Supporting Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and Their Families
FRC and ESIT Services Provider: Knowledge Building Training

Resources Section

Materials

British Columbia Children’s Hospital: How to Read an Audiogram

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Technology and Audiology

Hearing Tests for Children – What to expect before, during, and after your child’s hearing test (PDF)

Positive Strength-Based Language When Talking with Families (PDF)

Resource Notebook for Families of Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (PDF)
(Russian) (Mandarin Chinese) (Somali) (Spanish) (Vietnamese)

Starkey Hearing Loss Simulator

Statewide Resources

Early Hearing Detection, Diagnosis, and Intervention (EHDDI) Program
ehddi2@doh.wa.gov
Or call 1-888-WAEHDDI (1-888-923-4334)
www.doh.wa.gov/earlyhearing

Washington Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Youth (CDHY)
A statewide resource committed to ensuring all deaf and hard of hearing students in Washington reach their full potential regardless of where they live or attend school.
Outreach Services Birth-5
855-342-1670
https://www.cdhy.wa.gov

Washington Sensory Disabilities Services
Partners with schools, families, and agencies to support children and youth who are deaf/hard of hearing, blind/low vision, or deafblind.
360-947-3297
https://www.wsds.wa.gov

Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF)
Early Support for Infants and Toddlers (ESIT)
Connects families of children who are hard of hearing ages birth to 3 with early support services in Washington State.
https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/services/child-development-supports/esit

Washington State EHDDI Learning Community (WSELC)
Supports professionals across disciplines and across the state to connect, share ideas and results, and learn from each other through both in-person and virtual interactions.
https://wselc.org

Washington State Hands & Voices Guide By Your Side™ (GBYS) Program
Provides free support and resources by trained Parent Guides.
425-268-7087 or email gbys@wahandsandvoices.org
https://wahandsandvoices.org

National Resources

Early Hearing Detection and Interventions – Pediatric Audiology Links to Services (EHDI-PALS)
Searchable national directory to help families, healthcare professionals, and state public health organizations to find pediatric audiology expertise for children ages birth to five.
https://www.ehdi-pals.org

National Center on Deaf-Blindness
Improving services, results, and quality of life for children and youth who are deafblind.
www.nationaldb.org

Glossary

Academic development
How a child develops skills and goals to engage in academic learning.

Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)
During this test, the baby wears small earphones and has electrodes painlessly placed on his or her head. The electrodes adhere and come off like stickers and should not cause discomfort.

Audio loops systems
Assistive listening systems that use electromagnetic fields to transmit sound directly to hearing aids or cochlear implants equipped with a telecoil, improving sound clarity in specific environments.

Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER)
Performed to help diagnose non-typical nervous system and hearing function (especially in low-birth-weight newborns) and to assess neurologic functions. Small monitoring electrodes are placed on the scalp to measure the electrical pulses. Earphones provide a clicking noise to the ear. The clicks may become louder, softer, faster, or slower to see how the brain responds to these different stimulus parameters.

Captioning
Displaying written text of spoken words in real-time allows individuals who are DHH to read captions and follow conversations or media content.

Cochlear implants
Surgically implanted devices that bypass damaged parts of the ear to stimulate the auditory nerve directly, providing sound perception for individuals who have severe to profound decreased hearing levels.

​​Cognitive development
The growth of a child’s ability to think and reason.

Communicative-linguistic
Interpersonal communication processes with a focus on a living natural language that incorporates different communicating components, including physical, psychological, physiological, social, and contextual.

Emotional development
Learning what feelings and emotions are and understanding how they occur. Recognizing one’s own feelings and those of others.

Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (EOAE)
Tiny, flexible plug put into the baby's ear. Sounds are sent through the plug. A microphone in the plug records the typical ear's otoacoustic responses (emissions) in reaction to the sounds. There are no emissions in a baby who shows as hard of hearing or deaf. This test is painless and often takes just a few minutes. It is done while the baby sleeps.

FM or DM systems
Assistive listening devices that use radio waves to transmit sound directly from a speaker's microphone to a receiver worn by the listener, reducing background noise and improving speech understanding.

Flashing and vibrating alarms
Alarm systems that use visual cues, such as flashing lights or vibrations, to alert individuals who are DHH to various signals, including fire alarms, doorbells, or phone calls.

Hearing aids
Small electronic devices worn in or behind the ear that amplify sound and improve hearing for individuals who are hard of hearing.

Infra-red listening devices
Wireless devices that use infrared signals to transmit sound to individuals who are hard of hearing, often used in large venues like theaters or conference halls.

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE)
A soft earphone is inserted into your baby’s ear canal during this test. It plays sounds and measures an "echo" response that occurs in ears with typical hearing. If there is no echo, your baby might be hard of hearing.

Multiple Disabilities
Two or more disabilities that may occur at once.

Portable sound amplifiers
Compact amplification devices that increase the volume of sound for individuals who are mild to moderately hard of hearing in various situations, such as conversations or watching TV.

Play Audiometry
A test using an electrical machine sends sounds at different volumes and pitches into your child's ears. The child often wears some type of earphones. This test is changed slightly in the toddler age group and made into a game. The toddler is asked to do something with a toy (such as touch or move a toy) every time the sound is heard. This test relies on the child's cooperation, which may not always be possible.

Sensory development
The maturing of the five senses: hearing, smell, taste, touch, and vision.

Telephone amplifiers
Devices that amplify sound from telephones making it easier for individuals who are hard of hearing to hear and understand phone conversations.

Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA)
A test where the child is trained to look toward a sound source. When the child responds correctly, the child is rewarded through visual reinforcement. This may be a toy that moves or a flashing light. The test is most often used for children between 6 months to 2 years old.

References

Salmon MK, Brant J, Hohman MH, et al. Audiogram Interpretation. [Updated 2023 Mar 1]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK578179/#

Shojaei E, Jafari Z, Gholami M. Effect of Early Intervention on Language Development in Hearing-Impaired Children. Iran J Otorhinolaryngol. 2016 Jan;28(84):13-21. PMID: 26877999; PMCID: PMC4735612.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2021). Your baby’s hearing screening and next steps. NIH Publication No. 21-4968. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/sites/default/files/your-babys-hearing-screening-and-next-steps.pdf