Testimonials
"During 2010, I was privileged to be one of thirteen professionals in South Africa to receive training in auditory-verbal practice, offered by Warren and his team of global consultants. Those of us who completed the course have been unanimous in our opinion that we have 'upped' our skills enormously. Warren's highly professional, sensitive and insightful approach to adult learning serves as a model for our intervention with the families we serve. Warren lives his mission - 'serving with kindness and respect'. Most importantly, I believe that through the consistent, careful and prolonged mentoring I received, my acquired skills are sustainable and will benefit families who choose listening and spoken language for their children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing."
Estelle Roberts
Johannesburg, South Africa
"During 2009 – 2010, Warren and his team, Karen and Kathryn came to South Africa to offer the Listen for Life training programme in South Africa. This was an opportunity that I, as a teacher of the deaf, could not turn down. From the first interview through to graduation, what stood out for me was the professional and caring manner in which Warren and his team conducted the training. And that this same level of professionalism and caring was expected of us as participants. The level of commitment and ongoing support throughout the year made a tough course fly by. I will forever be grateful to Warren and his team for this opportunity: to feel confident and impassioned to now pass this knowledge on to others and the difference it has made in my dealings with parents and their children on a daily basis. There are no words to thank this team for committing to the training of a group of South African professionals: Thank you Warren, Karen and Kathryn for opening our eyes to a new dream for the children and families with whom we work in our own country."
Brenda Schmid
Teacher of the Deaf
Pretoria – South Africa
"I have had the pleasure of working with and learning from Mr Estabrooks in his professional capacity as a consultant for a number of years now. I have always found him to be refreshingly honest, creative, entertaining and generous in sharing a vast ocean of personal experience and knowledge in the field of auditory verbal therapy and auditory learning. His passion and commitment have inspired parents and professionals across Asia Pacific to work towards facilitating opportunities for children who are deaf or hard of hearing to reach their full potential."
Janette Oliver
VP Clinical Applications Japan
Nihon Cochlear, Cochlear Asia Pacific
"I have been a specialized teacher for the deaf for more than fifteen years and I currently work for a school in South Eastern Hungary. My institution also provides itinerant services and the staff visit nurseries, schools and families' homes in three counties.
I attended the Listening for Life Professional Education and Training in Warsaw, Poland, in 2008-2009. I wanted to update my knowledge about early childhood education, since I planned to start doing early childhood therapy in my institution. I had always thought about this field as the most important and powerful in the education of the children with hearing impairment. Well, I feel, that was the best place to go.
Our teachers -Warren, Karen, Lisa and Katherine- were extremely well-educated, helpful and sensitive for our problems and our needs. The courses in the training programme were extremely well-organized and highly professional. We had many lectures, discussions, workshops, and DVD analysis. We had a great deal of homework to plan therapy sessions, to determine diagnostic information based on the recorded sessions and to analyze both the development of the child and our performance as therapists.
It was quite demanding. But it was worth the invested energy! I learned many valuable things: not to be loud, to wait, to define the next step in the development of audition, speech, language, communication, cognition, new techniques in parent guidance, and many techniques and strategies in Auditory-Verbal Practice........and many more..
Knowing does not equal doing! It took a lot of effort to learn and to practice waiting during the therapy sessions. But, to apply what I learned was the hardest part.
Recently, I attended an open forum of parents of hearing impaired children. A father said that the difficult part of therapy was that he did not see the milestones, the next steps ahead and the ways to help his child achieve them.
Well, that is exactly what I learned during my training: to see and understand the whole process of auditory and linguistic development and to see and understand the steps as they follow each other in the process.
I feel very lucky to have had this opportunity. I am now much better in my job, and much more confident.
The primary beneficiaries, however, are the families I work with. I am happy to use this new knowledge to the best of my ability to help parents in helping their children enjoy the world of listening and spoken language.
"
Eva Bakos
Hungary
"Text"
Name
Location
"As a parent of a child with hearing loss and as an audiologist, it was a thoroughly special event to have Mr. Estabrooks and Ms MacIver-Lux come to northern Ontario in Canada to speak with our parent’s group. Warren provided both parents and professionals with practical tips and realistic goals mixed with humour to guide us in our work with our children. Karen gave us insight into working with new technologies along with a peek inside the minds of our kids. Most importantly though, both Warren and Karen brought some hope along with them. I speak for all of the parents and professionals in our community when I express the thanks and appreciation that we felt after attending this wonderful opportunity!"
Sincerely;
Bill Campbell, M.Cl.Sc., Reg. CASLPO
Audiologist
Thunder Bay District Health Unit
"During the years 2003-2005 we were fortunate to receive training in AVT from Warren and his team both in Sweden and in Toronto. The services were excellent and performed with the highest degree of both professionalism and personal engagement. Through years of introducing AVT in Sweden to parents and professionals, the guidance and support from WE Listen International Inc. has resulted in the three of us going through the certification process and we are now all certified LSLS therapists. We are very grateful to the entire team from WE Listen International, Inc. "
Anna Persson, Pia Rasmussen, Ulrika Lofkvist
Stockholm, Sweden
"The instructors at WE Listen International Inc. are a group of passionate, dedicated and highly educated professionals in the field of Auditory-Verbal Practice. I have participated in the Level 1 and Level 2 AVT trainings and have attended the Speaker Series over the past year. These opportunities have not only equipped me with the necessary tools to provide AVT to infants and children with hearing loss but have ignited a passion within myself to continue my own journey of teaching children to listen..."
Christine Jones, MSc-SLP, Reg. CASLPO
Speech-Language Pathologist
Central West Infant Hearing Program
ErinoakKids
"My Level II experience afforded me a platform to look critically at my own clinical skills in a positive, supportive environment. Level II also provided an opportunity to broaden my perspective on the issues that affect children with hearing loss. I left the training programme with heightened self-confidence and the drive to pursue “raising the bar” for the children who are hearing impaired on my caseload.
Driven by the passion to improve outcomes for hearing impaired children, Warren and his associates have conducted hours of analytical practice that gives them the insight and expertise to guide both experienced and inexperienced clinicians. The professional team of WE Listen International Inc., has inspired me to learn by striving to do it better the next time and to do it through 'listening'. I saw clear examples of techniques and strategies and was directed through guided observations.. Seeing the instructors point out their own shortcomings makes our own “mistakes” all the more bearable, and reminds me that no one starts off perfect.
The team uses an adult-learning approach that engages learners with the same process that they teach us to use with our parent clients. The teaching is done through a series of discussions and analyses, as opposed to a didactic style. The team guided our thinking through problem-solving which we need to shape our practice.
I applaud the level of commitment, and humanity that these professionals display for Ontario’s hearing impaired children and their families, and the confidence they build in the professionals who treat them."
Tara McInerney
Speech-Language Pathologist
"I have been a specialized teacher for the deaf for more than fifteen years and I currently work for a school in South Eastern Hungary. My institution also provides itinerant services and the staff visit nurseries, schools and families' homes in three counties.
I attended the Listening for Life Professional Education and Training in Warsaw, Poland, in 2008-2009.
I wanted to update my knowledge about early childhood education, since I planned to start doing early childhood therapy in my institution. I had always thought about this field as the most important and powerful in the education of the children with hearing impairment.
Well, I feel, that was the best place to go.
Our teachers -Warren, Karen, Lisa and Katherine- were extremely well-educated, helpful and sensitive for our problems and our needs. The courses in the training programme were extremely well-organized and highly professional. We had many lectures, discussions, workshops, and DVD analysis. We had a great deal of homework to plan therapy sessions, to determine diagnostic information based on the recorded sessions and to analyze both the development of the child and our performance as therapists.
It was quite demanding. But it was worth the invested energy!
I learned many valuable things: not to be loud, to wait, to define the next step in the development of audition, speech, language, communication, cognition, new techniques in parent guidance, and many techniques and strategies in Auditory-Verbal Practice........and many more..
Knowing does not equal doing! It took a lot of effort to learn and to practice waiting during the therapy sessions. But, to apply what I learned was the hardest part.
Recently, I attended an open forum of parents of hearing impaired children. A father said that the difficult part of therapy was that he did not see the milestones, the next steps ahead and the ways to help his child achieve them.
Well, that is exactly what I learned during my training: to see and understand the whole process of auditory and linguistic development and to see and understand the steps as they follow each other in the process.
I feel very lucky to have had this opportunity. I am now much better in my job, and much more confident.
The primary beneficiaries, however, are the families I work with. I am happy to use this new knowledge to the best of my ability to help parents in helping their children enjoy the world of listening and spoken language."
Eva Bakos
Hungary
"I am the manager of the Fonem Hearing and Speech Education Center in Ankara, Turkey where we offer auditory - verbal therapy to children who are hearing impaired and their families .Most of our children are under the age of three and have cochlear implants.
In 2008-2009, I was very happy for the opportunity to study and learn about AVT from Warren Estabrooks and his team from WE Listen International, Inc ., who provided the Listening for Life professional education program to a group of 12 Turkish professionals in Istanbul. I tried to implant the principles of AVT in my center and teach others working in the center. Our children have benefited a great deal and the families are very happy.
I am grateful to Warren, his team and Cochlear Europe for this chance and look forward to a long professional partnership."
Berrin Erturk, MD
Audiologist
Fonem Special Education Center
Ankara Turkey
