Susan Lenihan, Ph.D. (Fontbonne University), Catherine Schroy, M.S., CCC-A (Central Institute for the Deaf), Christine Clark, M.A.Ed., C.E.D. (Central Institute for the Deaf), Mary Daniels, M.A.Ed. (St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf)
This session gave lots of great information on how Early Intervention teachers can provide the best services possible to deaf and hard of hearing children and their families from birth to age three. Some of the most interesting things I learned:
50% of newborns who fail the Newborn Hearing Screen DO NOT return for follow up appointments! Tracking and reporting systems vary by state, and even within states. There is still work to do in legislating and standardizing a Universal Newborn Hearing Screen so children do not lose precious hearing and learning time because of flaws in the system.
Click ABR, a common Auditory-Brainstem Response test used for screening babies’ hearing, can yield false positives with certain types of hearing loss. A child with a “reverse slope” or “cookie bite” audiogram may pass an ABR, but still has a hearing loss that could impact their ability to learn to listen and speak.
When do you go to the audiologist vs. when do you go to the ENT? More on this later…
PRESCHOOLERS RULE WITH THE RIGHT TOOLS
Barb Myers, M.A.Ed., C.E.D., Kate Coulter, M.Ed., and Cheryl Broekelmann, M.A., C.E.D. (all from St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf)
This presentation talked all about the ways play, especially pretend play and theme-based units, can help develop language skills, and ways to embed language goals into natural, play-based activities. If you can’t play it, they can’t say it!
Elizabeth A. Rosenzweig 