Supporting communicative development of infants and toddlers with hearing loss

Abstract

Newborn hearing screening has increased the number of families enrolled in early intervention during a sensitive period of communication development. The primary role of the speech-language pathologist in early intervention is to facilitate natural parent-infant interactions and support parents' feelings of confidence in communicating with their child. Feelings of self-efficacy can be increased when parents understand how hearing loss impacts their child's communication development, understand how to monitor hearing technology and hearing status, and receive consistent feedback related to their child's progress. This article reviews the evidence behind benefits of early parent-child interactions and outlines strategies and resources for speech-language pathologists to use in supporting communication development with infants and toddlers with hearing loss.