A Parent's Guide to Hearing Loss

Produced by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program

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Support Networks

Families may wish to seek out relationships with people and with groups for support.

Relationships with professionals such as audiologists, physicians, service coordinators, teachers, therapists, and others make up a family's professional support network.

Parents, adults who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, advocacy groups, personal supports such as family, friends and clergy, and other resources make up a family's community support network. Some families find support groups for parents and siblings very helpful.

These working relationships and friendships can lead to support for your child and family for many years.

We hope the information on this CD-ROM was helpful. Please remember that there are many interventions to consider. We believe that the decision-making process belongs to each individual family. If you have comments or questions about anything in this CD, please contact us. We would like to hear from you.

Glossary

Professional: For this CD-ROM, a professional is a person who has special training in health and education and works with children and families.

Audiologist: A professional trained to test hearing by performing audiology evaluations.

Service Coordinator: This is a professional that is assigned to help a family work through the IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan). Every family that takes part in this program is assigned a service coordinator. This professional works closely with the family to set up the services in the Part C program. The service coordinator talks with the family to learn about their concerns, resources, and priorities.

Intervention Services: Intervention services are types of services available for children and their families. An intervention service might be:

• Meeting with a professional (or team) who is trained to work with children that have a hearing loss, and their families
• Working with a professional (or team) that can help a family and child learn to communicate
• Fitting a baby with a hearing device, such as a hearing aid
• Joining family support groups
• Other services available to children with a hearing loss and their families

For more information or to order additional copies of "A Parent's Guide to Hearing Loss" visit CDC's website at www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/ehdi.