For any child, learning to listen and speak can be challenging. For children with cochlear implants, it can be even more difficult. Currently, many families will relocate because specialized schools are few and far between. Deaf and Hard of Hearing children who are able to attend these schools do the best when they have at-home support with homework and practice. This can become a full-time responsibility as parents often need to be speech and hearing therapists to best support their children. Beth, Executive Director at the Speech and Hearing Center of Savannah, said teaching auditory oral skills "is a huge time commitment for families... some parents have to quit their jobs just to maintain this therapy for their child." Parents are often not well equipped for at home auditory/oral play-therapy activities which, when done wrong, may weaken speech and hearing skills. To make matters worse, there is a lack of specialized learning tools for children with cochlear implants. Many do their best to use regular toys to aid teaching exercises but finding the toys, purchasing them and then building them into play-therapy lessons specialized for each child can be exhausting and expensive.

Herd is a holistic service for children with cochlear implants to aid in auditory/oral practice to develop speech and hearing skills for interpersonal communication and learning. With Herd, children can practice at home, in a comfortable environment. The initial welcome pack comes with a robotic companion toy elephant to facilitate independent learning, play-therapy inspired activity cards, and a set of 6 toys designed around a vital sound test exercise for children with hearing aids and/or cochlear implants called LING 6. While each child's learning development is different, the subscription-based packs feature learning toys and activities for each child's interests and developmental stages. There are also Seasonal Packs and Themed Packs based on themes, general childhood development and specific interests.

These customizable, curated toy packs are specifically designed for auditory/oral play-therapy activities for children with cochlear implants. The toys can be used in the classroom or at home with the activity cards and a parent. For children who would like to play alone, the companion robotic toy elephant can lead the play-therapy activities. To activate, tap the activity card to the elephant's foot. The fun activities help establish empathy, refine motor skills and achieve developmental goals. In the app, parents can find activity resources and information, or order new packs such as the themed or holiday packs. For parents needing extra help, they can find support direct from Speech Learning Pathologists and teachers. With Herd, parents can focus on being there for their child and having fun with the play-therapy activities and educators can focus on giving individual attention to each student. With Herd, Deaf and Hard of Hearing children with cochlear implants can receive the continuous at-home auditory/oral practice and learning that is pivotal for growth and communication skills.

466 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss. 34 million are children with more than 90% born to hearing parents. As a result, many parents opt for cochlear implants to improve the quality of communication for their child. Many parents do this with hope their children will have "normal" lives as they fear our society does not provide equal opportunities for people with disabilities. According to the US National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, cochlear implants are "associated with a statistically significant improvement in quality of life relating to categories like communication and relationship building." In 2017, the European Association of cochlear implant users found that there were ~500,000 cochlear implant users worldwide; a 65% increase in 5 years. Helen Keller once said "Blindness separates people from things; deafness separates people from people."

For any child, learning to listen and speak can be challenging. For children with cochlear implants, it can be even more difficult. Children with cochlear implants require specialized learning help with the auditory/oral approach and constant at-home support. The auditory/oral approach teaches infants and young children to use hearing and speech to develop spoken language for communication and learning. Currently, many families will relocate their entire lives because specialized schools are few and far between. Deaf and Hard of Hearing children who are able to attend these schools do the best when they have at-home support with homework and practice. This can become a parent's full-time responsibility as parents often need to learn to be speech and hearing therapists themselves to best support their children. Beth, Executive Director at the Speech and Hearing Center of Savannah, said teaching auditory oral skills "is a huge time commitment for families... some parents have to quit their jobs just to maintain this therapy for their child." Parents are often not well equipped for at home auditory/oral play-therapy activities which, when done wrong, may weaken speech and hearing skills. To make matters worse, there is a lack of specialized learning tools for children with cochlear implants. Many teachers and parents do their best to use regular toys to aid teaching exercises but finding the toys, purchasing them and then building them into each play-therapy lesson specialized for each child can be exhausting and expensive.

Herd knows parents want the very best for their children and are willing to go to great lengths and sacrifices to provide the best future. Herd makes it easier with a holistic service for children with cochlear implants with a subscription service complete with specialized learning toys and activities, a companion toy elephant, and a mobile application for parents to aid in auditory/oral practice to develop speech and hearing skills for interpersonal communication and learning. With Herd, children can practice at home, in a comfortable environment while giving time back to parents and educators. The initial welcome pack comes with the robotic companion toy elephant to facilitate independent learning, play-therapy inspired activity cards, and a set of 6 toys designed around a vital sound test exercise for children with hearing aids and/or cochlear implants called LING 6. LING 6 measures detection and identification of sounds with the phonemes [m], [ah], [oo], [ee], [sh] and [s]. The Herd elephant is designed with LED eyes which have different expressions to help with empathy training. Children with cochlear implants frequently look to people's mouths to understand if what they are hearing is a voice that they should be processing as words. This is why the elephant can open and close its mouth to help children recognize the sounds it makes as language. With auditory/oral play-therapy, children develop speech and hearing skills for interpersonal communication and learning.

While each child's learning development is different, the customizable subscription-based Childhood Development Packs come when a child has advanced to their next hearing age and feature learning toys and activities for each child's interests and developmental stages. Seasonal Packs are released quarterly for all ages based on holidays and seasons such as Winter or Valentine's Day. Additionally, there are Themed Packs for age groups based on themes, general childhood development and specific interests such as cooking or cars to ensure children remain engaged with their learning activities.

These customizable, curated toy packs are specifically designed for auditory/oral play-therapy activities for children with cochlear implants. The toys can be used in the classroom with educators or can be used at home with the activity cards and a parent. The fun activities help establish empathy, refine motor skills and achieve developmental goals. While the cards have instructions on the back, if the child would like to play alone or if the parent would like to learn how to facilitate the activity, the companion robotic toy elephant can lead the play-therapy activities in a fun and engaging way. To activate, simply tap the RFID enabled activity card to the elephant's foot. The elephant will tell you which, if any, toys are needed for the activity. To stop the activity, tap the same card to the elephant's foot. To start another activity, tap a new card to the elephant's foot.

In the mobile application, parents can find information regarding their current and upcoming packs including current toys and activities and learn more about how each activity is designed to help their child's auditory/oral skills. Parents can also adjust the toys in their upcoming packs. This ensures that while packs are designed for education, they are fun and customizable for each child's needs. Additionally, the app provides a view of all activities which can also be easily activated without the activity cards. In the app's messaging system, parents can also receive personalized support from their Speech Language Pathologists and teachers who can recommend new packs and goals. This ensures that children are receiving full, personalized support from their parents, Speech Language Pathologists, and teachers. Herd makes it easy for parents to stay on track with their child's specific needs and goals from professionals who know the child best.

Herd was designed with the input of educators, Speech Learning Pathologists, an Ear Nose and Throat surgeon and parents of children with cochlear implants. There is currently no play-therapy based toy brand for children with cochlear implants that provides a holistic solution for the child, parents, therapists and educators. There are currently no toy or activity kits created for children with cochlear implants at all. Herd is proud to be a first in many ways. With all of these resources, support, and the guidance of the companion robotic toy elephant, parents can focus on being there for their child and having fun with the play-therapy activities and educators can focus on giving individual attention to each student. With these tools, Deaf and Hard of Hearing children with cochlear implants can receive the continuous at-home auditory/oral practice and learning that is pivotal for growth and communication skills.

Herd's branding was carefully designed with children and parents in mind. The elephant was selected for it's long-distance hearing and ability to detect sounds in a wide range of frequencies far beyond what humans can hear. Herd gets its name by pairing the fact that a group of elephants is called a "herd" with the desire to help children with cochlear implants easily communicate with the world around them; a desire to help them be heard. Simply put, our slogan says it all: Listen, Play, be Heard. Herd's overall branding is fun yet sophisticated with bright colors, clear text and a minimal but exciting pattern designed to be liked by children, parents and auditory/oral learning professionals. The companion toy elephant was designed to be friendly, lovable and even cuddle-able with soft materials. The companion elephant is constructed from a cotton fabric-coated ABS plastic body housing electronics. The elephant toy is there to both teach and be a friend to children. Herd's toys were designed to be approachable and well-loved by children. The non-toxic toys are durable to withstand being brought to and from the classroom or wherever children may play. Accompanying toys in Herd packs are primarily constructed of Beech wood and cork. The activity cards are brightly colored and highly visual to clearly explain the activities to both parent and child. Carefully utilizing planet-friendly materials, the subscription boxes are designed to be iconic and spark joy from the very moment the child sees it on the doorstep or kitchen counter. While keeping the fun energy of the branding, the app is sophisticated and designed for parents to easily order new packs or find additional resources.