Early intervention is everyone’s business
In a separate interview, Amy Hardy M.S. CCC-SLP, speech language pathologist and clinical professor at Idaho State University, emphasized the importance of early intervention, citing reports from the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management, which credits detection and treatment of hearing loss at birth per child to saving $400,000 in special education costs by the time they graduate from high school (https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/newborn-hearing-screening-state-laws.aspx).
Earliest possible hearing detection is and should be a standard of care for infants and children, and the importance of follow up appointments also cannot be understated,” Ms. Hardy said. Perhaps the biggest challenge for professionals involved with early learning is that many children are delayed in receiving follow up appointments for hearing detection, she added. When families fail to receive a follow-up notice or opt not attend the follow-up appointment, this leaves infants that may be deaf or hard of hearing unidentified, she explained, noting that in some states, lack of consistent and stable state funding needed for effective follow-up with these children and families is a factor.
Ms. Hardy urged that anyone who knows an expectant family can tout the importance of early screenings. Even daycare workers have a responsibility to play a role in early hearing detection, she noted.
Although speech language pathologists routinely advocate for early intervention, “it is never too late to work on skills that will assist children in their everyday lives,” she advised.
The authors had no relevant financial disclosures. The study was funded in part by the Disability Research and Dissemination Center via cooperative agreements with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
SOURCE: Meinzen-Derr J et al. Pediatrics. 2020 October. doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-0557.