18th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 3-5, 2019 • Chicago, IL
Referral for Further Testing: An Evaluation of EHDI Parent Handouts in New England
For parents of children who are D/deaf or hard of hearing, a newborn screening will be the first appointment and documentation relating to their child’s hearing and communication. Documents produced for this purpose and population are the foundation for parent education and child outcomes. This goal is in line with the existing standards to support accessible education in topics related to parent education and child development by producing resources that are 1) developmentally sound, 2) educationally appropriate, and 3) culturally respectful/competent.
In this review, the websites for all the states in New England were accessed to determine if there were any state-level handouts available online for parents who have children that refer for further testing on their newborn hearing screening. Specific referral-based handouts were identified on four state websites: Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, and Maine. Of the four states in New England with identified handouts, each was reviewed for adherence to these three standards, noting strengths and areas for further improvement. Each state presented information uniquely, and this created a range of strengths in presentations but also a disparity in quality of information based on geographic location.
Based on this review, a list of strategies to better align these documents with standards was created. The focus of these recommendations is to ensure that parents and professionals have access to resources that take a strengths-based approach. In total, nine recommendations were made. These recommendations include specific strategies such as having copies in different languages and the use of the term “refer” in the place of “fail.” As well as more broad considerations such as the use of careful language in the discussion of how hearing levels impact language and having all educational approaches presented are noted.
- Describe the role of referral for further testing handouts in the diagnosis process for children who are D/deaf or hard of hearing.
- Define the standards implemented in this poster to assess handouts for goals related to parent education and how they apply to hearing levels.
- List the recommended changes for referral forms in New England to improve resources for parents.
Poster:
18878_10687Torri AnnWoodruff.pdf
Presenter: Torri Ann Woodruff-Gautherin
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 Other financial benefit for Other activities from MCH.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -