This article describes the preschool program at Missouri State University where deaf and hard of hearing children with all communication modalities and all styles of personal assistive listening devices are served. The job of the early intervention providers is to model for parents what high expectations look like and how to translate those…

The United States is more accessible to deaf and hard of hearing individuals and people with disabilities today than it was 50, 20, or even 10 years ago. A variety of laws ensures equality in the treatment of deaf and hard of hearing people. Communication barriers have been addressed, and wider opportunities are available in education, employment,…

Obtaining appropriate special education and related services to establish the best educational environment--academically and socially--has not only been challenging but also downright daunting. The decisions the author has made supporting his children, 6-year-old James who is deaf and 12-year-old Miia who is hard of hearing, are, in part, derived…

With the onset of universal newborn hearing screenings and early identification and amplification, children with hearing loss are able to receive education in mainstream classrooms as early as preschool. According to a 2011 report from the U. S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), 52.6 percent of preschool-age children with hearing loss in the…

The February 2011 National Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) conference marked its tenth annual event. During the opening plenary, speakers looked back and described the progress and accomplishments of past years. They highlighted activities of the various federal agencies, medical organizations, and individuals who helped move EHDI…

In Illinois, several organizations collaborate to provide a comprehensive approach to family outreach for families of students who are deaf and hard of hearing. This article provides an overview of some of the agencies that work together in this effort: (1) CHOICES for Parents; (2) Illinois Hands and Voices; (3) Guide By Your Side; (4) Illinois…

In Indiana, families with newly identified deaf and hard of hearing children may have varying experiences in discovering the support systems available to them. Indiana has a Part C early intervention (EI) program, known as First Steps, that serves all children at risk or identified with a disability. This program, however, is not yet seamless in…

Current trends and issues surrounding birth screening, early intervention services, and deaf children's varying access to language and literacy demonstrate a critical need to improve one's understanding of how to involve families as partners in their children's education. In the past decade, increasing numbers of deaf children have been identified…

Relative to Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI), New Mexico struggles with multiple points of referral into early intervention in the same way most states do. Referrals are not systematized through a single point of entry. The Step*Hi (statewide Parent-Infant) Program of the New Mexico School for the Deaf (NMSD) receives referrals from…

In this issue of "Odyssey," Joanne Corwin describes New Mexico's statewide partnership among several agencies for the provision of early intervention services to infants and children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families (Effective Partnering of State Agencies to Achieve Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Benchmarks, p. 20).…

In this issue of "Odyssey," Joanne Corwin describes New Mexico's statewide partnership among several agencies for the provision of early intervention services to infants and children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families (Effective Partnering of State Agencies to Achieve Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Benchmarks, p. 20). A…

In 1990 Katie was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss at 26 months of age. Her communication skills were delayed and a hearing loss had been suspected earlier. Several months later, Katie received hearing aids. Her mother was also referred to the county's Birth to 3 Program. In Wisconsin, Birth to 3 Programs were based out of the Department of…

A shortage of well-prepared professionals imposes limits on access to comprehensive and effective early intervention services to deaf and hard of hearing children. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act expects states to ensure that professionals working with infants and toddlers have relevant skills, however, there are very few…

The development of language and literacy is the foundation for all other learning. This statement is the guiding philosophy at the Iowa School for the Deaf (ISD). Teachers at ISD believe that intensive, highly structured early intervention and education work best to support cognitive and communication development in their students. However, little…

Autism awareness is spreading like wildfire. Diagnoses have increased at an astounding rate. The statistic most often quoted is that 1 child in 150 has autism. As if the high rate of autism diagnoses were not worrisome enough, many doctors are not properly trained, or kept up to date, on how to detect autism at the earliest possible age. In many…