HSF Kicks off Professional Training Program

In addition to certifying professionals in the Verbotonal Method, we collaborate with other programs to present workshops and seminars pertaining to multi-sensory integration, aural rehabilitation and auditory perception. We host events with other programs or methodologies that share common principles and goals to understand and improve auditory perception and listening skills in hearing impaired and normal hearing individuals.

Our first collaborative workshop was with the Maryville City School System July 30, 2012. We presented the training program Sounds in Motion (SIM): Phonetic Awareness, Early Literacy, Auditory Perception and Articulation Through Movement. This training program is based on the Verbotonal Method and is having significant success in clinics and school systems in more than 30 states throughout the United States. This evidence-based program was developed by Fran Santore, M.A. CCC-SLP, and was designed for pre-K, Kindergarten, ELL and first grade children to address auditory/listening skills, early literacy and articulation correction through movement. Children are physically engaged in the process of letter to sound correspondence, sound blending and decoding by the therapist’s/teacher’s use of Verbotonal body movements with each letter sound. As the children produce the letter sounds with the specific movements, the qualities of the sounds are felt, heard and seen. In addition, this integrative, multi-sensory approach positively impacts the writing abilities of kindergarten children because they are able to sound out words more easily.

The workshop was presented by two SIM trainers from South Carolina, where the SIM program is used in schools throughout the state. Professionals from the Hearing and Speech Foundation, Maryville City Schools, Alcoa City Schools and Speech Pathology Services of East Tennessee participated in the workshop and began implementing strategies during the 2012-13 school year.

If you would like more information regarding the Hearing and Speech Foundation training programs or therapy programs, or the Sounds in Motion Program implemented at the Foundation, please contact Leslee Rook.