Active Communication Education (ACE)

The Active Communication Education (ACE) Program helps adults with hearing loss become more effective communicators and provides them with strategies to cope better in everyday life.

It is a rehabilitation option for adults with hearing loss who don't want to wear hearing aids or who want more than hearing aids can provide. The ACE program was developed at the University of Queensland by Professor Louise Hickson AM, Emeritus Professor Linda Worrall AM and Associate Professor Nerina Scarinci.

ACE is informative and fun. The evidence shows that it makes a positive difference to the lives of older people with hearing loss. ACE was evaluated with 178 older people with hearing loss and their significant others. Learn more about the evaluation. Although it was originally designed and evaluated with older adults in mind, the program can be used with adults of all ages. Download the ACE Group Program (PDF, 9.5 MB) for information and handouts.

You can watch examples of how to run ACE activities in the video (YouTube 41:18)

We offer the ACE program through the UQ Audiology Clinic or you can contact your audiologist for more information. It is available in Spanish and German versions.

The I-ACE program

Individualised active communication (I-ACE) is an individualised home-based ACE program. It is another clinical option for adults with hearing impairment to improve problem-solving and self-management. Download the I-ACE Facilitator Guide (PDF, 1.5 MB).

You can find a summary of the outcomes of 23 hearing impaired participants in the I-ACE program in the article: Individualised active communication education (A-ICE) (PDF, 1.7 MB) in the International Journal of Audiology.

ACE program

Spanish version

The ACE Program is translated and linguistically and culturally adapted to Chilean Spanish by Rivera and colleagues (2020).

As a result of a National Fund for Research and Development in Health (FONIS) grant that Rivera and colleagues were awarded in Chile, the Spanish version of ACE is now available nationally.

The ACE Manual (Chilean Spanish version) contains all the information you need to run six 90-minute sessions with their respective activities. The manual describes the ACE program, objectives, the sessions/modules, and the materials you will need for each session. Both session plans and handouts are adapted in Spanish and are designed to help you facilitate the activities during each session.

Download the ACE Manual (Chilean Spanish version). (PDF, 3.5 MB)

Spanish translation

Adaptación Chilena del Active Communication Education (ACE) El programa ACE ha sido traducido y adaptado lingüística y culturalmente al español (Chile) por Rivera y colegas (2020). Como resultado de la adjudicación de un Fondo Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo en Salud (FONIS) por Rivera y colegas, la versión en español de ACE está disponible a nivel nacional. El manual de ACE (versión en español chileno) contiene toda la información necesaria para ejecutar seis módulos de 90 minutos y sus actividades respectivas. El manual describe el programa ACE, sus objetivos, las sesiones/módulos y los materiales. Tanto los planes de trabajo como los folletos fueron adaptados al español y están diseñados para facilitar la ejecución de las actividades durante cada sesión.

Descarga la Adaptación Chilena del Active Communication Education (ACE) (PDF, 3.5 MB) - Un programa de rehabilitación auditiva grupal para personas mayores con hipoacusia.

German version

The ACE program is translated and linguistically and culturally adapted into German by Seybold (2021) in Oldenburg.

The German ACE program is extended up to seven sessions and is called ZAK, which stands for Zusammen Aktiv Kommunizieren. ZAK includes all content of the original ACE program and also contains:

specific material for attending significant others for each module
one module Talking About Hearing Loss is offered to address the psychosocial needs of participants like self-disclosure, how to talk about hearing related difficulties in everyday life communication and emotional reactions
one concluding session gives the opportunity to clarify any issues after participants have completed the whole program and to evaluate the program.

Download the Zusammen Aktiv Kommunizieren manual (PDF, 3.2 MB).

German translation

Das ACE Programm ist ebenfalls ins Deutsche übersetzt sowie linguistisch und kulturell angepasst worden. Die Entwicklung der deutschsprachigen Version erfolgte von Seybold (2021) (Deutschland, Oldenburg). Die deutschsprachige Version wurde ZAK genannt, was für Zusammen Aktiv Kommunizieren (PDF, 3.2 MB) steht. ZAK beinhaltet die gesamten Inhalte des originalen ACE Programms. Zusätzlich enthält ZAK spezifisches Material für teilnehmende Bezugspersonen zu jedem Modul. Des Weiteren steht ein Modul mit dem Titel Sprechen über die Hörbeeinträchtigung zur Verfügung, wodurch die Bedürfnisse der Studienteilnehmenden stärker psychosoziale Inhalte wie z.B. Selbstoffenbarung, Sprechen über hörbedingte Schwierigkeiten in der Alltagskommunikation und emotionale Folgen, aufzugreifen. Die ZAK Version weitet die Kurstreffen auf sieben je Kursdurchgang aus. Durch ein zweites Einführungsmodul wird unterstützt, dass sich die teilnehmenden in ihre Rolle als Person mit Hörbeeinträchtigung bzw. Bezugsperson einfinden und sie mit dem verhaltensbezogenen Ansatz des Kommunikationstrainings vertraut werden. Ein abschließendes Modul wurde hinzugefügt, um den Teilnehmenden nach Behandlung aller Themen die Möglichkeit zu geben, offen gebliebene Aspekte zu klären sowie Zeit für die Evaluation zu haben.