Support and Learning Materials

Welcome to NAMES: Nottingham  Auditory Milestones 

What Is NAMES?

NAMES [Nottingham Auditory Milestones] is a profile developed within the team in Nottingham specifically for our youngest clients [c. under 2-3 years old at the time of operation]

It charts the growth of active listening and auditory memory from the earliest days after the operation, 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 an educational setting. For this younger population of children, we expect the skills detailed on the profile to develop across the first three years after their operations.

Complex Cases

However, we recognise that children with known additional diagnoses or in more complex family situations will be far less likely to achieve this pace. The profile continues to be a valid way to chart progress but in these cases, with the necessary adjustments to expectations for rate of progress. The profile was not specifically designed for our more complex population or for children coming to sound for the first time at an older age [c. over three years of age at the time of their operation] Professionals may still find the auditory development aspects a helpful guide but again will need to make allowances for individual circumstances and abilities.

Basis of Profile

NAMES is based on recognised developmental hierarchies and is designed to be used by non-specialists. Progress is charted based on observations by familiar adults of responses and behaviours in everyday situations and in play based activities.

Organisation and Scoring

The profile is organised into Five Milestone Stages. Each milestone stage contains 10 descriptors of skills/behaviours. Each new milestone builds on the skills of the previous set to create a cumulative profile. At each assessment interval, progress is recorded on the chart using information obtained from direct observations, interaction and ‘probe’ activities with the child, together with discussions and feedback from the family and local professionals.

At each interval, the assessor works through the profile to record all the skills the child has developed. This provides the facility to record rate of progress for children who are moving faster or slower than average. It also measures change relative to the child’s previous performance.

Use of the Profile

We are happy to share the profile with interested professionals and families with the following conditions.

We have included the instruction manual on the website to provide a flavour of the profile. To obtain the record sheets and other information, please contact us at the following email: gill.datta@nuh.nhs.uk 

• You are free to print off the information but please do not remove the authorship details.
• Please read the instruction booklet fully before beginning to use the profile.
• Look at the examples and extended examples so you have a clear idea of the skills targeted. Use your child’s individual interests and experiences when planning activities and take advantage of the flexibility offered.
• Any profile still largely represents a ‘snapshot’ at the interval points. We recognise that 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.  Results therefore need to be interpreted with caution.
• If you are a parent, please discuss this profile with your local professionals if you have any concerns or questions.

Feedback

It would really help us to know who is using the profile. We would welcome your comments and feedback.

Further Training

• Staff at the Nottingham Cochlear Implant Team can provide further training on both this material and a range of other topics.
•  For local professionals or family groups who have patients registered on our programme, this training is provided free of charge.
• Training in areas where there are no Nottingham patients can be arranged with costs in the region of around £300 a day.
• If you wish to know more about our training programme, please contact us at the above email address or talk to the members of the Outreach Support Team who visit your area.

 To download the NAMES instruction manual as a pdf document please click here.