Cynthia Robinson - How Oral Programs Are Transforming Communication

Cynthia Robinson is a certified educator of the deaf and a Spoken Language Specialist with more than 22 years of experience. She now works as a specialist and educator at We Hear Here. For many years, she has worked with children with cochlear implants and their families to develop listening and spoken language skills. 

Cynthia developed the Mainstream Assessment of Readiness for Children Over Five and served as Co-Director at Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech from 2011 to 2020.

Much of the focus within hearing loss circles is on improved hearing. This leaves significant portions of day-to-day life with underdeveloped systems and assistance — one crucial example is speech.

Speaking and verbally communicating is still common among many levels of hearing loss. Especially in younger children, assistance in speech is crucial for development, social health, and education. While there are growing programs and systems in place to help cultivate better speech, there is still a long way left to go.

In this episode of the ListenUp! Podcast, Dr. Mark Syms talks with Cynthia Robinson, the Founder of We Hear Here, to discuss oral programs for children and young adults. They break down the systems she helped create, how she still coaches some families, and why she started We Hear Here. They also go through the potential of telehealth for speech development.