World Hearing Day - 3/3/2026

 

Today, we celebrate 

every sound, 

every voice, 

and every child’s right 

to hear and be heard.

 

Did you know?

·        Your ears start working before birth—babies can hear their mom’s voice in the womb!

·        The middle ear has the smallest bones in your body: malleus, incus, and stapes.

·        Your brain can process sounds in just 0.1 seconds.

·        About 1 in 5 people worldwide experience hearing loss.

·        Children who are Deaf or hard of hearing often use hearing aids or cochlear implants to connect with the world.

·        Safe listening protects your ears—turn down the volume and take breaks from loud sounds.

·        Listening to music and voices boosts learning, memory, and mood!

50 Core Social Sentences for the School Day

These are short, functional sentences students can practice daily to build spoken language, self-advocacy, and social interaction skills.

These sentences are excellent for:

• Daily spoken language drills
• Articulation practice in sentences
• Self-advocacy training for deaf/hard-of-hearing students
• AAC modeling and practice
• Role-play in speech groups

Arrival at School

• Good morning.
• Hello, how are you?
• I am ready for school.
• I put my backpack away.
• Where do I sit?
• What are we doing today?
• Can you help me, please?

Participating in the Classroom

• I know the answer.
• I have a question.
• Can I answer?
• I want to share my idea.
• I finished my work.
• Can you check my work?
• Can I read next?

Listening and Self-Advocacy

• Can you repeat that?
• I didn’t hear that clearly.
• Can you say it again slowly?
• Can you face me when you talk?
• Can you speak a little louder?
• Did you say ___?
• Now I understand.

Working With Classmates

• Can I work with you?
• Let’s do this together.
• What should we do next?
• That is a good idea.
• I have another idea.
• Let’s take turns.
• We finished our project.

Asking for Help

• Can you help me, please?
• I don’t understand.
• Can you show me how?
• Can you explain it again?
• I need help with this.

Lunchtime

• Can I sit here?
• Do you want to sit with me?
• What are you eating?
• That looks good.
• Let’s talk while we eat.

Recess / Play

• Do you want to play with me?
• Can I join the game?
• Can I have a turn?
• Let’s play together.
• That was fun!

End of the Day

• I finished my work today.
• I learned something new.
• Thank you for helping me.
• I had fun today.
• See you tomorrow.
• Goodbye!
• Have a good day!

Battery Park City 2026 Annual Art Exhibition

https://youtu.be/KbNvTmFAdYI?si=cywVTy6sWkvaTBWM

Comprehensive Assessment & Progress Monitoring Battery for K–5 CI/HA Students

Students:

• Keidy: Bilateral CI, implanted a few years ago, 1st grade; very limited articulation, vocabulary, and sentence structure.
• Alanny: CI implanted 4 years ago, 2nd–3rd grade; making visible progress in articulation and sentence structure.
• Andy: Bilateral HA, 5th grade; fair articulation, occasionally omits grammatical markers.

Purpose:
To systematically track progress in speech, language, listening comprehension, and AAC/device use, using standardized tools, trial-by-trial data, CASLLS levels, and functional language tasks.

1. Articulation / Speech Sound Production

Goal: Improve accuracy of target speech sounds in isolation, words, phrases, and connected speech.

Recommended Tools:

• GFTA-3: Gold standard for articulation assessment (word-level and connected speech).
• Arizona Articulation Proficiency Scale: Quick screening for single words and connected speech.
• CASLLS – Speech Production Levels: Tracks developmental progression specific to children with hearing devices.
• Speech Intelligibility Rating Scales (1–7): Functional intelligibility assessment.

Trial-by-Trial Data Collection:

• Use cueing levels: Independent, minimal, moderate, maximal.
• Record # of trials, correct responses, and % accuracy.
• Track progress over time with line or bar graphs.

Sample Data Table:

Student	Target Sound	Context	Cue Level	# Trials	Correct	% Accuracy	CASLLS Level	Notes
Keidy	/f/	Word	Maximum	10	3	30%	Level 2	Needs repetition & modeling
Alanny	/s/	Word	Moderate	10	6	60%	Level 3	Visible progress
Andy	/th/	Word	Minimal	10	8	70%	Level 4	Omits some final markers

2. Sentence Structure & Grammar

Goal: Improve sentence length, complexity, use of grammatical markers (past tense, plurals, subject-verb agreement), and vocabulary expansion.

Recommended Tools:

• CELF-5: Sentence formulation, expressive and receptive language.
• SALT (Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts): Tracks MLU, grammar, and sentence complexity in connected speech.
• CASLLS – Language Levels: Developmental levels for sentence complexity, grammar, and expressive language.
• TELD-4 (for younger students): Vocabulary, syntax, comprehension.
• Story Retell / Picture Sequencing: Functional task for grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure.

Trial-by-Trial Data Table Example:

Student	Target	Trials	Correct	Cue Level	% Accuracy	CASLLS Level	Notes
Keidy	2-3 word sentences	10	4	Maximum	40%	Level 2	Needs visual cues & repetition
Alanny	4–6 word sentences	10	6	Moderate	70%	Level 3	Visible progress
Andy	Past tense -ed	10	6	Minimal	60%	Level4	Omits occasional grammatical markers

3. Auditory Comprehension / Listening Skills

Goal: Improve understanding of spoken language at word, sentence, and paragraph level.

Recommended Tools:

• CASLLS – Listening Comprehension Levels: Hierarchical levels of auditory understanding.
• CELF-5 / TELD-4 listening subtests: Standardized comprehension assessment.
• Functional Paragraph / Story Retell: Tracks comprehension, sequencing, grammar, and vocabulary.

Data Collection Table Example:

Student	Task	Cue Level	# Trials	Correct	% Accuracy	CASLLS Level	Notes
Keidy	1-3 sentence story retell	Maximum	5	3	60%	Level 2	Needs repetition & visual cues
Alanny	3-5 sentence story	Moderate	5	4	70%	Level 3	Good retention
Andy	Paragraph retell	Minimal	5	4	80%	Level 4	Omits grammatical markers

Notes / Recommendations:

• Start with simple sentences for students with limited vocabulary (Keidy).
• Gradually progress to longer sentences and paragraph-level comprehension.
• Check comprehension through retelling, sequencing, or answering questions.

4. AAC / Device Use Tracking (if applicable)

Goals: Track expressive communication, independence, vocabulary use, and integration of AAC devices.

Student	Device	Use	Cue Level	Notes
Keidy	Bil CI	Semi-verbal	Maximum	Uses gestures with words
Alanny	RE CI	Verbal	Moderate	Uses gestures with phrases
Andy	Bil HA	Verbal	Minimal	Omits grammatical markers

5. Data Collection Methods & Frequency

• Trial-by-Trial Grids: Track articulation, grammar, and AAC outputs per session.
• Functional Tasks: Story retell, paragraph comprehension, vocabulary tasks.
• Cue Levels: Independent, minimal, moderate, maximal support.
• % Accuracy Calculation: # Correct ÷ Total Trials × 100.
• CASLLS Developmental Levels: Record to track auditory, speech, and language growth.
• Frequency:
• Trial-based targets: Every session
• Paragraph retell / comprehension: Weekly
• Standardized assessments (GFTA-3, CELF-5, CASLLS): Quarterly or per IEP

6. Recommended Screening / Standardized Measures

Measure	Purpose	Age/Grade
GFTA-3	Articulation assessment	K–5
CELF-5	Sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary	K–5
CASLLS	Listening, speech, and language progress in CI/HA users	K–5
Arizona Articulation Proficiency Scale	Quick screening	K–5
Speech Intelligibility Rating Scales	Functional speech intelligibility	K–5
SALT	Connected speech analysis	K–5
TELD-4	Early language development	K–3

7. Notes for Implementation

• Start simple: Use clear, short sentences, visual cues, and repetition for students with limited vocabulary.
• Increase complexity gradually: Expand from single words → short sentences → paragraph-level comprehension.
• Graph progress: Use % accuracy and CASLLS levels to visualize growth over time.
• Integrate AAC and verbal outputs for students using CI/HA devices.
• Focus on functional language: Incorporate play, story retelling, and classroom interactions.

Summary:
This battery provides a complete, multi-dimensional approach for assessing and tracking progress in:

• Articulation / speech sound production
• Sentence structure / grammar
• Vocabulary expansion
• Listening comprehension / paragraph retell
• AAC / device-supported expressive communication
• Developmental progression using CASLLS

It allows session-by-session monitoring, functional observation, and standardized assessment data to guide therapy planning and IEP goal writing.