An Invisible Barrier: How to Develop Phone Conversation Skills?
Your child is highly successful in face-to-face communication — thanks to their hearing aid or cochlear implant, they can have wonderful conversations by benefiting from lip-reading and gestures. But when it comes to answering a ringing phone, do they suddenly pull back, hand it over to you, or avoid speaking altogether?
When visual cues (facial expressions, lip movements, body language) are completely removed and the focus must be solely on sound, this presents an invisible barrier that children and young people must overcome. So, how can we support phone use with a cochlear implant or telephone communication skills in individuals with hearing impairment? Let's take a closer look at how we can facilitate this process using evidence-based approaches from special education support programs.
Auditory Comprehension and Telephone Communication
In the "Auditory Training" module of the Special Education Support Program for Individuals with Hearing Impairment, the ability to recognize and interpret sounds is of great importance. In the "Auditory Comprehension" section of this module, the goal is for individuals to maintain communication over the phone with both familiar and unfamiliar people. This type of communication, which relies solely on sound, encompasses sub-skills that must be developed step by step:
Discriminating Between Sounds: The child is first expected to distinguish between male and female voices over the phone.
Giving Appropriate Responses: The child is taught to respond appropriately to the person on the other end of the line. At this stage, appropriate responses are expected depending on whether the caller is a child, a young person, or an elderly person, as well as whether the interaction is formal (an unfamiliar person) or informal (a family member, etc.).
Initiating and Maintaining Conversation: The individual is expected to exchange greetings with familiar people over the phone (using phrases such as