The CEO of The Auditory-Verbal Center Addresses Kiwanis – Americus Times-Recorder

Debbie Brilling, CEO of the Auditory-Verbal Center, addressed the weekly meeting of Kiwanis at the Georgia Southwestern Campus. The Auditory-Verbal Center teaches children with hearing loss to recognize the sounds that make up words via hearing aids and cochlear implants, allowing them to learn spoken language. Brilling is passionate about reaching those across the State with their services.
“We have two offices, one in Macon and one in Atlanta. But we started teletherapy back in 2010, so we are able to offer teletherapy to anyone in the State of Georgia.”
She mentioned the necessity of focusing on kids when they are young.
“We’ll work with anybody, but your window of opportunity is birth to about five, and that’s because the auditory cortex of your brain, if it’s not stimulated, will develop atrophy.”
She talked about how learning to identify the sounds that make up speech is important in children who have difficulty hearing, since it allows the auditory portion of their brain to grow.
“So your ears are the pathway or doorway to the brain, and when you get sound, that’s what develops your brain, and that’s where spoken language comes from that develops in your brain.”
She talked about how technology allowed them to reach young children who would otherwise be unable to hear.
“We can put hearing aids on as young as six weeks old.”
She mentioned that despite this, many children have issues that aren’t discovered until later, receiving a diagnosis at one or two years of age.
“At that point it’s a fast track. We need to get them in there, get hearing aids on them, get a cochlear implant if they are profound, and start teaching them to hear and…