Presented by: Arlene Stedler-Brown

When: November 19th, 1:30 ET

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) assures infants and toddlers with disabilities, and their family members, receive family-centered early intervention (FCEI). There is an extant body of evidence documenting the use of FCEI provider behaviors when therapy is delivered in the traditional in-person condition. In a recent research study, Dr. Stredler-Brown investigated the use of a different service delivery platform – telepractice – to deliver FCEI to infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). Telepractice utilizes telecommunication technologies to deliver health-related services and information to support patient care and is provided from a distance to a client. In this exploratory study, Dr. Stredler-Brown investigated the potential of telepractice to enhance providers’ use of participatory-based FCEI behaviors. The results of the study review how often selected FCEI provider behaviors occur in the telepractice condition in contrast to the frequency of each behavior as it occurs in the in-person condition reported in the literature. Dr. Stredler-Brown also investigated the relationship between characteristics of providers (i.e., training discipline, experience with telepractice) and the providers’ use of FCEI behaviors. The findings from this study will be discussed in the context of the growing use of telepractice. If providers use similar amounts of FCEI behaviors in both in-person therapy and telepractice, there may be more support for the expanding use of telepractice.

Link: http://www.infanthearing.org/resources_home/events/coaching-behaviors-in-telepractice.html

The Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss (OCHL) study, conducted by researchers at the University of Iowa, Boys Town National Research Hospital, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, examined the impact of early identification and intervention on children with hearing loss.

Link: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-10-first-of-its-kind-kids-loss-benefit-early.html

Whether you use listening and spoken language, ASL or a combination, read the article below for some helpful tips.

Link: http://www.medel.com/blog/improve-childs-hearing-halloween/

According to information from Listen Technologies and OWI, many schools are unaware of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements that relate to hearing impaired students. The ADA mandates that schools install assistive listening devices in every newly constructed or altered classroom or assembly area. – See more at: http://www.hearingreview.com/2015/08/schools-must-comply-system-requirements-hearing-impaired-students/#sthash.4FYrLuSG.dpuf

Link: http://www.hearingreview.com/2015/08/schools-must-comply-system-requirements-hearing-impaired-students/

When Raphael Martinez helped launch the Albuquerque Sign Language Academy six years ago, he wondered if the charter school would take off, but he was driven to try for the sake of his now 12-year-old son Ben, who is deaf and has special needs.

Today, the K-12 academy has 100 children enrolled, a waiting list of 40 and plans to expand to a much larger building at the Sawmill community land trust near Downtown Albuquerque.

Link: http://www.abqjournal.com/661258/news/charter-school-opens-a-larger-world.html

Have you missed any of the recent NCHAM webinars or do you want to share a webinar topic with someone? If so, you can find the recorded webinars at the link below – including the two most recent ones: “Ototoxicity Monitoring as Part of Risk Monitoring in the EHDI System” and “Introduction to Audiology and Hearing Loss for Non-Audiologists”

Link: http://www.infanthearing.org/elearning/index.html#webinars

Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf has been awarded a $77,465 grant from the National Science Foundation that will improve mentorship opportunities for deaf students interested in conducting sign-language research.

Link: http://www.ntid.rit.edu/news/ritntid-earns-nsf-grant-deaf-students-interested-sign-language-research

Great information for children who are D/HH and participate in sports!

Link: http://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/sports

Hearing First has been created to empower children who are deaf or hard of hearing to reach their full potential by connecting families and professionals to the tools and relationships they need. Visit the website at the link below.

Link: http://www.hearingfirst.org