Education, Early Intervention in

Legislation, Policy, and Best Practices

States are provided latitude for determining specific criteria for eligibility and therefore, each state decides which deaf infants will receive services and which will not. According to the 2007 Position Statement of the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH), all infants who are deaf, regardless of the level of hearing they have, or whether they are deaf bilaterally or unilaterally, should be considered eligible for early intervention services.

The Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act (2000, 2010) was established to encourage states to set up systems that would provide hearing screening to all newborns and set in place procedures to refer infants for further audiologic evaluations and early intervention services if needed. The EHDI legislation has been instrumental in dramatically reducing the average age of identification of young deaf children and increasing the number of infants, toddlers and their families who receive early intervention services well before the children’s first birthday. State EHDI systems have set targets that include hearing screening for all infants by 1 month of age; full audiologic evaluations by 3 months of age; and referral to early intervention programs by the time infants are 6 months old. Unfortunately, many infants in the United States and around the world do not receive early intervention services by this time.

Evidence-based practice guidelines stem from research, legislation and policies, as well as the knowledge and experiences of consumers, families of deaf children and professionals. A 2013 Supplement to the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH) 2007 Position Statement presents best practice guidelines and benchmarks to support the provision of effective early intervention services for infants, toddlers and their families. See Table 1.

Studies affirm that when infants receive timely, comprehensive and appropriate early intervention services by professionals who have expertise and training, they have a high probability of achieving (or exceeding) developmental milestones that are comparable to their peers.

Families With Deaf Children

Early intervention programming focuses on helping families establish a nurturing and supportive home environment that promotes early learning and healthy social-emotional development. Effective early intervention provides families with the information and support they need to promote their child’s development in all areas (i.e., cognitive, linguistic, social-emotional, motoric and adaptive). A primary goal of early intervention is to promote the overall competence and confidence of families, and support family involvement. Support for families comes from both formal and informal sources including: professionals, families with other deaf children, and adults who are deaf. Families who are highly involved in their child’s early intervention programming tend to have better communication skills with their children than those who are less involved. Professionals who understand how to provide services that are sensitive to the family’s life situation and meaningful in terms of their cultural values and beliefs establish positive partnerships with families that promote their engagement.

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