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as primary teacher and the importance of daily interactions in achieving
desired outcomes.
Accomplishments and Challenges
Every effort is made to enroll children and begin intervention immediately
after referral. It is noteworthy that at no time in the referral process is a child
placed on a waiting list. An additional strength of the program is the requirement
that all professionals be licensed in deaf education and/or speechlanguage
pathology. Thus, services are implemented by specialists rather
than by generalists. Furthermore, providers must complete requirements to
obtain the state’s Infant-Toddler Credential. To earn this credential, professionals
must demonstrate knowledge, skills and expertise with the birth-tothree
population, including parent-centered practices. The Infant-Toddler
Credential, in combination with licensure in deaf education and/or speechlanguage
pathology, is important to ensuring that children and families receiving
early intervention services have access to appropriately trained
personnel.
Implementation of baseline and ongoing assessment practices provides
practitioners with essential information to guide intervention, monitor progress
and make changes as necessary to meet the family’s goals. Although this
aspect of the program can be time consuming, routine assessment every six
months for the birth-to-three population can be regarded as a program
strength and a practice necessary for appropriate intervention. Because parental
involvement is deemed an essential component for children with special
needs to make appropriate progress, the program endeavors to empower
parents as key decision makers and teachers and to actively involve them in
each intervention session.
With input from teachers, therapists and parents, administrators continually
review program practices to determine components that are working
well and to identify concerns and challenges. It is well documented that a
substantial number of children who are deaf or hard of hearing also present
with one or more disabilities (Picard, 2004). The Gallaudet Research Institute
(2003) reported that as many as 40 percent of children who are deaf or hard
of hearing have additional challenges ranging from severe cognitive impairments
to mild learning differences that are not apparent until school age.
Children enrolled in the early intervention program present with a variety of
syndromes, developmental disabilities and medical conditions. Given the
range of additional challenges, it is not always possible to identify and assign
early intervention personnel who already have knowledge and expertise in
the particular areas needed. In those situations early intervention personnel
often find themselves in the position of working with children and families
with special needs outside the scope of their existing training and expertise,
at least initially. When faced with serving children with additional challenges,
Statewide EHDI Collaboration 269