory deprived child. This course seeks to offer an explanation of how multiple sensory deficits can educationally affect a student, and general guidelines from a parent’s perspective regarding the education of a deaf blind child.
Auditory Learning and Cochlear Implantation for the Young Child with Multiple Disabilities This presentation focuses on the timely topic of children with multiple disabilities, in addition to hearing loss, who become cochlear implant recipients. Specific areas of discussion include solutions to challenges in assessment and intervention, the need for use of interdisciplinary teams, and the research literature on the topic. The course also provides participants with resources and references.
Auditory Neuropathy and Cochlear Implantation in Children The diagnosis of Auditory Neuropathy/Dys-synchrony in a child with a sensorineural hearing loss will quickly raise the possibility of cochlear implantation. Experience to date has resulted in providing cochlear implants to 35 children with this diagnosis. This presentation reviews diagnostic procedures, medical/surgical considerations, and the outcomes documented in this population of pediatric patients.
Bilingual Spoken Language Development for Children Whose Home Language Is Not English The purpose of this presentation is to demonstrate that children with significant hearing loss can be bilingual, regardless of their educational landscape, and how bilingual issues are integral to the audiologic management of children. The course reviews considerations that need to be made by audiologists and other interventionists when working with families of these hearing-impaired children when the home language is a language other than the majority language.
Cochlear Implants and Children with Additional Special Needs Children with additional special needs are receiving cochlear implants in greater numbers. A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted device for people with severe to profound hearing loss designed to increase the user’s sound awareness. Children with diagnoses in addition to hearing loss can benefit from cochlear implants, but the outcomes and/or expectations for them may be different. Several diagnoses will be discussed along with factors to consider for successful implants. This presentation discusses factors to consider during the candidacy stage, important considerations for testing/MAPping, considerations for speech-language therapy, and the crucial role a team approach plays in working with children who receive cochlear implants and have other diagnoses in addition to hearing loss.
Parent and Adult Habilitation Resources Available in Spanish This seminar will review pediatric and adult habilitation resources available in Spanish—both those from Cochlear and from other sources. We will suggest best practices for making use of such materials by English speaking audiologists, teachers, and speech language pathologists.
Red Flags: Barriers to Optimal Auditory Development - Part I Today’s digital hearing aids with extended bandwidths can provide excellent access to speech for children with hearing loss. In addition, cochlear implants provide significant benefit to appropriate candidates who do not have access to speech through hearing aids. The immediate benefit of digital hearing aids and/or cochlear implants can be so significant that any improvement is assumed to be sufficient, but is it optimal? Why does the performance and progress of children with this technology vary greatly? By utilizing specific evaluations of audition and speech perception, parents, LSLSs, teachers, SLPs, and audiologists can identify “red flags” indicating less than optimal performance. In this two part series, techniques that can be used to evaluate performance in children with digital hearing aids and/or cochlear implants will be discussed. In Part I, attention will be given to the identification of “Red Flag” behaviors from the audiologic perspective, and in Part II the focus will shift to the speech and language perspective. In both sessions, programming changes based on performance measures will be detailed. Case studies will be presented to illustrate common issues, identification techniques, and the potential performance changes observed with program modifications. Registration for both sessions is encouraged.
Red Flags: Barriers to Optimal Auditory Development - Part II Today’s digital hearing aids with extended bandwidths can provide excellent access to speech for children with hearing loss. In addition, cochlear implants provide significant benefit to appropriate candidates who do not have access to speech through hearing aids. The immediate benefit of digital hearing aids and/or cochlear implants can be so significant that any improvement is assumed to be sufficient, but is it optimal? Why does the performance and progress of children with this technology vary greatly? By utilizing specific evaluations of audition and speech perception, parents, LSLSs, teachers, SLPs, and audiologists can identify “red flags” indicating less than optimal performance. In this two part series, techniques that can be used to evaluate performance in children with digital hearing aids and/or cochlear implants will be discussed. In Part I, attention will be given to the identification of “Red Flag” behaviors from the audiologic perspective, and in Part II the focus will shift to the speech and language perspective. In both sessions, programming changes based on performance measures will be detailed. Case studies will be presented to illustrate common issues, identification techniques, and the potential performance changes observed with program modifications. Registration for both sessions is encouraged.
Working with Children with Vision Loss and Other Disabilities Post Cochlear Implantation The number of children who have deaf-blindness (DB) and receive a cochlear implant is increasing each year; however, little is known about outcomes in this complex group of children. This presentation will present data on 8 children whose intervention focused on specific in-home caregiver training. Data collected over 12 to 15 in-home sessions and results from the analysis of this data will be reported. From these findings, evidence-based practice guidelines will be discussed along with intervention strategies to effectively work with this diverse population.

Auditory Learning

Achieving the Best Outcomes with a Cochlear Implant: 20 Top Tips This session reviews four key topics that impact children’s outcomes with cochlear implants: 1) maximally using sound processors, 2) empowering parents to promote auditory learning, 3) addressing needs in school settings, and 4) involving friends and family members to aid in children’s personal development. Each topic is explored by sharing a series of tips and related resources that can help families and professionals achieve the best possible outcomes.
Auditory Therapy for Young Children: Parent and Professional Partnership This talk discusses the role of parents in the decision-making process when determining mode of communication and educational services when a child has been diagnosed with a significant hearing loss. It also reviews the parent-professional partnership with particular respect to the therapy process.
Auditory Awareness, Discrimination and Patterning This session is the first in a series that deconstructs the auditory skills hierarchy and takes each level of auditory function, in turn, to build a complete understanding of auditory skill development. The base levels of auditory awareness, discrimination, and patterning are examined here. Specific treatment techniques for maximizing progress through these particular levels are discussed with ideas for targeting these skills in all situational contexts. The HOPE Online courses, Getting Started with Auditory Skills and Auditory Skills: A Closer Look, are suggested as introductions to the auditory skills hierarchy for professionals new to auditory learning.
Auditory Identification This session is the second in a series that deconstructs the auditory skills hierarchy and takes each level of auditory function, in turn, to build a complete understanding of auditory skill development. The critical level of auditory identification is examined here. Specific treatment techniques for maximizing progress through these particular levels are discussed with ideas for targeting these skills in all situational contexts. The HOPE Online courses, Getting Started with Auditory Skills and Auditory Skills: A Closer Look, are suggested as introductions to the auditory skills hierarchy for professionals new to auditory learning.
Auditory Comprehension This session is the third in a series that deconstructs the auditory skills hierarchy and takes each level of auditory function, in turn, to build a complete understanding of auditory skill development. The culminating level of auditory comprehension and its subskills are examined. Specific treatment techniques for maximizing progress through these particular levels are discussed with ideas for targeting these skills in all situational contexts. The HOPE Online courses, Getting Started with Auditory Skills and Auditory Skills: A Closer Look, are suggested as introductions to the auditory skills hierarchy for professionals new to auditory learning.
Auditory Comprehension: Focus on Memory This session is the last in a series that deconstructs the auditory skills hierarchy and takes each level of auditory function, in turn, to build a complete understanding of auditory skill development. The culminating level of auditory comprehension is examined with a specific focus on auditory memory and its subskills. Specific treatment techniques for maximizing progress through these particular levels are discussed with ideas for targeting these skills in all situational contexts. The HOPE Online courses, Getting Started with Auditory Skills and Auditory Skills: A Closer Look, are suggested as introductions to the auditory skills hierarchy for professionals new to auditory learning.
Bringing Literacy to the Table: Using Books in Therapy The significance of the complementary relationship between language and literacy is undisputed. It follows then that text is the ultimate tool for speech and hearing professionals to add to their repertoires. This workshop provides practical ideas for incorporating books and other literacy artifacts into the one-on-one therapy session both for young children and for those of school age.
Children with Cochlear Implants: Managing the Complexity of Acoustic Accessibility If the family’s desired outcomes for their child include spoken language, literacy, social competencies, and life development consistent with hearing peers, then beginning in infancy, every encounter, location, and environment must be viewed from an acoustic accessibility perspective. That is, in order for a child’s auditory brain centers to grow and develop, the child’s brain must be stimulated with sufficient quality and quantity of auditory events. This course will address acoustic accessibility and technology considerations. Case management to optimize auditory access will be discussed and strategies to repair speech perception deficits provided.
Including Fathers in their Child's Intervention and Habilitation Process Traditionally, mothers have been the primary contact for professionals providing intervention or habilitative services to families of children with hearing loss. Fathers have been described as the secondary or peripheral parent. This course will present the results of a national survey of over 262 fathers of children with hearing loss that evaluated their perspectives on service delivery and their own roles as fathers of children with hearing loss. Professionals will gain new insights in how to be more inclusive of fathers in the clinical, intervention, or habilitative services that they are providing.
Keep it Fresh: Ideas for Auditory Work Building on discussion of auditory skill development provided in the "Building Blocks" series, (Auditory Awareness, Discrimination and Patterning, Auditory Identification, Auditory Therapy, Auditory Comprehension: Focus on Memory), this course explores the subskills of auditory function that must be achieved for communicative competence and methods of attacking those goals therapeutically. Specific ideas for appropriate toys and games for each goal will be provided and treatment techniques for maximizing progress will be discussed.
Keep it Fresh: Ideas for Language Development Building on the discussion of lesson planning for auditory skill development provided in the first "Keep it Fresh" workshop, this course describes activities for targeting specific language goals through listening. Specific ideas for appropriate toys and games, approaching goals across situational contexts and strategies for maximizing progress will all be discussed.
Let’s Play! Using Toys to Develop Listening and Language This talk will discuss the use of toys with children to facilitate development of listening and language skills. It will first discuss pre-readiness skills required for a child to be primed to develop language. It will then review techniques to be used during play and outline a hierarchy of auditory, expressive language and speech production goals. The primary focus will be on showing a variety of toys and describing how they can be used for the specific goals that are presented.
Meeting the Listening and Spoken Language Needs of Children and Adults Through Telepractice The delivery of speech and language services to children with hearing loss through telepractice is more viable today as teleconferencing equipment and Internet technologies become more reliable and cost-effective. Likewise, adults with hearing loss, especially those with cochlear implants, require aural rehabilitation services to maximize communication. In this presentation, a model of telepractice developed to serve children and adults with hearing loss will be presented as well as a range of issues that impact the delivery of telepractice services.
Parent Power! Strategies for Successful Parent Participation Sessions Parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing are the child’s first and most important teachers. Research has shown that parents of children with special needs learn best when they have abundant opportunities to practice new skills while being coached. This course provides the rationale for involving parents, discuss the process of planning effective sessions, and describe a format for conducting successful parent participation sessions. Participants view short video clips to enhance understanding and implementation of key ideas and concepts.

Early Intervention

Breaking the Surface II: Assessment Considerations For children with cochlear implants, regular assessments perform the dual function of setting baseline performance and recording progress over time. This session aims to look at aspects of assessment that will be necessary to form a comprehensive picture of spoken language development for the child with hearing loss. Tools for measuring and tracking auditory progress will be examined, as will the auditory components of language assessment measures.
Early Intervention and Cochlear Implant Centers: Partnering for Families This seminar is appropriate for professionals who work with young hearing impaired children and their families. It provides information regarding the importance of early identification and intervention, and provides recommendations for ways parents and professionals can work together to facilitate successful outcomes with such children.
Early Language Development and First Words in Young Children This course provides information about the Diary of Early Language Development (Di-EL) as a tool for monitoring early language development in young children with hearing loss. Material covered includes the rational for such a tool, the design and validation of the Di-EL technique, early language outcomes for children with hearing loss using the Di-EL, and guidelines for use of the Di-EL in therapy and educational settings. The Di-EL, a new resource for families and professionals in the United States, is introduced and provided at this session.
Incorporating Siblings in Therapy Sessions with Babies before Cochlear Implants Inclusion of siblings in therapy sessions can be challenging. It can also be fun and doable, and alleviate the concerns of the parent that therapy is all about the child with the hearing loss and their feelings of leaving the other children out. This presentation explores some of those dynamics and offers examples of how siblings can be incorporated into therapy and communicative learning activities with children in auditory-verbal therapy.
Literacy for Littles It is, of course, never too early to begin reading with children with cochlear implants. This workshop explores the relationship of language comprehension skills to later reading comprehension. Strategies for facilitating book-sharing and read-aloud activities with parents are also discussed and supported through video of a parent-child interaction.
Speech and Spoken Language: You Can't Have One without the Other This course explores the relationship between speech production and spoken language ability for the young child using a cochlear implant. Beginning with the premise that speech production is the outward manifestation of a child’s competence in spoken language, similarities and differences between these two terms are identified. Strategies for creating early intervention activities that recognize the importance of following developmental norms are presented with an emphasis on the role that auditory access with a cochlear implant plays in the process.

Building Social Skills

Cell Phones: Not Just for Texting! Many adults with progressive hearing loss have not used voice telephones in a long time and may become accustomed to using captions for phone usage. Teenagers—whether or not they have a hearing loss—use text messaging as their primary method of exchanging information with friends and family members. This course provides a hands-on review of wireless telephones from the perspective of usability by hearing impaired listeners. We address telecommunications technology, legal requirements for access features and labeling, and linkage between the personal hearing technology and the phone. Among the specific topics that are discussed and demonstrated are telecoils, use of peripherals such as Bluetooth devices, building confidence and practice strategies. Although the emphasis is on cochlear implant compatibility, much of the information will be equally relevant to hearing aid and Cochlear™ Baha® users.
Helping Students with CIs Prepare for Life after High School Life after high school is a scary time for any teenager, but it can be particularly difficult for the student with profound hearing loss. The purpose of this presentation is to provide information that will help prepare students for life after high school. Common questions and concerns about this exciting transition are covered in this course.
Improving Understanding with Communication Strategies, Part I Communication strategies are important tools in the life of a cochlear implant (CI) recipient. While many people with hearing loss display passive communication styles with ineffective strategies, CI users can learn to be assertive, ask for what they need, and get it—thereby making conversations smoother, more accurate, and less frustrating for both recipients and speakers. Being a fluent communicator can bring one out of isolation to a better quality of life.
Improving Understanding with Communication Strategies, Part II Communication strategies are important tools in the life of a cochlear implant (CI) recipient. While many people with hearing loss display passive communication styles with ineffective strategies, CI users can learn to be assertive, ask for what they need, and get it—thereby making conversations smoother, more accurate, and less frustrating for both recipients and speakers. Being a fluent communicator can bring one out of isolation to a better quality of life.
Listen and Think I: The Younger the Better Key to the development of rich spoken language skills for children with impaired hearing is the integration of auditory skill development with language and cognition. This presentation, the first in a two-part series, reviews Piaget's cognitive development theory as a framework for listening and language development with the youngest children. Strategies for success and activities to try are described.
Listen and Think II: Take It to Another Level Key to the development of rich spoken language skills for children with impaired hearing is the integration of auditory skill development with language and cognition. This presentation, the second in a two-part series, reviews theories of cognitive development and higher order thinking skills as a framework for listening and language development with elementary age children. Strategies for success and activities to try are described.
Music with a Cochlear Implant: Finding Your Groove This course educates participants on music perception fundamentals including pitch, timbre, and rhythm and how these cues are encoded by cochlear implants. Recent research on music perception and appreciation with cochlear implants is presented. The course also discusses the key factors for enhancing the music experience for cochlear implant recipients and offers tips and tools on how to optimize music performance through programming, counseling, and rehabilitation.
Off to College - What Now? This presentation reviews essential information needed to prepare high school students with cochlear implants for college. Relevant laws and an array of different levels of support are reviewed. One set of parents' perspective on working with their son's disability coordinator is presented.
Theory of Mind and Distance Learning The purpose of this presentation is to provide information about the pivotal role of auditory brain development in the acquisition of spoken communication, reading, and social-emotional skills, including Theory of Mind (ToM), in all children and particularly those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Dr. Flexer discusses the roles of neuroplasticity, hearing loss, technology, distance hearing, and auditory enrichment on central auditory neural maturation and social-emotional development.
Think Social: Developing Social Understanding in Children Who are Deaf The ability to understand and talk about one’s own feelings and thoughts as well as the emotions and ideas of others is referred to as social cognition. It can be thought of as our intuition about the world. Social cognition is useful to children and adults because it allows us to empathize, understand what motivates people, and navigate the social world. It also helps children understand stories, make inferences, and appreciate jokes. Children with profound hearing loss often experience delays in their ability to talk about their feelings, emotions, opinions, thoughts and ideas. They also can demonstrate delays in their ability to talk about how others feel and reason about what others think. Because therapists and parents focus on speech, language, and listening development in young children with hearing loss, this important area of social cognitive development can be overlooked. The purpose of this presentation is to help parents understand the basics of social cognitive development in children who are deaf and to provide strategies for enhancing this important psychosocial area in children of all ages.