First Years Certificate in Auditory Learning in Young Children with Hearing Loss

Welcome to the FIRST YEARS Certificate in Auditory Learning for Young Children with Hearing Loss -- a  certificate program committed to enhancing the knowledge and skills of professionals practicing in the fields of deaf education, speech-language pathology, audiology, and early intervention. FIRST YEARS, uses distance education technology to bring school to you -- any time, any place. UNC-Chapel Hill is grateful for generous grants from the Oticon Foundation and NEC Foundation of America for partial support of this project.

FIRST YEARS targets its certificate courses to professionals interested in expanding their knowledge and skills related to auditory-oral and auditory-verbal approaches to therapy and intervention. Topics include: speech acoustics, anatomy and physiology of the auditory system, audiological management, hearing aids, cochlear implants, classroom amplification, development of spoken language and speech production, and emerging literacy. The course readings, instruction by our faculty experts, online discussion, group and individual projects and exercises -- plus mentored practicum experiences in early intervention, educational, and clinical settings -- combine to make FIRST YEARS a unique online learning experience. Problems? Technical support is only an e-mail or phone call away.

For more information about FIRST YEARS, feel free to contact us.