Premise For Hearit Training: Amplification as a remediation technique for children with normal peripheral hearing has been reported since the early '80's and documented by ASHA in '91 (Asha 33, Suppl. 3, 22-24). This type of rehabilitation has proven successful with children with specific learning difficulties in educational and clinical settings as a technique for those with phonologic and central auditory processing disorders (CAPD) and/or language/learning delays/disorders/disabilities.

Recent studies provide evidence that there are also major educational consequences when children have minimal or slight hearing loss (Bess, Dodd-Murphy and Parker, 1998). A 1998 study from the Center of Disease Control in Atlanta found that 15% of the students studied had slight hearing loss (Niskar et al., 1998). These children were usually unaware of this loss, but demonstrated greater dysfunctional behaviors and much more frequently repeated a grade. Even a slight hearing loss can be accompanied by delayed vocabulary acquisition, reduced incidental learning, frequent significant academic delay and limited reading abilities (Ross, 1990).

With or without loss, background noise can also compromise academic performance, reading and spelling skills, concentration, attention and behavior. Reductions in background noise, via acoustical modification, had a significant effect on increasing concentration, attention and participatory behavior (Lehman and Gratiot, 1994).

Documented research demonstrates that clinical amplification and background noise reduction (provided by Hearit auditory tools) enable students with language/learning delays/disorders/disabilities, and/or slight hearing loss and/or concentration and attentional problems to experience remarkable improvements in academic performance.

Objectives: The goals of intervention include increased sustained attention and comprehension, reduced distractibility, improved signal to noise ratio and increased auditory perception. Development of these skills affects a student's speech sound production, language processing and academic performance.

Hearit Training Methodology: Hearit auditory tools raise auditory frequencies in the voice/speech range, between 2500Hz - 6000Hz, to make speech sounds "pop-out" and become more intelligible for the child. The most effective training methodology with Hearit involves a three step progression that starts with individual therapy (Hearit Original or Hearit Perfect) moves to small group training with up to four children, (SP-ED/BIL Package) and is then reinforced in a classroom setting (Hearit Broadcaster).

How to Maximize Learning with Hearit: Hearit Original, Hearit Perfect and Hearit SE are used effectively in individual or small group student learning settings with the clinician/instructor. The directional microphone should be tuned to a volume setting of 4-5 and held near the speakers mouth, either hand-held like an interviewing microphone or worn on a lavaliere under the chin. The classic use of Hearit is for the child to read text aloud for better comprehension. Clinicians report that with Hearit many of their younger children could hear and say difficult speech sounds, like the /s/ & /r/ sounds, for the very first time (Stolz, ,'96, Rzadkiewicz, '98). For ADD children, clinicians state that many students, when reading text aloud even in a noisy environment, can comprehend the text the first rather than the fifth time (Harner, SLP, '95).

Hearit Reduces Training Time: The bottom line is that Hearit auditory tools greatly reduce treatment time by one-half to one-third. More efficient training with less repetition and stress means better learning outcomes for your students in remedial SP-ED, reading and bilingual programs. As a result, a growing number of school districts are purchasing Hearit for each of their clinicians. Teacher/Tutor Edwina Hatch states, "All remedial teachers should employ a Hearit, I love it!" (TES, '97) In the classroom, Hearit Original or Hearit Perfect is worn independently by the student without auditory connection to the instructor. Hearit's versatility makes the student more self reliant, and the instrument can be used for home study or in any learning setting. Speech sounds are more intelligible for the child, particularly the medial, word-ending and consonant sounds. Often instructors comment that many of their students may appear to "hear OK" but they do not discriminate instructions or conversation adequately. Hearit can often help with better phonologic awareness by improving auditory discrimination and processing abilities.

Summary of Benefits

• easy use allows improved sustained attention as auditory distractions are reduced.
• improves dynamics for increasing auditory comprehension.
• increases auditory discrimination for identification, minimal differences and significant features in the treatment of misarticulations.
• accentuates phonological awareness dramatically improving academic achievement.
• training time may be reduced by one-half to one-third.
• students can reap these benefits working one-on-one, in a small group or in a classroom setting with Hearit Auditory Tools.
• current research and clinical results demonstrate the effectiveness of our amplification devices.