INFANT HEARING SCREENING

Infant Hearing Screening

Infant Hearing Screening

Introduction

Ten fingers, ten toes, two eyes and the cute little nose; those are important things parents look for when they first hold their baby. They see their precious bundle and marvel at its perfection. However, it isn't an easy arrival for the baby, who is poked and probed. It is all for baby's benefit - to make sure that when family goes home, baby is given the clean bill of health. Until recently, medical staff checked almost everything and that seemed to be good enough. But it wasn't and it proved costly for many parents and their children. The baby's hearing wasn't tested (Valley Hospital and Medical Center web page). Infant hearing impairment is one of most common major abnormalities present at birth. According to research done at Valley Hospital and Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, in United States of America, up to three out of every thousand children are born with hearing loss. Universal newborn hearing screening is quickly becoming standard in medical field. Just as with other tests performed on newborns, hearing screening is becoming routine before the discharge from hospital will be granted (A. Stredler - Brown, 2005). Studies indicate that without newborn testing, hearing loss can go undetected for almost two years. This could cause developmental delays, which place children at risk of life-long disadvantages. Because of increase in newborn hearing screening, children are being identified as being deaf or hard of hearing earlier in life. This in turn allows early intervention services. The following paper will discuss these interventions. It will also address development of receptive vocabulary in children who are hard of hearing.

It is thought that infants who are hard of hearing or deaf will still develop receptive vocabulary. This will be supported by discussing and analyzing development of audition and speech in deaf infants and children.

Early Intervention Services

Approaches to Interventions

Stredler - Brown (2005), conducted the study that focused on impact of early intervention services on deaf children in United States. According to this study, 91% of sites (resource centers for families affected by hearing loss in children) studied reported that they provided direct service to families. Primary caregivers are identified as recipients of family-centered intervention. In such interventions, family members are taught strategies to enhance deaf child's development. Stredler - Brown's (2005) study also found that most sites (93%) also provided child-centered intervention. Child-centered intervention consists of the therapy session with the child (who is deaf or hard of hearing). During this session child is encouraged to create the change in specific skills (e.g., listening, speech, receptive language, and expressive language). In the child-centered intervention program, change is expected to occur immediately and such changes are to be used in routines out of therapy. An auditory-verbal, and an auditory-oral approach were also discussed in Stredler-Brown's (2005) study. The auditory-verbal approach consists of communication and language development. 46% of sites studied by Stredler-Brown (2005) were using this particular approach.

The auditory-oral approach was being used by 55% of ...