Hello! Welcome to HearingFamilies! My name is Efrat Schorr and I am a developmental psychologist who specializes in the unique social and emotional development of children with hearing loss.

I received a PhD at the University of Maryland in this field in 2005. My research on the social and emotional development of children with cochlear implants was supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). My work to highlight the importance of social and emotional development has been published in hearing and language journals.

I am the mother of 5 children, aged 14, 12, 8, 5, and 2. Thanks to my oldest child – my son Moshe – who has a hearing loss since birth, I have had the opportunity to live many of the issues that I discuss on this site. Most of the great ideas I have had about the development of children with hearing loss went nowhere at home (I call it “the school of life”!) or at least usually did not work out as I had planned! So many strategies that are discussed here are tried and true.

I have developed the Individualized Development Program (IDP) for children with hearing loss that addresses the social and emotional needs of the child with hearing loss within the family context. This system can be used to address specific concerns that arise in the social or emotional domains or to encourage healthy development of social skills and emotional well-being throughout childhood.

Feel free to contact me directly by email: efrat@hearingfamilies.com or by phone 301-576-9584

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All personal communication is strictly confidential.

In the Press

Early Intervention Key to Hearing Development in Deaf Children

http://psychcentral.com/news/archives/2005-12/sumc-sib120505.html

New Research Indicates Children With Cochlear Implants Perceive Improved Quality Of Life

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

http://www.asha.org/About/news/Press-Releases/2009/cochlearlife.htm

Breaking Down a Sound Barrier for the Youngest Patients: More Children Under 3 Receive Cochlear Implants

The Boston Globe, August 16, 2009, Shari Roan

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/08/16/cochlear_implants_are_helping_more_youngsters_hear/

Publications

Quality of life of Children with Cochlear Implants: Relationship between Perceived Benefit and Problems and Perception of Speech and Emotional Sounds

Efrat A. Schorr, Froma P. Roth, & Nathan A. Fox

2009 Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, Volume 52,

Pages 141-152.

A Comparison of Speech and Language Skills of Children with Cochlear Implants and Children with Normal Hearing

Efrat A. Schorr, Froma P. Roth, & Nathan A. Fox

2008 Communication Disorders Quarterly, Volume 29, Pages 195-210.

Assessment of Benefit from Cochlear Implants for Children with Multiple Disabilities

Efrat A. Schorr & Susan Wiley, MD

2007 Unpublished Manual. For more information, contact Dr. Schorr directly.

Early Cochlear Implant Experience and Emotional Functioning during Childhood: Loneliness in Middle and Late Childhood

Efrat A. Schorr

2006 The Volta Review, Volume 106, (monograph) Pages 365-379.

Audio-Visual Fusion in Speech Perception in Children with Cochlear Implants

Efrat A. Schorr, Nathan A. Fox, Virginie van Wassenhove, & Eric I. Knudsen

2005 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Volume 102, Pages 18748-18750.

Report on Study of the Social and Emotional Functioning of Children with Cochlear Implants

This paper describes the findings of a study of 56 children with cochlear implants looking at many aspects of social skills and emotional development.