2025 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 9-11, 2025 • Pittsburgh, PA
DAVID L. LAWRENCE CONVENTION CENTER
| Integration of Psychology & Neuropsychology into Pediatric ENT & Audiological Medical Team Settings
Integration of Psychology & Neuropsychology into Pediatric ENT & Audiological Medical Team Settings
Pediatric psychologists and neuropsychologists play an essential role in specialized medical settings (e.g., hematology/oncology, cardiology, developmental pediatrics, etc.), by assessing and intervening to improve pediatric adjustment to a chronic condition and helping families to more effectively manage the demands of medical care. Although many pediatric hospitals and medical centers include ear, nose, throat (ENT), audiological (AuD), and cochlear implant (CI) specialty teams, pediatric psychologists and neuropsychologists are rarely embedded within these teams, due to a dearth of formalized training opportunities with deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) populations. This presentation, delivered by psychologists integrated into such settings will include the following:
-Unique backgrounds, professional experiences, and training pathways that foster specialization when working broadly with DHH youth and families.
-Professional ethics and values that underlie the clinical work, such as a ‘whole child’ approach, appreciation of broader DHH and disability community values (e.g,. respect for signed languages and patient autonomy in identity development) and recognition of multicultural identity and intersectionality to strengthen family-provider relationships.
-The role of psychology and neuropsychology in family-centered pre-surgical cochlear implant screening and diagnostic evaluations, and post-surgical patient outcomes monitoring.
-Strategies for building and enhancing collaborative relationships with community providers, especially early childhood intervention (ECI) teams. Presenters will discuss how to balance care coordination demands while maintaining family autonomy and confidentiality across different settings. We will also discuss how psychological and neuropsychological services can complement and support the work of ECI providers, and how insights from ECI providers can inform clinic-based care for DHH youth.
- Participants will give examples of how pediatric psychologists and neuropsychologists adopt a ‘whole child’ perspective, demonstrating respect for D/deaf and disability communities while honoring multicultural identity and intersectionality.
- Participants will outline key components of pre-surgical cochlear implant screening and diagnostic evaluations and post-surgical patient outcomes monitoring.
- Participants will explain how pediatric psychologists and neuropsychologists establish and strengthen collaborative relationships among multiple providers serving DHH populations, particularly early intervention specialists.
Presentation:
3545975_18279SarahSchoffstall.pdf
Handouts:
3545975_18279SarahSchoffstall.pptx
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Michael Hoffman
(Co-Presenter), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, hoffmanm5@chop.edu;
Dr. Michael Hoffman is a Pediatric Psychologist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia within the Center for Childhood Communication and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He provides integrated psychological services with an emphasis patient-centered, collaborative care for deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. Dr. Hoffman serves on the cochlear implant team and provides outpatient consultation for cochlear impact candidates, and those who were recently implanted. He also helped to develop a tiered model of service to screen all DHH patients and provide brief interventions for challenges related to deafness (deaf identity, adjustment to hearing loss/limited device usage, family stress related to hearing loss, academic/peer difficulties, and traditional psychiatric diagnoses such as anxiety, depression, and ADHD). Dr. Hoffman is deaf himself, and utilizes one cochlear implant and one hearing aid.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from CHOP.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Matthew Fasano-McCarron
(Co-Presenter), The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, fasanomccm@chop.edu;
Pediatric Neuropsychologist, Licensed Psychologist specializing in providing neuropsychological consultation and assessment services to DHH children and their families.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Sarah Schoffstall
(Primary Presenter), Dell Children's Medical Center, sarah.schoffstall@ascension-external.org;
Sarah J. Schoffstall, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Dell Medical School. She is also a pediatric psychologist and a nationally certified school psychologist.
Schoffstall serves patients and their families through the otolaryngology and cochlear implant specialty clinics at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas. She also provides outpatient services through the Texas Child Study Center.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Rachel Landsman
(Co-Presenter), Boston Children's Hospital Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program, Rachel.Landsman@childrens.harvard.edu ;
Dr. Landsman is an Attending Pediatric Neuropsychologist in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program at Boston Children's Hospital as well as an Instructor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.