Training and resources for professionals
The Nottingham Auditory implant Programme works closely with local professionals when assessing and monitoring the progress of patients. We feel that it is important to share information and advice and have developed a range of resources to use in conjunction with local professionals.
Members of the Listening and Communication Specialists (LCS) Team provide training, where possible, to groups at local level and have also developed an annual timetable of centre-based and virtual training.
For more information email: nuhnt.naip@nhs.net
Professional Development Groups
Early Years Professional Development Group
This group meets twice a year, usually on a Wednesday, 10:00pm - 4.00pm at Ropewalk House.
Who is it for?
The sessions are free of charge and open to teachers of the deaf and speech and language therapists who work with young deaf children using cochlear implants.
What is it for?
We aim to encourage joint working between local teachers of the deaf and speech and language therapists. We have training sessions in relevant areas and pool our expertise to develop new resources which could capture the information that we think is valuable when monitoring young deaf children’s listening and spoken language development.
What do we cover?
Recent and forthcoming topics include the emergence of babble, speech production development, speech acoustics, language development and play.
To join the group or to receive details of future sessions please contact Amanda Odell:
Tel: 0115 948 5549
Email: amanda.odell@nuh.nhs.uk
The Educational Audiology Professional Development Group
This group meets once a term on a Wednesday afternoon, 1.00pm - 4.00pm at Ropewalk House.
The sessions are free of charge and are open to Educational Audiologists, Technical Assistants, teachers of the deaf or any professional working with or responsible for radio aids and assistive listening devices within a service or located provision.
Sessions include:
Updates and hands on training with Cochlear, Medel and Advanced Bionics provided by their company representatives.
Presentations by key note speakers on a variety of topics particularly regarding radio aid use with cochlear implants.
Discussion of the revised NDCS Quality Standards for fitting personal radio aids and feedback to the UK Children’s Radio Aid working Group
The group provides the opportunity to meet other professionals from a variety of authorities to discuss and share ideas.
To join the group or receive details of future sessions please contact Clare Boddy:
Tel: 0115 948 5549
Email: naip@nuh.nhs.uk
Events and working groups
Our Annual Rehabilitation training conference for teachers of the deaf and specialist speech and language therapists 2022
“It was so great to be back!” -
After two years of no large face-to-face gatherings due to the Covid Pandemic, we finally ran our annual rehab training conference at the Nottingham Conference Centre on June 29th 2022. Demand was high this year, and for the first time we had to create a waiting list. Some education authorities booked for their whole teams to attend, confident that the conference would provide relevant and excellent new knowledge together with necessary updates. Expectations were also high, as previous conferences have delivered expert presentations and workshops.
“Fabulous presentations”
Our clinical team has always worked closely with local professionals and we had some amazing talks planned with them in mind. People were not disappointed:
- Amy Stephens gave a high impact talk about Sensory Integration difficulties
- Charles Tyack reminded us all why sleep is so important and backed it up with evidence and facts
- Listening effort and subsequent fatigue is real, and it is possible to be ‘tired of listening’
- Having difficult conversations not only with patients and families but also with colleagues
- A parent and then a child described their cochlear implant experience following the change to NICE criteria in 2019 – you could hear a pin drop in the room
- Our cochlear implant manufacturer colleagues gave us valuable updates and hands-on opportunities with the latest technology and resources
- Finally ,members of our team provided a whistle-stop tour of ‘What’s new at NAIP’
Thank you to all our fantastic speakers and as always to our colleagues from cochlear implant companies. Your presentations and support workshops were of the highest quality and very accessible to the audience!
Delegates rated the conference excellent or good for overall content and relevance to their current position. There were lots of very positive comments:
"Probably your best conference ever! So good to network and see people from other areas in person. We all look forward to this conference. Highlight of our professional year for both training and opportunity to network"
Delegates also gave us some great suggestions about what they would like at future conferences.
Planning for next year’s conference will begin soon. Watch this space!
Resources
Leaflets
Helping your baby learn to listen
This leaflet is aimed at helping parents/carers to switch on their baby’s awareness of sound and listening. It is useful for children who have hearing aids or cochlear implants.
Improving communication for people with severe/profound hearing loss
This booklet includes advice and information on how you can make the most of your hearing, and what others can do to help when you cannot hear easily. It also includes information on useful organisations and resources you might use.
Cochlear implant assessment for adults and older children
This leaflet explains what a cochlear implant is and outlines the appointments that may be required to help decide whether patients would benefit from cochlear implantation.
Preparing for your cochlear implant
This leaflet explains how a cochlear implant works and the main risks associated with a cochlear implant operation. It would be helpful for patients when preparing for a meeting with one of our surgeons.
The following leaflets are designed to help patients when receiving their new sound processors and accessories, either before initial programming or when a new replacement processor is being issued:
An introduction to your new equipment - Nucleus 7 leaflet to print
An introduction to your new equipment - Nucleus 7 pdf web doc
An introduction to your new equipment - Kanso 2 leaflet to print
An introduction to your new equipment - Kanso 2 pdf web doc
An introduction to your new equipment - Sonnet 2 leaflet to print
An introduction to your new equipment - Rondo 3 leaflet to print
2590v1_An introduction to your new equipment - Rondo 3 pdf web doc
An introduction to your new equipment - Naida Q90 leaflet to print
An introduction to your new equipment - Naida Q90 pdf web doc
NAMES: Nottingham Auditory Milestones
NAMES is a profile that was developed by the Nottingham Auditory Implant Programme for our youngest clients (under 2-3 years old at the time of operation). It is based on recognised developmental hierarchies and charts progress in the growth of active listening and auditory memory from very early listening skills through to a sufficient understanding of spoken language to enable children to learn by listening within a group situation as would typically be the case in early educational settings.
NAMES is designed to be used by teachers of the deaf, speech and language therapists or other local professionals along with parents and carers. Progress is charted by familiar adults, based on observations of responses and behaviours in everyday situations and in play based activities.
Click below to download copies of the NAMES profile and supporting materials:
Listening skills questionnaire
To obtain further information speak to any member of our Outreach Support Team or contact: angela.maxwell@nuh.nhs.uk
NAMES Trajectory
This new tool is based on, and used alongside, the NAMES profile (above). The development of the trajectory tool was based on the outcomes of implanted children measured on the NAMES profile (Datta et al., 2018). The distribution of their profile scores across five assessment time-points, established a developmental trajectory for typically developing children during the first three years after cochlear implantation.
The trajectory tool is designed and validated only for children implanted under the age of two years, who have no other diagnosed difficulties. It automatically converts scores to a chart plotted against a background of the expected range of scores for each assessment interval and provides a mechanism to identify children not making the expected progress. This flags up and supports the need for a review of approach or a differential diagnosis if necessary.
Click below to download the NAMES trajectory as a Microsoft Excel document. Save it as your master or template and then use ‘Save as ….’ to save separate copies as individual records for each child:
Related study:
To obtain further information speak to any member of our Outreach Support Team or contact: angela.maxwell@nuh.nhs.uk
Early CaLL: Early Cognitive and Listening Links (Revised 2019)
This profile was developed by the Outreach Support Team at NAIP, for children with complex needs, specifically those with severe/profound learning difficulties. The families of children with significant additional difficulties are unlikely to have a clear guide for expectations of cochlear implantation, as the vast majority of information currently available, focuses on the typically developing population. This framework aims to help parents/carers and professionals when discussing expectations for outcomes. It explores the fundamental inter-relationship between a child’s listening and understanding and their cognitive and communicative abilities and how these inter-relationships impact on likely outcomes. After implantation, it also gives us the opportunity to record small steps of progress over the first five years of cochlear implant use which informs on-going expectations and planning.
The framework has two main sections, an individual developmental profile and a record of signal tolerance and equipment use. It also includes a range of supporting materials.
Click below to download copies of the Early CaLL profile and supporting materials (Revised 2019):
Early CaLL instruction booklet
Early CaLL record of equipment use, signal tolerance and integration
Early CaLL individual detailed profile
Early CaLL detailed examples for strands
To obtain further information speak to any member of our Outreach Support Team or contact: karen.durbin@nuh.nhs.uk
Related Studies:
The Outreach Support Team at NAIP are developing other new materials for use with children being assessed for cochlear implantation and those already implanted. You can help by piloting these materials in your area. For further information contact Jayne.inscoe@nuh.nhs.uk at NAIP
Further Training
Staff at the Nottingham Cochlear Implant Team can provide further training on both this material and a range of other topics.
For local professionals who have patients registered on our programme, some training is provided free of charge (see our Professional Development Groups). Other training can be arranged with a fee to cover costs.
If you wish to know more about our training programme, please contact us at naip@nuh.nhs.uk or talk to the members of the Outreach Support Team who visit your area.
Radio system policy
This NAIP policy was written as guidance for our team and for local professionals thinking about radio systems for deaf children with cochlear implants.
Radio system policy 2017.pdf[pdf] 473KB
It was written with reference to the NDCS 2017 Quality Standards for the use of Personal Radio systems:
http://www.ndcs.org.uk/applications/publications_shop/view.rm?id=11398