Welcome to The Sound Steps Podcast:Conversations in Auditory-Verbal Therapy,  exploring fluent spoken language development, conversational competence, clear speech, and age-appropriate development, in children who are deaf or hard of hearing, through the transformative power of listening and parent-centred Auditory-Verbal Therapy, one sound step at a time

In this second episode, Shefali Shah is joined by Timothy D’Souza, a father of a child with bilateral cochlear implants from her in-person practice at Sound Steps, who speaks openly about the denial and heart‑wrenching pain of his son’s diagnosis of hearing loss. Alongside profound deafness, his son faced additional challenges: thin auditory nerves and Sensory Integration Difficulty.

This deep conversation highlights the importance of prioritising yourself, parenting without guilt, so that you can fully support your child who is deaf or hard of hearing.

From the early days of denial to celebrating his hearing impaired son’s constant chatter, Timothy shares how informed decisions, consistency and a creative approach to Auditory-Verbal Therapy, shaped their journey. Seamlessly integrating goals in occupational therapy and speech into weekly targets in Auditory-Verbal Therapy, made this a joyful process, fostering a strong, playful father-son bond that endures. 

This conversation is both poignant and filled with laughter, through the years of teenager development, celebrating the emergence of a compassionate adolescent who is appreciated at school for his empathy. 

00:00:00    Introduction    

00:01:33    90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents

00:01:43    Choosing Auditory-Verbal Therapy

00:02:18    AVT facilitates age-appropriate development

00:02:43    Abundant choices open up through AVT

00:03:09   Early identification, sophisticated modern hearing technology and appropriate services

00:03:17   A life free of limitations

00:03:25   Show notes, Top Tips Time Stamps

00:03:35   Links and Contact details

00:03:43   Resources

00:03:47   Diagnosis: Thin auditory nerve and Sensory Integration Difficulties 

00:04:15   Introducing our guest on this episode: Timothy D’souza

00:04:40   Moving on

00:05:38   Denial to action: facing the facts

00:06:42   Action

00:07:36  Raising your child to be the best version of himself 

00:08:13   Isolation

00:08:15   The effects of poor speech intelligibility

00:09:45   Overcoming the challenges through consistent practice

00:09:54    Touch sensitivity

00:10:14    Integrating Occupational Therapy and Speech goals into AVT

00:11:39    Changing perspective

00:12:45   The value of games

00:14:21    Consistency

00:15:00    The value of self-care for parents

00:18:31    Bonding

00:18:41    Handling tantrums

00:19:48    Consistency and managing behaviour

00:20:56    An extra-ordinary relationship

00:21:46    Empathy and emotional maturity

00:22:26    An exceptionally special bond

00:23:11    Reflection

00:23:49   Upcoming episode: Auditory-Verbal Beginnings

💬 Submit a question to the show: https://www.soundsteps.uk/podcast-ask-question/

📧 Contact Shefali directly: [email protected]

👩‍⚕️ Face-to-face AVT (London): https://soundsteps.uk

🌐 Online AVT via AVT Direct: https://avtdirect.com

🎓 AVT training for professionals: https://learnavt.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Haw5m3Zxvy4  In the Clinic with Dr. A Jean Ayres| The Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation