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Intervention Program for Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (EIP).
BEGINNINGS routinely provides information about families being served
whose children are under 3 and services provided by BEGINNINGS. This
“service progress log” is exchanged biweekly with the EIP and the regional
Child Health Audiology Consultants from the North Carolina Early Hearing
Detection and Intervention program. This communication tool has been invaluable
in ensuring families are served in a timely manner as they move
from diagnosis to intervention. Additionally, face-to-face meetings with representatives
from the EIP, BEGINNINGS and the Division of Public Health
occur quarterly to discuss strategies for improving communication, follow-up
with families who have been challenging to find or serve and other issues that
arise. Once services are in place, frequent contact with BEGINNINGS is not
needed. Parent educators check in with families periodically and at specific
educational milestones, such as transition from early intervention to preschool
(see the article by Wilson, this issue, page 419).
Important changes occur once children turn age 3 in North Carolina and in
most states. Under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
(IDEA), services from birth to 3 are set forth in an Individualized Family
Service Plan (IFSP) and, in North Carolina, are administered by the Division
of Public Health. After age 3, responsibility for educational services is transferred
to the state Department of Public Instruction, necessitating the creation
of an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Parent educators play an important
role in assisting families in developing goals for their child’s IEP.
They explain educational rights and accommodations, assist parents in articulating
their goals for their child, and, if requested, accompany the parents
to an IEP meeting to ensure that the plan is written in a way that will facilitate
success in the educational setting. One of BEGINNINGS’ most important
goals is to help parents develop the knowledge and skills they need to become
advocates for their child and family, and parent educators focus on
helping parents gain the confidence they need to accomplish this goal, even
if it means encouraging them to function more independently.
Parent educators also provide school-based support, such as classroom
observations and teacher in-service education, to ensure children have the
supports and modifications necessary for full access to classroom instruction.
They advise the school about the need for assistive technology and explain
the school’s responsibility to provide it. They accompany parents to audiologic
appointments to support them as they learn about their child’s hearing
loss and to help them understand the information provided. This service has
been especially valuable to parents whose first language is not English. BE-
GINNINGS has two Hispanic outreach/parent educators who are native
Spanish speakers. They do not provide interpreter/translation services;
rather, they support parents in their native language. Support is specific to
each family but may involve helping parents understand their child’s audiogram
and becoming aware of what is involved in managing their child’s
Statewide EHDI Collaboration 265