Early Intervention Report

The earlier an infant/child is provided earlier intervention services the better their outcome in all circumstances but especially for children with hearing loss. Outcome viabilities range from being representative of peers of similar ages to being severely behind their same age peers. This range is common with children who have hearing loss, with or without implantation, but when provided services earlier rather than later, outcomes are more likely to be positive (Jackson & Schatschneider, 2014, p.539-540). Furthermore, the earlier an infant/child gets amplification or implantation, the better their outcomes (minimizing their delays), likely due to their better language skills and more interactions including collaborative play (Zelenik, Kominek,
Most children with hearing loss need quieter environments to better consume speech and language and to understand speech and language. This is extremely significant to recognize because often times children are spending their days in very noisy environments, often classrooms (Nittrouer, Caldwell-Tarr, Tarr, Lowenstein, Rice & Moberly, 2013, 513-524). This lack of access (and possible lack of access to early intervention) is important to recognize because the more vocabulary a child has and the more phonological awareness a child has, the more likely they are to make better predictions about what might be being said to them. Therefore, not only should clinicians be aware of noise and provide supports for environments such as that, but they should also make sure to build language skills like vocabulary knowledge and phonological awareness (which can be done through direct instruction, experience, and use of amplification or implantation. This like many other components are cyclical. The more a child is exposed to quality interactions, the more likely they are to pick up vocabulary and grow in phonological awareness. The more vocabulary and phonological awareness the child has, the more likely they are to engage with others (Nittrouer, Caldwell-Tarr, Tarr, Lowenstein, Rice & Moberly, 2013,
167). They identify facilitative language techniques as lower and higher level. The lower level techniques include linguistic mapping, comments, imitation, label, directives, and closed ended questions. The higher level techniques include parallel talk, open-ended questions, expansions, and recasts (DesJardin, Doll, Stika, Eisenberg, Johnson, Ganguly, Colson & Henning, 2014, p.168). Often times, parents of children with hearing loss are most comfortable utilizing lower level techniques but need more assistance in feeling comfortable utilizing higher level techniques. Guiding parents to utilize the correct techniques, dependent on the child’s language level is another extremely important component in the process. Linguistic mapping is the conversation partner’s speech interpretation of a child’s distorted word or utterance. Comments include statements or phrases that a conversation partner provides as confirmation of recieval of a message or to continue a conversation. Imitation is when a conversational partner repeats a child’s message precisely. Labeling is when a conversation partner provides vocabulary that corresponds to a referent within the book. Directives are messages provided by the conversational partner that are meant to elicit specific responses or actions.