Early intervention program services help young children with hearing loss learn language skills and other important skills. Moreover, research shows that early intervention services can greatly improve a child’s development. Babies who are diagnosed with hearing loss should begin intervention services as soon as possible, but no later than six months of age.
No single treatment or intervention is the answer for every child or family. Good intervention plans will include close monitoring, follow-ups and any changes needed along the way. There are many different options for children with hearing loss and their families.
Some Treatment & Intervention Options
- Working with a professional (or team) who can help a child and family learn to communicate.
- Getting a hearing device, such as a hearing aid.
- Joining support groups.
- Taking advantage of other resources available to children with a hearing loss and their families.
Language Red Flags
Receptive Language
- Major expressive-receptive split in language abilities.
- Uneven developmental progress in perception vs. symbolic language.
- Inordinate difficulty learning relational concepts in comparison to other words.
- Difficulty understanding basic questions.
- Slow rate of language learning, where gap between chronological and language age increases over time.
- Difficulty integrating multiple sources of information
Expressive Language
- Major expressive-receptive split in language abilities.
- Frequent cross-category semantic errors. (“Daddy holed the ground with a big fork.”)
- Difficulty participating in conversations about non-present topics (talking about something the dog did after the dog has left the room).
- Oral-motor or fine-motor issues influencing motor planning and sequencing.
- Prolonged use of simple vocalizations, limited consonants in spite of strong auditory skills.
- Difficulty producing intelligible signs.
- Language organization challenges affecting narratives.
- Slow rates of learning in both receptive and expressive language; language age/chronological age gap widens.
Motor Red Flags
Atypical Gross Motor Development Patterns
Delays that are likely not explained by deafness include:
- Favoring one hand before 12 months of age (due to weakness or difficulty using both hands)
- Crossing midline to pick up a toy (children under 1 ½ years should reach for object with hand closest to the object rather than use the opposite hand, crossing over the midline)
- Fisting of the hands beyond four to six months of age.
- Persistent primitive reflexes beyond four to six months of age such as rooting, palmer grasp, Moro, and stepping.
- Log roll (rather than segmental roll)
- Muscle tone (low or high)
- Scissoring of the legs (when a child is picked up, the legs should be slightly apart rather than crossing over each other)
Conditions with deafness that “may” include motor involvement
- Inner eaer malformations (cochlear dysplasia, Mondini malformation)
- Usher Syndrome Type I
- CHARGE Syndrome
- Post-meningitis with vestibular involvement.
Texas Health and Human Services. (2021, August 1). A Look at the 1-3-6 Plan.
