Abstract

FIGUEIREDO, Renata S. L.  and  NOVAES, Beatriz. Towards the first words: therapy setting in intervention for babies with hearing loss. Rev. CEFAC [online]. 2012, vol.14, n.6, pp. 1072-1089.  Epub May 22, 2012. ISSN 1982-0216.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-18462012005000036.

PURPOSE: to describe and discuss the setting in the therapeutic process of a hearing impaired baby and implications as for the clinical methods in speech and language pathology and therapy. METHOD: a case study through recordings of therapy sessions for a year .Parts of a selected session were described, transcribed, and analyzed. RESULTS: the case studied was a baby that fails in a hearing screening with three days of life, who began therapeutic process and an indication of amplification devices when she was two months old. The settings showed several aspects that were specific to babies, as it follows ahead: size, furniture, and acoustics of therapy room; frequency of therapy sessions; presence of mother and /or other caretakers in the therapy room. Those were necessary but not sufficient for the therapeutic process aiming at language development. The potential room established in the relationship mother-baby-therapist was crucial to promote language development and to deal with family's expectations. The intervention in the first year can be named diagnostic intervention since it contributes to the diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: the case studied allowed for discussing aspects related to the therapeutic setting and characteristics of the intervention process when the subject is a baby. The discussion implies that the speech pathologist and audiologist should have background in child development and on mother-baby relationship in the first years of life.

Keywords : hearing loss; Rehabilitation of Hearing Impaired; Language Development.