Nottingham Auditory Milestones (NAMES)

This is a profile to record the development of active listening, understanding, auditory memory and sequencing in the daily lives of babies and young children across the first three years post-implant.

It’s based on recognised developmental hierarchies and charts progress in the growth of active listening and auditory memory from very early listening skills through to a sufficient understanding of spoken language to enable children to learn by listening within a group situation as would typically be the case in early educational settings.

It’s divided into:

• NAMES instruction booklet
• NAMES summary record
• NAMES extended examples
• NAMES probe activities
• listening skills questionnaire.

Age range

Babies and children across the first three years of implantation (and aged under 2-3 years old at the time of operation).

Who can use it?

Teachers of the Deaf, speech and language therapists or other local professionals, along with parents and carers.

What does it give us?

Progress is charted by familiar adults, based on observations of responses and behaviours in everyday situations and in play-based activities. If a child is moving through the profile at the expected rate, their scores should increase by around 20 points at each assessment interval. However, as the profile still largely represents a ‘snapshot’ at the interval points and many children do not necessarily progress at a steady rate but may have spurts of progress and other periods when they plateau for a while. This must be taken into account when feeding back results.

Its starting point is the auditory changes in babies post-implant, who access sound via the technology. NAMES has specific probes related to the use of the equipment and the developing ability to detect sounds across the frequency range.

Pros

• Easy to use.
• Captures use of audition in everyday life.
• Free to download.
• Available in English, Dutch, German, Italian, Traditional and simplified Chinese.

Cons

• Only really designed for young children after cochlear implantation.

Is there a cost? 

No.

Where can I access it?

You can access this on the Nottingham University Hospital website.