About
Hear and Say WorldWide is a world-first Hearing Health Team Education Program for establishing multi-disciplinary healthcare teams and a clinical professional training program to prevent, identify and treat hearing loss in babies and young children in selected international destinations.
The program developed by the Hear and Say Centre in Queensland, Australia, was officially launched on 24 October 2007 by Hear and Say WorldWide's inaugural Patron, His Excellency the then Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery, AC, CVO, MC, from his residence at Admiralty House in Sydney.
The current Governor General of Australia, Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC has now accepted the postion of Patron of Hear and Say WorldWide.
The Hear and Say Centre presently achieves a world class 93% success rate for inclusion of its graduating children into mainstream schooling with their hearing peers. These outcomes can be contrasted with average success rates of only 33% in Europe and even less in developing countries.
Through the Hear and Say WorldWide program we are now ready to share our success with the world. Hear and Say WorldWide will operate as the export arm of the Hear and Say Centre. We are currently working with a number of clinical and commercial partners to develop hearing healthcare training, service delivery and technology export markets, commencing in Asia Pacific and Europe.
The Hear and Say Centre
The Hear and Say Centre was established in July 1992 by Dr Dimity Dornan AM, a Speech Pathologist, to fulfill the need for an early intervention centre using the Auditory-Verbal Approach. The Centre is a not-for-profit organisation that enables children with hearing loss and their families learn to listen and speak.
Hear and Say is the only paediatric cochlear implant program in Queensland using the Auditory-Verbal approach. Hear and Say operates five centres throughout Queensland, Australia. An Outreach Program is provided to children and families who live in rural and regional areas. Home visits, web cam and videoconferencing are used to reach-and-teach children and families.
The Hear and Say Centre Service Delivery Model
- Early diagnosis through newborn hearing screening.
- Medical management using digital hearing aids and/or cochlear implants.
- Training of Auditory-Verbal professionals.
- Auditory-Verbal practice focusing on parents as the child's natural teacher.
- Holistic, family-based treatment and follow-up plan.
- Unique, multi-disciplinary team and end-to-end service delivery model.
- On-going training of Auditory-Verbal professionals.
Outcomes of the Hear and Say Centre Program
- A 93% success rate in clinical outcomes that allow children with hearing loss to integrate into mainstream schooling, employment and the wider community.
- 21 months of treatmen equates to 84% age-appropriate language scores.
- Children with hearing loss have the potential to progress in listening and spoken language development AT THE SAME RATE AS HEARING CHILDREN of the same language age.
- Literacy is usually within the normal range or above.
Hear and Say Centre Professional Training
- The Hear and Say hearing health professional training program has trained hundreds of professionals during in Australia and world-wide.
- Our training and service delivery model has been endorsed by Cochlear Ltd, which has a 70% share of the global implantable hearing solutions market.
- Endorsement for both our training and service delivery model has also been provided by Professor Graeme Clark, Australian inventor of the Cochlear Implant.
Representations and Affilations
- Alexander Graham Bell academy for Listening and Spoken Language.
- Australian research board, HEARing CRC.
- Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
- First Voice.