LING LING BIRD Seen and Heard

Book excerpt: Larger-than-life Ling Ling Bird forms an unlikely bond with tiny wee Chickadee in this uplifting tale of discovery, friendship and acceptance. While Chickadee gains a fascinating insight into the world of her dazzling new buddy who is deaf, Ling Ling Bird learns that being different does not prevent him forming special friendships. Amazing things are possible with a can-do attitude! This 32-page picture book with full color illustrations throughout is written for slightly older children and early readers (6-8 years). In the author's personal experience, this is the age when deaf children and their school friends really start to show an interest in the workings of their cochlear implants / hearing aids. This story encourages deaf children to aim for the stars, while acknowledging the hard work it takes to learn to listen and speak. The book uses ambitious language, which makes it ideal for family reading and for younger listeners to learn some of the terminology associated with hearing loss and hearing technology. Answering many questions about life with cochlear implants ('magic ears'), highlighting both challenges and opportunities, this informative and entertaining book will help friends, families and teachers of deaf children to better support and understand their tough but rewarding journey into the hearing, speaking world. By championing Ling Ling Bird - a fun, optimistic character with profound hearing loss - it is hoped this delightful tale will help deaf children around the world build their self-esteem, pride in who they are and a strong sense of personal identity. About Ling Ling Bird This unstoppable, cochlear implant-wearing bird is on a mission to inspire deaf children to dream big, and to help more people understand both the ongoing challenges faced by (and the incredible opportunities open to) deaf children today. He describes the hours of speech and language therapy, dedication and focus needed to learn to listen and speak, while sending out a strong message that all the hard work will be worth it in the end. Ling Ling Bird is named after the six 'Ling Sounds', which roughly represent all the frequencies used in speech (mm / oo / ah / ee / sh / ss). Ling Ling Bird is proud of his cochlear implants and loves talking about them, explaining how they work and describing what it feels like to wear them...which is just as well, because the ever-curious Chickadee is full of questions! As bold and brassy as his vibrant rainbow colors, Ling Ling Bird thinks that being a bit different is great fun. Nonetheless, he has a few lessons to learn about how to curb his over-exuberant behavior... So Chickadee gains a new awareness of how it might feel to be deaf, while Ling Ling Bird learns valuable lessons of friendship and acceptance. Brief excerpts from the book: "I've overcome my initial apprehension, thanks to this incredible invention," answered Ling Ling Bird, pointing to his head. "Now I have no worries and no fears because I have my magic ears!.... They capture sound from all around and send signals to my brain, loud and clear. So, when you speak or shriek or squeak, they help me to hear you (but work best if I'm near you)." Inspired by auditory verbal therapy, which teaches deaf children with cochlear implants and hearing aids to listen and speak, this book acknowledges that there are many different approaches to deaf communication (including listening and spoken language as well as sign language). Which route to follow is a deeply personal choice for each and every family based on what works best for them. The author is grateful for the advice and support of the Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) team.