Roger Focus: Because every child deserves a chance to focus

STAEFA, Switzerland, Aug. 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --The capability to focus on auditory stimuli is one of the key components of a child's learning and development¹. Children with unilateral hearing loss, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or auditory processing disorders often struggle to clearly hear and focus on the voices of parents, teachers and other caregivers – especially when noise levels increase. This is where Roger Focus comes in: The discreet and comfortable behind-the-ear Roger receiver is the perfect companion for these children. Fully compatible with other types of classroom technology and easy to use, it supports children during class. Also designed for little active explorers, the hassle-free Roger Focus is resistant to water, sweat and dust.

Wireless technology has long been shown to improve the speech understanding of children. However, recent research² has shown that such systems can also benefit students with otherwise normal hearing who find it difficult to follow a speaker's word. "In our study of school-aged children with ASD, children could hear the teacher's words better, communicate with their fellow students better and were generally more engaged in classroom activities than without the wireless microphone technology. Most children also wanted to keep using their devices after the trial," says Gary Rance, Associate Professor, Department of Audiology & Speech Pathology, The University of Melbourne. Further studies have proven similar benefits for children diagnosed with auditory processing disorder (ADP) and unilateral hearing loss (UHL). The common key finding: Increasing the signal-to-noise ratio by way of a wireless microphone and receiver system helps boost the speech understanding of children – and their ability to focus.

Focus on development 
"Over the last 40 years, Phonak has been committed to supporting children with hearing loss to reach their full potential. Continuous close collaboration with hearing care professionals, researchers, children and their families, teachers and a dedicated team, has led to the development of hearing solutions that have improved the lives of millions of children worldwide," says Maarten Barmentlo, Group Vice President Marketing for Phonak. "We are proud to present Roger Focus, a dedicated solution that has been developed to help children with autism or auditory processing disorders but otherwise normal hearing better learn and develop."

Focus on simplicity
Children want to be free to move around. Roger Focus has been designed with little adventurers in mind: The wireless microphone and receiver system is usable out of the box, and automatically adjusts to the listening environment. The Roger Focus receiver is highly comfortable to wear behind the ear – even if worn all day long – and resistant to water, sweat and dust.  

Focus on flexibility
Roger Focus is available in 17 color options – ranging from discreet to fun and vibrant colors. A choice of Roger wireless microphones is available and has been designed to fit a child's lifestyle:

• Roger inspiro: The durable teacher microphone offers one-click connection of receivers and programmable short cut keys.
• Roger Pen: The versatile pen enables young listeners to hear and understand in loud noise or over distance. It also features Bluetooth for cell phone calling, an audio input for listening to multimedia and TV connectivity.
• Roger Clip-On Mic: Worn discreetly on the shirt, the powerful microphone packs the industry-leading Roger speech-in-noise performance into an extremely compact design.

What is Roger?
Roger by Phonak is the new digital standard that bridges the understanding gap in noise and over distance, surpassing the performance of standard FM systems by up to 54%* and Dynamic FM technology by 35%*.

It uses cutting-edge wireless microphones to pick up the voice of the speaker and transmit it wirelessly over 2.4 GHz to miniature ear-level receivers. Roger is hassle-free and adapts its own settings automatically to the noise and speakers around the use.

¹ Ashburner J., Ziviani J., Rodger S. (2008).  Sensory processing and classroom emotional , and educational outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder. American Journal of Occupational Therapy vol 62 (5). pp. 564-573.

² Rance G., Saunders K., Carew P., Johansson M., & Tan J. (2013). The Use of Listening Devices to Ameliorate Auditory Defi cit in Children with Autism. The Journal of Pediatrics vol 164 (2). pp 352-357.  

Further information on Roger Focus: www.phonakpro.com/roger-focus

About Phonak 
Headquartered near Zurich, Switzerland, Phonak, a member of the Sonova Group, has developed, produced and globally distributed state-of-the-art hearing systems and wireless devices for more than 60 years. The combination of expertise in hearing technology, mastery in acoustics and strong cooperation with hearing care professionals allows Phonak to significantly improve people's hearing ability and speech understanding and therefore their quality of life.

Phonak offers a complete range of digital hearing instruments, along with complementary wireless communication systems. With a worldwide presence, Phonak drives innovation and sets new industry benchmarks regarding miniaturization and performance.

For more information, please visit www.phonakpro.com

Phonak – Life is on
We are sensitive to the needs of everyone who depends on our knowledge, ideas and care. And by creatively challenging the limits of technology, we develop innovations that help people hear, understand and experience more of life's rich soundscapes.

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SOURCE Phonak