CHENNAI: The only difference you notice when Holly McDonell speaks is the accent. But then, all Australians speak that way.

For the last 19 years, Holly's inner ear vibrates with bionic stimulation: she has a cochlear implant.

Among the first few persons to receive a cochlear implant, Holly is an example of cochlear implantation, followed by appropriate auditory-verbal therapy, working wonders.

She was four when a bout of meningitis left her profoundly deaf. For a year, she stopped hearing, and hence, stopped speaking. A year later, in 1987, Holly received a cochlear implant, the first in Australia.

Though she retained some of her auditory memory (since she had been speaking until her fourth year), it took a few months and some serious commitment from her mother, Viktorija McDonell, who went on to train as a habilitation specialist, to set Holly on track again.

Now 23 years old, Holly is pursuing her degree in economics and law at the University of Sydney.

"I've lived with this pretty much my entire life. But I went to normal school, was part of drama, debate and school bands. I've done whatever I wanted to do," she says.

Along with her mother, she is in Chennai for a training programme to be conducted by the Madras ENT Research Foundation (MERF) in auditory verbal techniques for assisting children with hearing aids or cochlear implants so as to maximise their listening and speech skills.

Warren Estabrooks, Director, Learning to Listen Foundation, North York Hospital, Canada, will run the master class for 30 professionals from India and Bangladesh.

"We talk as we hear. Auditory verbal therapy will maximise newly acquired auditory potential after surgery," Mr. Estabrooks says.

He explains that listening is an acquired skill in someone who does not have `natural' hearing. When a deaf child begins hearing after a cochlear implant, he or she does not automatically develop language. Auditory verbal therapy does just that: help them listen and develop language skills.

Mohan Kameswaran, director, MERF, says the aim is to get parents involved in the auditory-verbal techniques to speed up the learning process. Children so trained are encouraged to join regular schools.

Mr. Estabrooks will also address a public meeting on opportunities available for children with hearing loss. It will be held at Little Flower Convent and School for the Blind, G.N. Chetty Road, Chennai, between 3 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. Saturday.

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