Hearing screening provides a great opportunity to talk with parents about a child's language development and learning. The ECHO Initiative has developed new fact sheets to encourage these conversations with parents, and to help you share what you know about hearing screening with other professionals serving young children and their families.   

 

Programs working with expectant mothers and parents of newborn babies can start with this simple hand out on newborn hearing screening follow-up. All babies should have a hearing screening shortly after birth and all parents should know whether their baby passed, or what to do if their baby did not pass. If parents are curious about how a newborn's hearing can be checked, Giving Your Baby a Sound Beginning is a 6-minute video that explains the screening process. Programs serving infants and young children will also want to review each child's health record to verify that the child either passed the newborn screening,
or was evaluated by a pediatric audiologist.  Program staff should assist families in taking any needed follow-up steps.   

 

Programs screening infants, toddlers and young children beyond the newborn period can use this handout on periodic hearing screening as one way to let parents know this service is being provided.
If parents are curious about how an infant's or toddler's hearing can be screened, even before the child can respond reliably to prompts, encourage them to watch the 6-minute Introduction to OAE Screening video. Have a conversation with parents about the important role they play in stimulating a child's language development. The simple games and songs of childhood are more than just fun. Through these interactions, a child begins to gain receptive and expressive language skills. As parents talk to the child during feeding and bathing routines, they are helping the child form relationships and an understanding of the world around them.    

   

Finally, if you want to share what you know about Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) screening with other programs and providers, pass along the newly updated 2-page OAE Overview. The first page outlines why hearing screening is important and why OAE screening is the evidence-based method for children 0-3 years of age. The second page describes the settings in which this screening could, and should,
be offered so that many more children have the benefit of hearing screening during the critical, language-learning years.