Several years ago, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources began promoting the concept that every child in America should have a medical home. The AAP defines a medical home as the following [PDF]:

A medical home is an approach to providing comprehensive primary care that facilitates partnership between patients, physicians, and families. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)believes that every child deserves a medical home, where care is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, patient- and family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective. Over the past year the AAP has been at the forefront of numerous initiatives to promote the adoption and spread of the patient- and family-centered medical home.

Link: http://www.infanthearing.org/medicalhome/index.html

What’s it like to use one sense to do the work of another? “Can You Read My Lips?” is an immersive short about lip-reading based on the essay “Seeing at the Speed of Sound” by Rachel Kolb who narrates and stars in the piece.

Link: https://vimeo.com/148127830

Read an interview with Dr. Dana Suskind about the importance of language development for all children and her new book “Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain.”

Link: http://www.npr.org/2015/12/05/458501823/simple-number-complex-impact-how-many-words-has-a-child-heard

Perspectives on Hearing Screening Options for Children 3-5 Years of Age

Read a new survey report on the tele-intervention practices and challenges reported by early intervention providers serving families of children who are DHH.

Link: http://www.infanthearing.org/ti-guide/docs/behl-kahn-teleintervention-practices.pdf

It is hard not to be inspired by Micah Willis, a senior fullback for Arlington Martin in Texas.

Born with hearing loss, Willis relies on his hearing aids and lip-reading to help him in his daily life. But when the helmet comes on and the hearing aids come off, the world is a different place.

Link: http://usatodayhss.com/2015/video-deaf-texas-fullback-enjoys-magical-and-inspiring-moment

Infant Mental Health (IMH) and healthy social emotional development is the foundation for early brain development, which is everything from how relationships are formed, how children regulate their emotion and handle conflict, to how children learn.   Infant Mental Health is the developing capacity of the child from birth to experience, regulate, express emotions and form close and secure interpersonal relationships.  (Infant Mental Health and Early Care and Education Providers- The Center on the Social Emotional Foundations for Early Learning).

Link: http://www.grafton.org/early-intervention-building-a-strong-foundation-for-positive-infant-mental-health/

Do you have a favorite non-profit or charitable organization that supports and improves services for children who are D/HH and their families that you are giving to today?