2026 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 15-17, 2026 • Jacksonville, FL
| Dashboard Development Between State Agencies to Track Language Acquisition in Young Children with Hearing Loss
Dashboard Development Between State Agencies to Track Language Acquisition in Young Children with Hearing Loss
Language acquisition among children who are DHH is an increasing focus of both national and state-level Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs. This project describes the collaborative development of a data dashboard in the Minnesota Early Childhood Longitudinal Data System (ECLDS) to track and visualize early language development indictors for DHH children transitioning out of Part C services.
At the time of Part C exit, school districts report receptive and expressive language, including spoken or signed words and phrases, grammar, social language and behavior, and school readiness vocabulary to the MN Department of Education (MDE) for children with a hearing loss. This report includes information on current hearing technology use, presence of cognitive delays or disabilities, primary communication modes in the home and early learning environment, and early literacy and numeracy skills.
Public health and education agencies in MN collaborated to create a dashboard to display language acquisition outcomes for children who are DHH exiting Part C. This development process incorporated feedback from the MN EHDI Advisory Committee and MN Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing language acquisition workgroup, which includes a broad range of professionals, families, and agency stakeholders. Part C exit data from MDE was merged with public health data for children who are DHH identified in the MDH EHDI Program through the ECLDS. Tableau was used to visualize the combined dataset by factors such as degree of hearing loss and laterality, and other relevant factors. This presentation will outline the steps involved in dashboard development including interagency data-sharing agreements, stakeholder engagement, and ongoing collaboration, as well as data completeness of language acquisition outcomes matched for children reported to the MN EHDI program.
- Describe the collaborative process between state health and education agencies in developing a data dashboard to track early language acquisition outcomes for children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) exiting Part C early intervention services.
- Identify language and developmental indicators collected at Part C exit and matched with public health EHDI data.
- Describe data completeness of early language acquisition data for children who are DHH in Minnesota.
Presentation:
View Presentation File
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Sara Lammert
(Primary Presenter), Minnesota Department of Health, sara.lammert@state.mn.us;
Sara is an epidemiologist, focusing on longitudinal follow-up of children who are deaf and hard of hearing.
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.
Darcia Dierking
(Co-Author), Minnesota Department of Health, darcia.dierking@state.mn.us;
Darcia Dierking, Au.D. holds pediatric audiology specialty certification and has more than 20 years of clinical and research experience working with both children and adults. Dr. Dierking works with the Minnesota Department of Health Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program as an EHDI Coordinator doing longitudinal follow-up for children who are deaf and hard of hearing.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Venessa Heiland
(Co-Author), Minnesota Department of Health, venessa.heiland@state.mn.us;
Venessa Heiland, RHIT, is a health program representative working with long-term follow-up after a child is identified as deaf or hard of hearing. She is experienced in EHR abstraction.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Danielle Hayden
(Co-Author), Minnesota Department of Education, danielle.hayden@state.mn.us;
Danielle is the Early Education Director at the Minnesota Department of Education
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Garrett Petrie
(Author,Co-Author), Minnesota Department of Education, garrett.petrie@state.mn.us;
Garrett is an Education Specialist at the Minnesota Department of Education
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Karen Satre
(Author,Co-Author), Minnesota Department of Education, Karen.Satre@state.mn.us;
Karen is a Reporting and Data Literacy Specialist at the Minnesota Department of Education.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Cat Tamminga
(Author,Co-Author), MN Department of Education, cat.tamminga@state.mn.us;
Cat Tamminga is the Part C (0-3) Coordinator for the state of Minnesota. Prior, Cat served children and families across Indiana as Lead Early Intervention Specialist for St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf (SJID) where she helped develop the statewide Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education (CDHHE). Cat is the Secretary-Treasurer for the Infant and Toddler Coordinators Association (ITCA), on the development team for the Family Outcomes Community of Practice with the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA) and the Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy), a partner in the Part C Racial Equity Community with ECTA, a Listening & Spoken Language Specialist, and a member of various other professional and community organizations.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -