Develop Your Program's Capacity to Include Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

For some Early Head Start (EHS) programs, OAE hearing screening has resulted in the referral of a child to a pediatric audiologist with the ultimate identification of permanent hearing loss.  Parents of a child who is identified as deaf or hard of hearing may want their child to continue to attend an EHS program along with their typically developing peers. 

To make this possible, EHS Grantees must evaluate their capacity to fully and effectively serve these children.  Programs that have been particularly successful at including children who are deaf or hard of hearing attribute their success to several key elements:

The Edward C. Mazique Parent Child Center in Washington DC fully includes children who are deaf or hard of hearing with the help of several supportive specialists. Here, one young child who has a confirmed hearing loss (left) is having fun helping one of his peers receive an OAE screening.

1. Creating a welcoming, supportive environment among staff, parents and children for all children with diverse abilities, needs and backgrounds.
2. Establishing and maintaining relationships with their State Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI)/Newborn Hearing Screening program that can help connect them with key resources for serving young children who are deaf or hard of hearing.
3. Collaborating with the local Part C/Early Intervention program and other local specialists such as pediatric audiologists, speech therapists, and teachers of the deaf.
   

Once you are confident that you have successfully established up-to-date hearing screening and follow-up practices using OAE technology, the next step is to determine what you need to do to fully and effectively include a child who may be identified as deaf or hard of hearing. To connect with your State EHDI program, CLICK HERE where you can tap into valuable resources pertaining to your screening and follow-up practices.

The EHDI Coordinator for the District of Columbia is participating in training EHS staff while providing information about available resources.

What is your capacity to effectively include children who are deaf or hard of hearing in your program?

It is helpful to carefully evaluate what you can do to create an even more welcoming, supportive environment for children with diverse abilities, needs and backgrounds, particularly children who are deaf or hard of hearing.  Email us by clicking here to tell us about steps you have taken to develop your capacity to fully include children who are deaf or hard of hearing in your program.