Build Listening with Ling Six
Enjoy vocal play often with your baby to promote babbling and interacting. Explore sound with your toddler for listening during play. Encourage your preschooler to discover meaning in sounds. Talk, sing and read to include listening and language throughout each day. Observe your child’s behaviors to be able to describe how he seems to hear.
Introduce the Ling Six sounds in play, songs and books .You might sing about an airplane “aaah”, make a hissing sound for a snake “sss”, imitate a monkey’s cry “eee”, say “shh” for a sleeping doll, go “mmm” for tasty food and read about a train whistle cho“ooo”. These six phonemes cover the range of sounds needed for speech. *
After your child becomes a new user of a listening device do a Ling check together daily. Sit beside or behind him near his aid or implant. Speak in a normal voice saying one of the Ling Six sounds: aah, ooo, eee, shh, sss, mmm, and wait for a response. Guide your child to show you he heard that. Your toddler might first look up, but later point to his ear when he detects a Ling Six sound. Your young preschooler can learn to place a toy in a bucket as a response. This shared experience enhances the fun of listening and skills for auditory testing.
Eventually an older preschooler can identify which Ling sound you said and say it back. By doing this informal assessment daily you can document what your child is consistently hearing. Ask for guidance from your professionals on doing the Ling Six sounds every day. This check helps you be aware of the access your child has to the range of speech sounds.