The first few weeks and months after learning about your child’s hearing difference can be a busy time with many questions and emotions. You are not alone and there are many people and programs available to offer free help to answer questions and connect you to resources to best support your deaf or hard of hearing child.
The most important reminder is to keep interacting, communicating, and bonding with your baby! Children who have a hearing difference might not learn language the same way as other typical hearing children, which can impact their development. With early care and connections to services, your family will find support to help your child develop language and communication skills.
Here are some steps to take after your child has been diagnosed with a hearing difference:
Step 1: Connect with services to support your child’s development
Programs are voluntary but valuable partners to help make sure your child’s needs are met. These programs can provide free help and answer questions you may have about raising a child who is deaf or hard of hearing.
Guide By Your Side is a free program for parents, families, and caregivers raising a child who is deaf or hard of hearing. They provide unbiased information and emotional support from trained parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Children with a diagnosed hearing loss will be automatically referred to this program for follow up.
They offer:
- Help exploring language access and technology options
- Family-to-family connection (parents and children)
- Relevant trainings
- Support in Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs), Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and 504 plans
- Local events (both in person and virtual)
- Trained parent advocates by your side
- An active Facebook community
- In-person support at doctor and Early Intervention visits
- Annual Family Camp for deaf and hard of hearing children and their families
To learn more about GBYS and get in contact with their program:
Call: 971-258-0797
Email:
info@handsandvoicesOR.orgVisit them online at
www.handsandvoicesor.org
Early Intervention programs are free services through the Oregon Department of Education that provide individualized coaching and support for families to help your child achieve their potential in all areas of development, including communication, both signed and spoken. Children with a diagnosed hearing loss in one or both ears are highly recommended to enroll and can greatly benefit from these services.
To learn more about EI programs in Oregon and getting connected with your local program, click
here.
The Oregon Family to Family Health Information Center is a free service housed at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) that supports families and caregivers of children with special health needs when navigating complex health care systems. They are staffed by parents of children and youth with a variety of health conditions and provide free one-to-one support, training, and printed materials to families and professionals who serve them.
To learn more about the Oregon Family to Family Health Information Center and get in contact with their program:
Call: 855-323-6744 (English) or 833-990-9930 (Español)
Email:
contact@oregonfamilytofamily.org
Visit them online at
www.oregonfamilytofamily.org
Oregon’s Public Health nurses provide comprehensive assessments, case management and individual teaching. Public Health nurses help families set goals for making healthy lifestyle choices and fostering personal growth. Programs include Nurse Family Partnership, Babies First! and CaCoon.
To ask about receiving services or to refer your patients to these programs, contact your
local health department.
OHA’s EHDI Program helps identify and coordinate referrals for deaf and hard of hearing children up to 36 months of age. Following a hearing loss diagnosis, we will mail you a package of written information that outlines resources available to you. We are available to answer questions about connecting with programs throughout the state to support your child.
To learn more about EHDI and get in contact with our program:
Call: 888-917-4327
Email:
Oregon.EHDI@odhsoha.oregon.gov
Step 2: Coordinate with your child’s care providers
Your child’s audiologist will inform your child’s primary care provider of the test results from their hearing tests. Following your child’s hearing loss diagnosis, it is important to talk with their primary care provider about other specialists they may need to see for ongoing monitoring.
Be sure to request specialists who have experience working with families, infants and young children. All notes and reports should be shared among their primary care provider and specialists to ensure each professional has the same information and can treat your child effectively.
- Teach families how best to help their deaf and hard of hearing child learn and communicate during the early years of life
- Provides services in your home and other comfortable spaces to learn and grow
- Helps reduce potential developmental delays that can occur
- Check ears for fluid, wax, physical issues
- Provide medical clearance for hearing aid use
- Recommend additional testing to assess ear structures
- Perform ear surgeries, including cochlear implant surgery
- Test and treat vision or eye disorders
- About 20% of children with sensorineural hearing loss also have vision problems
- Discuss genetic and non-genetic causes of hearing loss
- Help you decide whether you want to pursue genetic testing
- About 50% of infant hearing loss is related to genetics
- Diagnose hearing loss and monitor hearing sensitivity
- Fit, program and check hearing aids and/or cochlear implants
- Monitor ongoing hearing difference and provide support and information
- Evaluate and treat speech and language disorders
- Assist in development of auditory skills
- Provide emotional support for children and families
- Many families want to process their thoughts and feelings after their child is identified with hearing loss
Step 3: Enroll in Early Intervention services and explore other programs
Children who are deaf and hard of hearing are at risk of not learning important developmental skills if they cannot access language (spoken and/or signed). Babies can benefit from services offered by Early Intervention programs to help learn and develop them while your baby’s brain is growing and developing. To learn more about EI services for deaf and hard of hearing children in Oregon, click here.
It is recommended to start Early Intervention services as early as possible to help with their ongoing development.
Here are additional programs in Oregon that may be helpful to explore both as resources and to learn more about opportunities for your child as they get older:
Bridges Oregon is a local Deaf-led organization that offers free services and support to Oregonians who are deaf and hard of hearing. They provide services that reduce communication barriers and increase access to essential systems, including healthcare, education, employment, and emergency services.
To learn more about Bridges Oregon and get in contact with their program:
Call: 971-202-1500
Email:
info@bridgesoregon.org
Visit them online at
bridgesoregon.org
Oregon DeafBlind Project is a local program that provides free support services for children in Oregon who are DeafBlind ages birth to 21 years of age.
To learn more about the Oregon DeafBlind Project and get in contact with their program:
Call: 503-916-5570
Visit them online at
https://www.crisoregon.org/ourservices/oregon-deafblind-project