My name is Avtcoach, and I am an Auditory-Verbal Therapist.

When I began this blog I was unsure of it's purpose. Will it be professional or personal? What do I want to say and to whom?

I realized that my purpose was truly for me to live life abundantly every day and to post on the meaning of how that gets achieved for me. Avtcoach seemed to be a good name and perhaps I would occasionally feel like posting on topics related to the profession that is my passion.

Well, I have had some ask me what Avtcoach means. I am ready to post about what I do and how this is a vocation for me, a mission that allows me to serve.

I am an auditory-verbal therapist. I teach deaf/hearing-impaired babies to listen and talk. My degree is in speech-language pathology. With the miracle of technology we can now screen the hearing of newborns, diagnose early, and fit hearing aids as early as 2 weeks. Children with severe to profound deafness, who have little access to speech even with their hearing aids, can receive a cochlear implant by 12 months and have access to all speech frequencies and learn spoken language.

An auditory verbal therapist coaches parents in individual therapy with their child to use strategies that foster development of spoken language using primarily audition. Our outcomes for children who are identified and amplified early and who have a commitment to weekly therapy are amazing. Our children are often ready for the regular classroom by Pre-K and can be educated with their typical peers.

My vocation is not without critics. Although there is sound research on brain development, listening with a cochlear implant (and two), and the effects of speech and language development with early amplification, there are many professionals who believe that more is better and that the use of sign language with an oral communication approach can achieve the same results. It is for this reason that I have resisted using this personal blog as a format for sharing my story.

What I do know is that I enjoy sharing my love of language with others and my Tuesday Tales post gives me that opportunity. As many of my readers have shared, the ideas are so practical for all children. Parents of young children what to have strategies that raise the bar for their child's development.

The nice thing about the blog community is that people with like interests can gather and share. I have read and deeply respect the blog groups of parents with children with hearing loss regardless of their chosen communication method. These parents have so much to share with professionals and each other. We need to hear their stories, their challenges and support their victories.

My heart however is with the auditory-verbal approach. I say without apology that I am in awe each day with what my families achieve. This week I heard one of my little guys who has had a cochlear implant for one year say "ball" (not bah) with the most amazing clarity! He then said "ball mama" spontaneously requesting that she pick up the ball he had thrown. He fed the cat on command choosing from three animals in front of him. He said moo, woof-woof, meow and quack-quack during play. This young boy with a year of hearing and language under his belt will continue to soar. He will learn language more quickly in this next two years and he will be having conversations with his peers by the time he is four. That is what I am spending my career helping the families achieve.

I cannot spend time and energy defending my position, nor do I want to. I leave that for other blogs and communities. What I do know is that I have the most amazing job in the world. I get to hear children say "mama" for the first time and I get to be there when a child hears a parent say "I love you" for the first time. It never gets old and that is why I feel so compassionate about creating a life of abundance and gratitude for what we have. Not materially, but for our senses and how we use them, for our gifts and how we share them and for a profound need for a persevering spirit.

So, Avtcoach is a symbol of not just what I do but of a life I have chosen. It is more than a job. It is a passion. It is the work that God has led me to and I am so thankful. This is still a personal blog, but maybe after today I can begin to think about how I can share this miracle more often.

Abundance is....working in a profession you are passionate about.

For more information about Auditory-Verbal Therapy visit this website: http://www.agbellacademy.org/