EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 2-5, 2021

(Virtually the same conference, without elevators, airplane tickets, or hotel room keys)

Abstract Submission for the 2021 EHDI Annual Conference is Now Closed.

View Accessibility Guidelines - The 2021 EHDI Annual Conference Planning Committee has developed a checklist to help meet written guidelines that are intended to maximize access for all EHDI Conference participants.

Abstract Notification
Contributors will be notified about whether the abstract has been accepted on or around
the first week of December 2020. (If you have not received notification by December 10,
please contact ehdiconference@usu.edu)

View Sample Abstract

Below are the 2021 abstract guidelines.

Tracks
Abstracts for presentations or posters can be submitted in one of the following ten program tracks. All presenters are encouraged to include information in the abstract that demonstrates collaboration among EHDI stakeholders.

1. EHDI Program Enhancement (e.g., efforts to improve any component of an EHDI program, systems change initiatives, protocol improvement, extending EHDI to other populations).
2. Audiological Services (e.g., improving diagnostic protocols, fitting and management of hearing aids, cochlear implants, or FM systems, improving access to hearing technology, counseling families following audiological diagnosis, tele-audiology).
3. Language Acquisition and Development (e.g., helping early intervention specialists, parents, and others understand early language acquisition and development processes, understand the impact that achieving age-appropriate language outcomes has on a child’s social/emotional well-being, and establishing a literacy foundations for kindergarten readiness; research on how to use language assessments; information for families and service providers about language opportunities, language acquisition and developmental milestones, communication tools, educational approaches, and strategies to evaluate and maximize language acquisition/development).
4. Early Intervention (e.g., improving educational programs for 0-5 year-old children, coordination and communication among early intervention and EHDI programs, transition between programs, the role of Part C services leading to Part B services, effective use of resources, providing culturally competent services, reaching underserved populations, tele-services and distance learning services).
5. Medical Home (e.g., providing family-centered health care within a community-based system, coordinating care between primary care providers, specialists, subspecialists, and other health care professionals, delivering health care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, compassionate, culturally effective and efficient for all involved, screening during well-child care).
6. Follow-up, Tracking and Data Management (e.g., strategies for improving loss to follow-up, innovative tracking systems, using tracking information for quality improvement activities).
7. Family Perspectives, Engagement, and Support (e.g., suggestions for how to make EHID programs more family friendly, strategies for how parents can be effectively engaged and build meaningful stakeholder partnerships in EHDI systems, implementation of effective parent support programs, parent education, including the impact of deafness or hearing loss on language and literacy development and social well-being).
8. Program Evaluation and Quality Improvement (e.g., efforts to assess quality of services or data, quality improvement efforts, results of statewide program evaluations, reporting to funders and administrators, strategies for assuring quality, function and effective use of EHDI advisory committees).
9. EHDI Workforce, Advocacy, and Legislative/Policy Issues (e.g., pre-service and in-service education for EHDI providers, workforce shortages and how to reduce them, strategies to address knowledge gaps, mandates for insurance coverage for hearing technology, securing funding for program improvement, public awareness campaigns, state legislative or advocacy efforts)
10. Adult DHH Mentor/Role Model/Guide Information, Support and Involvement (e.g. how to engage adults who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) in improving EHDI systems, strategies for how adults who are DHH can build meaningful stakeholder partnerships within EHDI systems, implementation of effective DHH Mentor/Adult Role Model/Guide programs, how to use adults who are DHH in supporting families including the impact of deafness or hearing loss on language and literacy development and social well-being)
11. Collaboration and Coordination with Other Screening Programs (e.g., why and how EHDI systems can collaborate with emergency preparedness, congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) screening, metabolic (blood spot) screening, critical congenital heart defect (CCHD) screening, late onset hearing loss (LOHL)/periodic childhood hearing screening). Includes presentations about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected EHDI programs and how EHDI programs are responding to the challenges created by the pandemic.
12. Health Equity (e.g. how EHDI programs are affected by social determinants of health and health disparities, effective strategies to reduce and mitigate the effects social determinates of health and health disparities, how to recognize and mitigate the effects of explicit and implicit bias).

Abstracts that are considered to be a commercial product endorsement in the opinion of the EHDI Program Committee will not be accepted. All abstracts must be in English. Presenters must register for the EHDI Conference.

Abstract Review and Scoring
The Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Annual Conference strives to provide key stakeholders an opportunity to identify areas of concern, promote collaboration, and share best practices. EHDI Conference participants range from state and local programs to the federal level and from academicians to families.

The Conference goals are to enhance the implementation of comprehensive state-based EHDI programs and improve EHDI services. This includes current research and research methods related to EHDI, cultural competence of providers and assessment of their abilities to work with children who have hearing loss, their families and communities and enhancing and creating new and ongoing working relationships.

Abstract submissions will be reviewed and scored according to the following criteria by a committee appointed by the EHDI Conference Planning Committee.

1. Relevance and significance to the early identification of hearing loss and early intervention services for infants and young children with hearing loss and their families. [1 - 20 points]
   • The abstract should address a current topic and information appropriate for the purposes of the Conference goals.
   • The abstract should address important issues or gaps related to improving state-based EHDI services.
   • The abstract should inform, enable, or update others in improving EHDI services regarding potential issues related to clinical practice, education of professionals/families, or future research.
   • The abstract should have the potential to advance the practice/knowledge base of EHDI.
   • The abstract should expand the discussion or perspective to build on existing knowledge or address new knowledge, discoveries, methodologies, tools, technologies, or practices.
2. Overall clarity [1 – 10 points]
• The abstract should be well written and organized in a coherent manner.
• The amount of information to be presented should be appropriate for the proposed session length and format.
• The abstract should clearly describe the presentation’s goals and learner outcomes.
• The abstract should provide prospective participants enough information to determine if the session will meet their needs.
• If research results are included, they should be clearly described and supported by statistical findings with the conclusions supported by the results.