BIAP Recommendation n° 17/2

COMMUNICATION STRATEGY

The Commission wishes to remind that, when working with hearing-impaired children, the priority objective of any multidisciplinary team must be to help such children to achieve optimal communication capacities and acquire the common language of the country or region.

The Commission has drafted an updated inventory of existing communication strategies. Taking into consideration the objectives mentioned above, it defined the advantages and limits of each strategy.

The Commission recommends the use of any strategy which contributes to:

1. the achievement of cognitive pre-requisites, necessary for the development of language

2. harmonious affective development

3. optimal linguistic development, particularly the development of phonological representations, which are key elements of both oral and written language.

This recommendation applies to children and teenagers, whatever their level of hearing loss and age. It does not apply to children suffering both from hearing disorders and associated disabilities.

In order to achieve sufficient command of both written and oral language, children must be provided with a consistent communication project. It is imperative that such a project takes into consideration the following elements:

1. child's reality: his/her current needs, intellectual, social and affective development, level of hearing loss, evolution rhythm.

2. family reality: its adaptation to the child's needs, ambitions for the child, understanding of and support to the project.

3. the reflection carried out by the multidisciplinary team on the communication and language project proposed to the child, the adaptation of the project to the child and family reality.

4. an ongoing evaluation of the communication project and its adaptation to the child's and child's family evolution. If deemed necessary, the initial strategy can be adapted or modified.

Madrid (E) 01.05.1995