Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT)

Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) is a developmental therapy approach based on the sequence of normal child development in the areas of audition, language, speech, cognition, and communication. It supports early detection of hearing loss and aggressive audiological management. AVT is a family/child centered approach that capitalizes on the natural parent-child bond for the development of communication. The ultimate goal of an auditory-verbal approach is to teach the child to function independently in the normally hearing world and to make life choices based on talents and interests, rather than on deafness.

Sharon McKarns, a certified auditory verbal therapist, is the instructor for an AVT training course, which was first offered to speech pathologists, audiologists and teachers of the hearing impaired through The EAR Foundation of Arizona in 2004. Start-up funding for this course was provided by The Arizona Community Foundation. The purpose of this course is to provide an in-depth study of auditory-verbal development. The topics covered include the history of A-V development, philosophy and professional practices, hearing and audiology, development of an auditory function and A-V techniques, child development, parent guidance, spoken language, cochlear implantation and mainstreaming.

For more information regarding AVT and this course, please contact Program Manager, Sharon McKarns at 480-861-9106.

You can also learn more about Auditory Verbal Therapy by visiting the following websites.