Auditory comprehension of words, phrases and known simple stories in the presence of noiseYour child has developed more advanced listening skills so this week’s goal is to specifically practise listening in the presence of noise. Your child needs to separate the main message from the background noise. This is a practical and useful skill for everyone. There are many situations where we need to listen and talk in noisy environments, such as restaurants, sport events, parties and day care. Keep in mind that you don’t want your child to have to listen in noisy environments all the time. You are simply providing situations where he/she specifically practises listening in the presence of noise. It is helpful to your child to more easily learn new vocabulary and language and to fully participate in conversations when you create a favourable listening environment. Radio On Turn on the radio, television or music for specific practise in figure-ground discrimination. Read a familiar book aloud to your child, talk about their Experience Book or converse about predictable information and routines. After your child is comfortable listening in noise with a familiar message, introduce material that is not as familiar or predictable. Multi-Talker Noise The next time you have friends or family in your house, make an audio recording when several people are talking at the same time. You’ll be surprised how noisy it sounds even to you. Use this multi-talker recording as background noise when you are practising with your child to understand the main message in the presence of other talkers.