Leslie A. Schumaker, M.S., Certified Auditory-Verbal
Therapist® has been providing aural and auditory
rehabilitation via auditory-verbal therapy for the
families of infants and children with hearing loss
since 1996. She also provides cochlear implant rehabilitation
for individuals of ALL ages. Leslie has a very unique
perspective as she is the mother of a child with
a hearing loss, has a deaf brother who signs, was
a teacher for children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing
for over 22 years, and is one of the 300 internationally
recognized Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapists®.
Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist®
are professionals who have been trained at the Masters’
or Doctoral level in one or more of the disciplines
of speech pathology, audiology, or education of
the deaf/ hard of hearing. They have extensive experience
working with children in an Auditory-Verbal approach
and have passed an international exam on Auditory-Verbal
development. They recommend an Auditory-Verbal treatment
plan as the first option for developing a speech
and language using an “listening first”
approach. Auditory-Verbal therapists seize the language
of any life experience and promote and develop the
use of sound for speaking and understanding spoken
language. They recognize that children are motivated
to learn language most effectively when playing
and interacting with their family.
Leslie received both her Bachelors of Science
in Psychology (1975) and Masters of Science in Deaf
Education (1976) from Illinois State University.
She completed a Professional Educational Development
Program for Auditory-Verbal Development at the Helen
Beebe Center in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania as
well as at the Learning to Listen Foundation in
Toronto, Canada. She received her certification
from Auditory-Verbal International® in 2002.
Leslie is a member of:
• American Auditory Society, Inc.
• AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language®
• Council for Exceptional Children
• Educational Audiology Association
• Networks of Educators of Children with Cochlear
Implants
• Zero to Three
