Hearing and Communication Specialists / Teachers of the deaf

Our Hearing and Communication Specialists (HCS) work in an inclusive, capacity building approach, with deaf/hard of hearing children aged 0-17 years and their families.  

Your Hearing and Communication Specialist will always work in a family-centred, strengths-based manner. Listening to family’s needs and wants and supporting them to explore and consolidate their own goals and priorities is the first step. The Hearing and Communication Specialist will also support families to have a complete understanding of all possible communication options, whether that be listening and spoken language, Auslan or a bimodal/bilingual approach and/or other Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). 

Our Hearing and Communication Specialists work with families and children to build further understanding of their hearing loss, device management as appropriate and can advocate for the child’s access to listening/communication in a range of settings. A highly individualised approach is taken for each child to support the development of receptive and expressive communication, self-advocacy, identity and educational outcomes. Your Hearing and Communication Specialist can also assist with community access and inclusion, with a strong focus on social and emotional wellbeing.  

Your Hearing and Communication Specialist will collaborate with the whole team around your child and family. This includes the audiologist, cochlear implant clinic, paediatricians, ENT, and other specialists. Regular team meetings and communication with other members of the therapy team is also an ongoing best practice, e.g. Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists etc. as well as educators in an early childhood or school settings.