The therapy stresses the use of residual hearing and helps children develop a growing awareness of the auditory environment. At home, parents have materials to maximize the lessons learned at Clarke Jacksonville. Consultations are provided to teachers, other therapists and medical personnel working with the children and include visits to children's classrooms to assist in the mainstreaming process and classroom reinforcement. Children enrolled in Clarke Jacksonville's preschool program receive the same level of individual therapy offered in our clinical services, plus the constant reinforcement of using speech and language daily in the auditory environment of the classroom. The cochlear implant is a new device that helps severely and profoundly deaf children to distinguish sounds in order to learn speech and language.
Extensive training is needed, however, before a child can fully benefit from the implants.
Clarke Jacksonville professionals provide cochlear implant habilitation and educational support for children and their families. They work closely with families to evaluate and promote the listening, speaking and language skills of each child. They develop appropriate expectations and offer strategies to maximize an auditory learning environment. The staff collaborates with implant centers to develop a well-integrated program for children with cochlear implants. This school first appears on the Oral Deaf Education web site.