THE LISTENING LAB, INC.
POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA

Shelley Francis is a certified audiologist with a passion for helping children with auditory processing weaknesses, which was inspired by the challenges her brother faced growing up with an undiagnosed learning disability. Shelley’s brother Tom not only suffered challenges and failures growing up in school, but also bouts of depression and fear of failure later in his adult life. In 1992, Shelley helped Tom discover that many of his challenges as an adult were due to an underlying auditory processing problem that had gone unrecognized in childhood and adolescence. When placed in the right environment with a learning strategy right for them, and when they are being taught to there strengths instead of their weaknesses, these kids will thrive. Now with that being said, not all children were meant to excel in all areas of academics, but that does not mean they are not smart. Einstein said, "everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid." Our children are not stupid, but by placing them in these challenging situations, and forcing them to learn in a way that is just not a match for them, leaves them feeling "stupid". It is then this feeling, this tape recorder that plays in the back of their mind, which can last a lifetime if we are not careful. So what is the answer? What can we do to help our children? In upcoming blogs, we will discuss specific areas of weakness, how to identify them, how to strengthen them, and how to emotionally support our children and ourselves as parents. Keep in mind, when preparing to take off on an airplane, the flight attendant always instructs us that in case of an emergency always place the oxygen mask on yourself first before helping others. You will always do a better job helping your children if you help yourself first. When was the last time you did something for you? Parents of children with auditory processing disorder (APD) often undergo a burden of expenses quite often uncovered by insurance, or not provided for in school. The Listening Lab provides listening exercises and games designed to supplement therapies and services that a child may already be receiving. The Listening Lab also provides articles, links and forums to educate and inform parents about auditory processing disorder and other related topics. Finally, The Listening Lab is to parents looking to understand APD and learn what they can do at home to help their children succeed and reach their true potential. Through one on one calls, as well as group calls and private chats, parents get their questions answered and learn which programs are best suited for their child's unique situation. The Listening Lab features an APD Handbook designed to educate parents on the topic of auditory processing disorder. The APD Handbook offers all the latest research on auditory processing disorder, all in one place! Learn everything you need to know about APD and how to help your child overcome auditory processing weaknesses and other related disorders. Our goal at the listening lab is to promote a positive, supportive, and meaningful place to exchange information and ideas with our community. Through monthly tele-seminars, parents and individuals will have a chance to support each other, share information, and ask Shelley Francis specific questions they may have pertaining to APD as well as any questions they may have about Planet Hearwell, or the printable training cards and listening games. Planet Hearwell is a series of fun and interactive apps that feature games, modulated music and stories shown to strengthen auditory processing weaknesses. Each activity on Planet Hearwell helps improve specific auditory processing skills such as auditory decoding, sound pattern recognition, phonemic blending, auditory memory, auditory sequencing, auditory organization and more. We would love to hear what you have to say about The Listening Lab as well as our daily listening diet, exercises and games. If you wish to reach us with any questions or concerns, or simply to tell us how excited you are about The Listening Lab, please fill out the form below.