This book is targeted at a wide audience, from students and healthcare professionals to parents of children with hearing loss. The book is split into two sections: the first section aims to provide the reader with background infomation about hearing loss and the options available for children with hearing loss.
The second part advises more on advice for practitioners and parents on how to support children develop speech and listening skills. The book is easy to navigate and well laid out. It is broken down into well-labelled categories which is helpful for those needing quick reference to specific areas of interest. The chapters set out initial key points and objectives and feature regular summaries of information to reinforce useful facts. The use of pictures, tables and charts makes it easy to visualise some of the complex written material. The online resources are particularly valuable for students, providing study questions and answers for each chapter. There are comprehensive examples to help apply strategies within clinical practice and also at home for parents. The use of website links and national protocols ensures a good balance of information and helps maintain the reader’s attention regardless of their background or knowledge of hearing loss.
Although some aspects of the book may seem slightly repetitive in places, it definitely highlights two very key points: the importance of early intervention and the importance of wearing hearing aids all waking hours to aid a child in developing listening and talking. I found the second half of the book particularly valuable in helping clinicians understand the emotions and behaviour of both parents of children with hearing loss.
In summary, this book is both informative and comprehensive, and uses visual tools well to set out relevant information even for parents with no background in audiology. It sits in the mid-to-high price range compared with other books in its field, however given the up-to-date content, the additional guides in the appendix and online support material, it is definitely worth purchasing.
