1-3-6: Early Hearing Detection & Intervention

For more information about Virginia's early intervention program, the Infant Toddler Connection, please check out our LOCAL/STATE RESOURCES page.

Why is EHDI important?

Despite the efforts over the past 20 years, there are still many children whose hearing level is not identified early. For example, in 2014, 689 of the 1,369 babies in Virginia who were referred for further testing had no follow up appointment to determine their hearing status (VCU, 2017).

Late identification and lack of early intervention services can negatively impact not only language development, but also academic achievement and social-emotional development in deaf and hard of hearing children (ASHA, 2008).

Language is a human and cultural right for all people (Nover & Ruiz, 1994). Deaf and hard of hearing children have the right to their natural language, American Sign Language (ASL), as well as English. Exposure to ASL as early as possible can help prevent language deprivation, and in turn, language delay of school-age children (Cordano, 2016).

See the video below for a demonstration of what language deprivation for DHH children can look like.

Terminology

When reading information about deafness, you may see many conflicting terms. For example, you may see one website use "hearing loss," while another may say "hearing level." One guide may use the phrase "early intervention" versus another that may call it "early involvement." Why do some sources use some words, and other sources use others? It certainly can be a tough sea to navigate.

Below you will find two resources to help you better understand the language frequently used in educational materials. The first is a video from Rachel Benedict from Boston University and ASLized. The second is an excerpt from chapter 18 of "A Resource Guide for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention," available here.

Please note that these are merely suggestions for use, and are not uniformly used across all documents, resources, and guides.

Below is Virginia's Resource Guide for Families of Children with Hearing Loss. This guide, along with more information about Virginia's 1-3-6 Family Educator Program, can be found here.