When children are born with normal hearing, the hearing pathways to the brain have already undergone 20 weeks of development in the womb. At birth babies are already able to recognise their mothers’ voices.

In the first year of life, the brain undergoes rapid and complex development in response to the multitude of sounds a baby experiences. This brain development is crucial for the subsequent development of speech comprehension, spoken language and literacy. While the brain continues to develop beyond this age, current evidence suggests that the ideal period for treatment of hearing loss is in the very early stages of life.

The Hear and Say Centre focuses on supporting young children (0-6 years) with profound hearing loss by teaching them to listen and speak to the level of their hearing peers so they can attend mainstream schooling and integrate within the school and wider community.

The Centre is a charity based in Brisbane with regional centres on the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns and Toowoomba with an outreach program for rural and remote children. It is a family based program recognizing the parent as the natural language teacher of the child. The Centre provides services for over 200 children and their families.

For more information visit:  http://www.hearandsaycentre.com.au/