The Ear Foundation—a UK-based organization that provides independent information, education, and support for deaf children, young people, and adults with cochlear implants—announced that it has released a new report that confirms the benefits of the Ida Institute’s My World Pediatric Counseling Tool as a means for hearing care professionals to understand a child’s perspective and enables children to become active partners in their own care.
Developed in 2011 by the Denmark-based Ida Institute—a nonprofit organization that develops free tools and resources in support of person-centered hearing care—in cooperation with a group of audiologists, My World uses play theory to help children describe their experiences with hearing loss. The tool is designed as a game board and allows children to act out their days with a variety of characters, locations, and accessories.
The Ear Foundation study was conducted through a series of training sessions in the UK and Belgium involving audiologists, teachers of the deaf, teaching assistants, speech language therapists, and mainstream school staff.  According to the Ear Foundation, feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with 100% of respondents stating that the child they used the tool with enjoyed playing with My World, and 87% indicating that My World made it easy to problem solve with the child. An impressive 92% of study participants reported that My World helped them achieve the goal of their session. Several also stated that they adapted their goals based on the information gathered by using My World.
In addition to better understanding the professionals’ experience using My World, the Foundation also gathered their recommendations on how to further develop the pediatric counseling tool.
To read the full report at the Ear Foundation website, please click here.
Source:Â The Ear Foundation, Ida Institute
Image:Â The Ear Foundation, Ida Institute
