 What’s Next ? March 22, :00 pm EST 1

 Corri Elizabeth Saunders, Teacher of the Deaf Amy Hunt, Speech Language Pathologist 2

Participants will…  Understand the process following a newborn hearing screening referral.  Discover answers to commonly asked questions from parents/ caregivers.  Know the agencies involved in the initial stages of support, assessment, and intervention for babies who are deaf and hard of hearing.  Obtain information about resources available for babies with hearing loss in the State of Maine. 3

Maine Newborn Hearing Screenings “ Several studies indicate variance in the prevalence of newborns with congenital hearing loss in the United States. The overall estimates are between 1 to 6 per 1,000 newborns.” 4

Nita asks, “What does ‘refer’ mean?”  Re-screening  Diagnostic audiological assessment 5

Parent Experience… Amber and Raiden 6

What is an ABR? Auditory Brainstem Response  Screening= assesses broad band of sounds important for hearing speech with a click at one loudness level. PASS/REFER  Follow Up= assesses a variety of specific sounds and determines how loud each sound needs to be for the babies brain to respond. Estimates how your baby hears! 7

What other tests will a pediatric audiologist do? “what do they all mean?”  Auditory Brainstem Response  Estimates the degree and type of hearing loss.  Tympanometry  Shows the function of the middle ear, ear drum and tiny bones.  Otoacoustic Emissions Test  Determines the function of the inner ear and cochlea. 8

 The ABR provides an adequate estimate for a pediatric audiologist to program hearing aids, if deemed appropriate.  This audiogram shows at what loudness level and pitch common sounds and speech occur.  If your babies hearing is estimated below the speech banana, they will not have access to spoken language without the use of amplification. Hearing tests on infants give us estimates of their hearing loss… 9

 Emily asks, “Who else do I need to contact to make sure Oliver is getting all the care he needs?” 10

Audiologists will send recommendations and referrals to:  The baby’s Healthcare provider  Child Development Services (CDS)  Maine Newborn Hearing Program (MNHP)  Early Childhood and Family Services (ECFS)  Ear, Nose and Throat Doctor (ENT), Otolaryngologist Jennifer asks “Why do I need to go to an ENT?” 11

Harley’s grandmother, Leanne asked... “Who are all these people calling me?”  Maine Newborn Hearing Program (MNHP)  Child Development Services ( CDS)  Early Childhood and Family Services (ECFS) 12

Statewide Resources:  CDS –  ECFS –  hear-ME-now –  Maine Center of Deafness-  Maine Newborn Hearing Program – National Resources:  Alexander Graham Bell Association –  American Speech Language Hearing Association –  Hands and Voices – Resources 13

Let’s Review  Discover answers to commonly asked questions from parents/ caregivers.  Obtain information about resources available for babies with hearing loss in the State of Maine.  Understand the process following a newborn hearing screening referral.  Know the agencies involved in the initial stages of support, assessment, and intervention for babies who are deaf and hard of hearing. 14

Think we could help?  If you know of a child or family that would benefit from the support of Early Childhood and Family Services, please contact us. 15  ECFS Director, Karen Hopkins

QUESTIONS?  Archived Webinar Link  Amy Hunt, MS CCC/ SLP  Corri Elizabeth Saunders, M.E.D-CED 16