2026 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 15-17, 2026 • Jacksonville, FL
3/10/2025 | 11:25 AM - 11:55 AM | Swaddling Ear to Ear: Supporting Early Intervention Enrollment | 309
Swaddling Ear to Ear: Supporting Early Intervention Enrollment
In 2021, the US identified 6,518 infants as D/deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) via EHDI programs (CDC, 2023a). However, over 1/3 of those children are lost to intervention (LTI), with the most common known reason being family refusal (CDC, 2023a; b). Early Intervention Services (EI) are considered best practice, and state-run services are made accessible through federal legislation (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004). LTI places children at a developmental disadvantage due to a lack of linguistic access and neglects the intervention in EHDI. There is a critical need to modify family responses around EI. The first step is understanding why families decline these services. The federal reporting of refusal does not help us understand why it happens, and what can be done to support family decisions around enrollment in EI. Instead, the perceptual barriers to accessing early intervention center on how individuals integrate their family culture, family experiences, perceived vulnerability to negative sequelae of LTI, the perceived benefits of EI, and the perceived barriers to accessing EI (Woodruff-Gautherin & Cienkowski, 2023; Woodruff-Gautherin, LaSpada, & Cienkowski, in review). Working with these topics from a family-centered lens and an appreciation of state- and community-level differences has identified that there is variability in needs across families (Woodruff-Gautherin, & Cienkowski, 2024; Findlen et al.,
2024). A novel education system has been developed to meet family needs on this topic. As a public health service, LTI in EHDI is a prime example of an opportunity to combine the outlined work above with implementation science to improve outcomes (Woodruff & Lutz, 2020). The future of LTI and the evolution of communication sciences through inclusive and family-centered practices is a critical step in the field. This presentation will give attendees the opportunity to engage with and make family-centered care recommendations based on research and theory.
- Outline the barriers to early intervention access for families and children who are D/deaf and hard of hearing
- Describe the methodology of Swaddling Ear to Ear to support family decision making
- Compare your clinical practice with the recommended procedures of Swaddling Ear to Ear
Presentation:
3545975_18137Torri AnnWoodruff-Gautherin.pdf
Handouts:
3545975_18137Torri AnnWoodruff-Gautherin.pdf
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Torri Ann Woodruff-Gautherin
(Primary Presenter,Co-Author), University of Connecticut, torri.woodruff@uconn.edu;
Torri Ann Woodruff-Gautherin, PhD is a Research Scientist in the HELLO Lab of Dr. Derek Houston at UCONN. Passionate about bolstering the voices of stakeholders, Torri Ann implements qualitative methods to highlight the power and value of individual voices in making change. Torri Ann is interested in the intersection of public health, early intervention, and family support.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Grants for Other activities from EAA.
• Receives Salary,Grants for Employment,Other activities from UConn.
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Professional
(Co Chair)
relationship for Board membership.
• Has a Professional
(Board memeber)
relationship for Board membership.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with UConn
EAA
NIH
CT EHDI Taskforce
CT Hands & Voices.
Nature: UConn - employee and a grant on this topic
EAA - grant for related work
NIH - employed on grant
CT EHDI Taskforce - co-chair
CT Hands & Voices - board memeber.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Emily LaSpada
(Co-Presenter,Author,Co-Author), University Of Connecticut , emily.laspada@uconn.edu;
Emily LaSpada is an Au.D. student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She completed undergraduate studies at the University of Connecticut where her interest in research was piqued. She continues to support work in the UConn Aural Rehabilitation Lab centered around family education and access to early intervention services. Emily’s passion for working with individuals that are D/deaf and Hard of Hearing stems from fluency in ASL and a history with the American School for the Deaf.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from University of Connecticut .
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Professional
(Executive Board Member of the Student Academy of Audiology )
relationship for Board membership.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with I am employed by the University of Connecticut through a grant received by Dr. Torri Ann Woodruff-Gautherin. .
Nature: I am an Executive Board Member of the University of Massachusetts chapter of the Student Academy of Audiology. .
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Kathleen Cienkowski
(Co-Presenter,Co-Author), University of Connecticut, cienkowski@uconn.edu;
Kathleen M Cienkowski, Ph.D. CCC/A is an Associate Professor and Department Head of SLHS at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Cienkowski studies the benefits of AR among patients with acquired hearing loss and their families. Her work has been funded by National Institutes of Health and the Veterans Administration. She is the Past-President of the Academy of Rehabilitative Audiology, Past-Coordinator for the American Speech, Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) Special Interest Group 7: Aural Rehabilitation and Its Instrumentation. She currently serves a audiology discipline coordinator for the UCONN LEND and co-investigator for the UCONN Pediatric LEND Supplement grant.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Grants for Employment,Other activities from UCONN-LEND.
• Receives Salary for Employment,Teaching and speaking from University of Connecticut.
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Professional
(Board member)
relationship for Board membership.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with University of Connecticut
University of Connecticut LEND
Eastern CT HLAA.
Nature: University of Connecticut - employee
UCONN LEND - Grant funds, discipline coordinator for audiology; Eastern CT HLAA board member.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.