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 Patron, His Excellency the Governor-General Major General Michael Jeffery, AC, CVO, MC, from his residence at Admiralty House in Sydney.

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 Dimity Dornan, 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 families in Queensland to achieve optimal outcomes for their children with hearing loss by teaching them to listen and speak using our end-to-end service delivery model.

Hear and Say currently operates five centres throughout Queensland, Australia. In addition, an Outreach Program is also provided to teach children who live in rural and regional areas through home visits, web cam and videoconferencing.

Hear and Say Centre, Munro Street, Auchenflower, Brisbane

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.
The only paediatric cochlear implant program in Queensland using the Auditory-Verbal approach.

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.
After 21 months of treatment, 84% have language scores in the age-appropriate range.
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 Professional Training Program has training over 180 professionals during the past several years including participants from ten overseas countries as well as Australia and New Zealand.
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.
Representation on peak professional certification board, Alexander Graham Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language.
International Affiliate of Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Representation on key Australian research board, HEARing CRC.