On the morning of March 10th, Institute of Cross-linguistic Processing and Cognition, SFL officially launched the “Assistive Listening Rehabilitation Program for Children with Autism”. The ceremony was attended by Tao Qing, associate dean of SFL, Ding Hongwei, executive deputy director of the Institute of Cross-linguistic Processing and Cognition, Wang Yuxia, deputy director of the Institute of Cross-linguistic Processing and Cognition, Zhou Anqin, member of the Speech-Language-Hearing Research Center, Dr. Guan Jingjing, director of Sonova China R&D Department, Lei Junqing, clinical audiological engineer of Sonova China Audiology R&D Department, Zhu Jiansheng, engineer of Sonova China Audiology Project Department, Ouyang Dongqing, president of the Minhang District Autism Volunteer Association, Jin Liudi, former president of the Minhang District Autism Volunteer Association, and Xu Min, secretary general of the Minhang District Autism Volunteer Association. Other attendees include SFL postgraduate students Xu Suyun (principal researcher of the program), Zhang Minjun and Guan Xiya (members of the program team), as well as autistic children and their parents. The launching ceremony was hosted by Professor Ding Hongwei.

Tao Qing first introduced at length the professional advantages and achievements of SFL in the fields of linguistic intelligence and speech pathology. Then, President Ouyang Dongqing gave the audience an overall introduction to autism. Dr. Guan Jingjing presented the auditory processing problems in children with autism and the possible connections between these problems and the brain structure and function. The “Assistive Listening Rehabilitation Program for Children with Autism” was officially launched at the ceremony. SFL, Sonova China Hearing Institute and Minhang District Autism Volunteer Association will work together to promote this cause.

Zhu Jiansheng has participated in the Autism Hong Kong Workshop and gained rich experience in auditory processing disorders and rehabilitation of children with autism. He highlighted some of the current rehabilitation methods and answered parents’ questions about the assistive listening system.

Xu Suzhen shared why she chose to commit herself to the research on assistive listening rehabilitation of autism and clarified common misconceptions regarding autism for the parents.

After the ceremony, SFL volunteers and the children participated together in the paper lantern DIY activity. During the activity, the volunteers of the Speech-Language-Hearing Research Center advised parents about the speech-language rehabilitation, winning the praise of the parents. 

Guided by the principle of “Quality foreign language teaching for talent development, responsiveness to the priorities of government with leading language and culture research”, SFL has been developing students’ professional competence as well as their duties towards society and nation. With professional advantages in linguistic intelligence and speech pathology, SFL will continue to provide stronger professional support to speech disorder groups.