א.וי. ישראל A.V. ISRAEL (ע"ר)

AVIsrael was established in 1994 to provide auditory-verbal (AV) rehabilitation for children with hearing loss in Israel. AV therapy is the standard treatment in many parts of the world for rehabilitating the hearing impaired, particularly those with a cochlear implant. This unique rigorous method requires intense family and professional engagement and ultimately facilitates full integration of the child into mainstream society. As the only organization in Israel providing a full AV program, AVIsrael encourages maximized communication skills for all Israeli children with hearing loss. In 2014, AVIsrael received the Prime Minister’s Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation for our groundbreaking work. In 2016, Israel’s National Insurance Institute performed a national survey, comparing the academic achievements of AVIsrael graduates to those from other deafness rehabilitation programs. The results demonstrated that AVIsrael graduates were more likely to achieve the independence and professional opportunities equal to hearing children. The primary goal of AVIsrael is to establish AV therapy as an accepted, accessible and accessed modality for rehabilitating children with hearing loss. To achieve this goal, its objectives are to: • provide AV therapy and audiology to children with hearing loss • provide support for and empower parents of children with hearing loss • provide clinical experience for speech therapy students and continuing education for speech professionals • train professionals in state of the art methodologies for rehabilitation of children with hearing loss from across the country • increase public awareness about the impact of hearing loss on early childhood development and the importance of early intervention, and • advocate for AV therapy as the preferred or at minimum an accepted method for rehabilitation of children with hearing loss. AVIsrael services are provided in its Jerusalem office and satellite sites. Services are partially reimbursed thorough insurance: all services are subsidized with additional subsidies available for families who cannot afford to participate.