Take a look at this insightful article that gives one perspective about growing up hard of hearing and includes how she benefited from great advocates and being taught to self-advocate.

Link: http://handsandvoices.org/deafhardofhearingchildren/reflecting-on-life-as-a-hard-of-hearing-adult/

If you are sending your child off to preschool for the first time or maybe you are sending them to a new school this year, this post may be for you! Building a rapport with the professionals working with your child is vital to their progress and will be instrumental as you make decisions in the future. Click the link below to learn more.

Link: http://community.advanceweb.com/blogs/sp_1/archive/2014/08/26/back-to-school-know-your-child-s-iep-team.aspx

Registration is now open for the September 18th webinar on Promoting EHDI Pals.

EHDI Pals is a powerful resource allowing parents and healthcare providers to quickly and easily identify and compare pediatric audiologists in their community. This national resource enables Arizona families living in border communities (California, Utah, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico) or on tribal land to find providers closer to where they live. For many years, the Office of Newborn Screening has used a self-created resource list. 

Link: http://www.infanthearing.org/resources_home/events/Promoting-EHDI-Pals.html

Take a look at some app options that focus on breaking barriers to conversation between deaf and hearing people.

Link: http://m.sfgate.com/technology/article/Apps-to-help-deaf-hearing-people-communicate-5698958.php?cmpid=fb-mobile

On July 11, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed a new rule that would reclassify bone-anchored implants (i.e., osseointegrated hearing implants) from a prosthetic device to a hearing aid. This would effectively end Medicare reimbursement, since hearing aids are not covered under Medicare.

If the rule is adopted, it will affect thousands of people who do not benefit from hearing aids and people who need to replace or update their bone-anchored implant. The proposed changes threaten to eliminate what may be the best—and only—option for individuals with microtia, atresia, conductive hearing losses and single-sided deafness. Click here and here for more background and information.

There are only 10 days left to submit comments to CMS on the proposed rule!  The comment period ends on September 2, and the final ruling by CMS is expected sometime around November 1. Click here to submit comments.Click here for guidance on comment submission for professionals, candidates, recipients, caregivers and supporters. 

Source: AG Bell and link below.

Link: http://www.hearingreview.com/2014/08/medicare-considers-ending-coverage-bone-anchored-hearing-devices/

Link: http://www.the-hospitalist.org/details/article/6443271/Deaf_Hospitalist_Focuses_on_Teaching_Co-Management_Patient-Centered_Care.html

It’s back to school time already! Whether your child is moving into a mainstream school for the first time, starting high school, or just returning for another year, the back-to-school season can be busy, exciting and sometimes stressful for students and their families. These resources provide self-advocacy tips, information to give teachers and school administrators and checklists to help you get ready to send your children back to school. 

Link: http://www.listeningandspokenlanguage.org/It_s_Back_to_School_Time/

Link: http://cmv.usu.edu/Registration.cfm

Employing optical coherence tomography (OCT), which generates high-resolution, three-dimensional (3D) images, Brian Applegate, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University (College Station, TX), and colleagues from Stanford University (Stanford, CA) are mapping the tissues within the cochlea, the portion of the inner ear responsible for hearing. Their research could lead to breakthroughs in understanding cochlear function, Applegate says, including new therapies for hearing loss.

Link: http://www.bioopticsworld.com/articles/2014/08/oct-imaging-of-the-inner-ear-promising-for-new-hearing-loss-therapies.html

Children with hearing loss who are fitted with a second cochlear implant early in life develop better language skills, according to a five-year study.

Link: http://www.futurity.org/cochlear-implants-children-language-740462/