LEND Audiology Trainees Learn Strategies for Early Diagnosis at EHDI 2019

May 20, 2019

LEND Audiology trainees and faculty discuss the role of audiologists in supporting families to accessing timely diagnostic services.

The 18th annual Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Meeting welcomed nearly 1,000 diverse stakeholders on March 4-6 in Chicago, IL. The EHDI Meeting brings together those who work in state-based EHDI Programs, assist in EHDI efforts on the federal level, provide screening, diagnostic, and early intervention support at the state level to young children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their families, and deaf and family advocates. The Meeting is organized by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Hands and Voices, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services: Health Resources and Services Administration, and National Center for Hearing Assessment & Management at Utah State University.

During this year's Meeting, over 75 audiology trainees and faculty from 18 Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) programs attended. They participated in a pre-EHDI afternoon workshop planned by LEND faculty titled "From Screening to Diagnosis: Strategies for Facilitating Early Diagnosis and Reducing Loss to Follow-Up." Trainees who attended the session were able to describe the role of audiologists in supporting families to accessing timely diagnostic service and discuss the importance for a child and family of making a referral to early intervention immediately after making a diagnosis of hearing loss. They also had the opportunity to hear from a diverse panel including audiologists, family advocates, and an EHDI coordinator. As a result of the panel, 100% of trainees responded that hearing from the panel increased their ability to describe multiple stakeholders' perspectives and roles involved in ensuring that infants receive timely diagnosis and reducing loss to follow-up rates.

This year, three LEND network members were recognized for their hard work:

The 2019 EHDI Family Leadership Award was given to Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities LEND faculty, Djenne-Amal Morris. The award honors a parent or family member of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing for providing exemplary leadership in their state EHDI system and whose leadership has led to improved outcomes.
This year's poster awards were selected by the attendees instead of a poster committee. A LEND trainee Kathryn Rawls, and faculty Sandra Gabbard, from JFK Partners (CO) won one of the best student poster presentation. Their poster was titled "Parental Perspectives on Using Hearing Assistive Technology in Non-Academic Settings."

Many LEND trainees who attended the EHDI Meeting reported they enjoyed the opportunity to network and discuss strategies with other LEND trainees from other programs. AUCD's Interdisciplinary Technical Assistance Center on Autism and Related Disabilities (ITAC) was pleased to provide scholarships of $500 each for seven LEND audiology trainees from the following programs: