I care for a boy who was diagnosed with a hearing impairment a few months back. He was prone ear infections and tubes were inserted in his ears. Upon a hearing test it was discovered he had suffered moderate hearing loss that may or may not be recovered.

He is 22 months and is just now starting to make noises. He will hum and grunt non stop. I'm attempting to teach him some simple signs, such as please, thanks, more, water, eat. Since the hearing was not discovered until recently he has never had any previous sign teaching and its slow going.

My question is, is there anyway to encourage him to move his lips to talk? I make sure he is looking directly at me before I talk to him so he sees my mouth moving. The humming irritates all the other kids and they are always getting short with him and no one will play with him. I think even if I could get him to babble they would be more likely to include him.

Thanks!