EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 2-5, 2021
(Virtually the same conference, without elevators, airplane tickets, or hotel room keys)
3/04/2021 | 1:20 PM - 1:40 PM | Child Care Settings: Front Line Support for Families | Topical Breakout
Child Care Settings: Front Line Support for Families
Childcare and early childhood education centers play many essential and invaluable roles for families and communities. Providers and teachers accept responsibility for not only keeping the child’s body safe, active and well-nourished; but also for nurturing brain health by providing the experiences needed for language, cognitive and social development. Deaf and hard of hearing children depend on access to language and communication to assist them in realizing the potential made possible by the EHDI model of early screening, early diagnosis, and early intervention.
The standards for supporting deaf and hard of hearing children birth-to-three include ensuring secure communication access and maintaining high and appropriate expectations for communication and language development. Staff turnover, knowledge gaps, acoustics, time constraints, and competing priorities present as challenges that limit access and therefore compromise language development opportunities within the childcare setting. Covid 19 restrictions have imposed additional constraints that include social distancing and mask requirements. These necessary obligations limit both visual and auditory access to language and communication. Guidance and support for childcare staff has been further compromised by limits imposed on early intervention and specialty program services that can be provided in the childcare setting.
This presentation reviews guidelines and restrictions in childcare and early childhood settings in Massachusetts as a result of Covid 19 restrictions; and the implications for language and communication access. Through case study review and analysis of data compiled from parent and educator surveys, the presentation will also identify effective avenues for information sharing and brainstorm potential strategies for improving both communication among adults and access for children.
- Participants will be able to develop family-centered materials
- Participants will identify how child care centers obtain information; and identify knowledge gaps
- Participants will discuss barriers to communication access and formulate strategies to address challenges
Presentation:
23278_13616CharlotteMullen.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Denise Eng
(), Children's Hospital Boston, denise.eng@childrens.harvard.edu;
Denise Fournier Eng, MA, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program of Boston Children’s Hospital and a member of the hospital’s Cochlear Implant Team. Mrs. Eng has worked in private school programs for Deaf and Hard of Hearing children, public school settings, and in early intervention. One of the joys of Denise’s professional life has been training new speech-language pathologists who have gone on to specialize in supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and their families. Teaching responsibilities have included instructor positions in the Deaf education master’s degree program at Boston University and at Framingham State College and Emerson College. Mrs. Eng has coordinated several partnerships in the community to support accessible opportunities for Deaf and Hard of hearing children and their families, created parent education programming and in-service training programs for public school personnel. She is the co-author of High and Appropriate Expectations for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children: The Role of Assessment (2014), and has presented at regional, national, and international conferences, including the Family-Centred Early Intervention Congress for Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Bad Ischl, Austria in 2018. Mrs. Eng is passionate about addressing issues related to equity, diversity and inclusion, including an ASHA Boston 2023 presentation on Access and Advocacy for DHH Students.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from Boston Children's Hospital.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Charlotte Mullen
(), Boston Children's Hospital, charlotte.mullen@childrens.harvard.edu;
Charlotte Mullen, AuD, a Co-Presentor for this resource, is the primary pediatric audiologist for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program and Specialty Audiologist for Education and Training for the audiology service of Boston Children’s Hospital. She founded the Sound Outreach to Schools educational audiology program. Dr. Mullen has given numerous presentations to professional and parent groups. Her clinical work initially identified an increased incidence in hearing loss among children treated by extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Working closely with the Developmental Medicine Program, Dr. Mullen developed a clinical practice guideline for audiological monitoring which led to incorporation into the 2007 Joint Committee on Infant Hearing recommendations. Dr. Mullen is a founding member of the Audiology Clinical Education Network. She also coordinates the Virtual Pediatric Audiology meetings which provides a large forum for learning and discussing issues pertaining to pediatric practice.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from Boston Children's Hospital.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.