The Language Nutrition concept applies to language learning for all children but is even more critical for deaf and hard of hearing children.

*Click here to download this infographic as a PDF

The Power of Parents in Fostering Language in Deaf and Hard of Children | 2 Part Webinar (Now Viewing on Demand)

This two-part online series will emphasize the key role of parents in fostering language in children who are deaf and hearing. With the implementation of newborn hearing screening and accepted practice that state early intervention agencies complete diagnosis and initiate services (including fitting amplification) for children with congenital hearing loss by six months of age, we now recognize the “power of parents.” The role of professionals has shifted from professionals working with the child to supporting the entire family unit in utilizing the language of the home and heart—whether that language is English, Spanish, ASL or another. These two sessions will explore how to fully support parents in language learning for their children with hearing loss.

Dana Suskind MD
Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics 
Co-Director TMW Center for Early Learning + Public Health 
University of Chicago 
Title of Presentation
Leveraging New Technology to Help Parents Foster Rich Language Environments 

This course is presented by AudiologyOnline in partnership with ACI Alliance.

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Karl R. White PhD 
Director, National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management
Emma Eccles Jones Endowed Chair in Early Childhood Education
Professor of Psychology
Utah State University
Title of Presentation
What’s Past is Prologue: Engaging Families in Continuing to Improve EHDI Programs

This course is presented by AudiologyOnline in partnership with ACI Alliance.

 

 

 

 

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The Power of Parents - an editorial highlighting our collaborative work on Listening—Language—Literacy appeared in the January issue of The Hearing Journal 

Authored by Donna L. Sorkin MA, and Carrie Spangler AuD

1/3/2024

Today 75% of children who fail the newborn hearing screen are referred into the early intervention system and complete diagnostic testing by 3 months of age. The aim of universal newborn hearing screening is to have all children receiving services no later than 6 months of age though many begin well before that. Even children who are born deaf, now have opportunities to listen, talk, and develop language on par with their typically hearing peers. We now recognize and promote the “power of parents” to spur their children on, using the language of the home and strategies that incorporate language learning into the natural fabric of the family.

Read the full article here.

Click here to read the article within The Hearing Journal January 2024 issue

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Listening è  Language è  Literacy For All Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children

9/6/2023

ACI Alliance Executive Director Donna Sorkin wrote on the initiative for the September 2023 issue of Calling.       Click here to read the full piece here

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Thanks to Roberta M. Golinkoff, University of Delaware and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Temple University for these practical principles.

Click here for PDF.

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Listening è  Language  è Literacy For All Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children: A Collaborative Initiative

7/7/2023

A task force of individuals who support families of children who are deaf and hard of hearing recently completed a 5-month collaborative process to develop research-based messages on the benefits of listening for language development and literacy. The group included parents of adult children born deaf or hard of hearing, adults who grew up with hearing loss, and professionals in the field of childhood hearing loss (including educators, audiologists, speech pathologists, a surgeon, psychologists, and early intervention experts).  The collaborative effort relied upon earlier work by others including Dr. Dana Suskind’s Thirty Million Words: Building a Child’s Brain and guidance from pediatric nurses on “Language Nutrition,” a concept emphasizing the role of families in providing home language that is rich in quality and quantity. The Language Nutrition concept applies to language learning for all children but is even more critical for deaf and hard of hearing children.  The task force exploration led them to public and private school educators in Georgia who have initiated an effort to encourage parents to use the language of the home to talk, interact, read, and engage with their children.  

The Listening è  Language è  Literacy initiative resulted in the development of an infographic designed to be widely used in supporting families of children who are deaf and hard of hearing and the professionals who serve them.

*Click here to download this infographic as a PDF

*Click here for the Spanish Version of this Infographic. 

The translation of Listening—Language—Literacy into Spanish was completed by Alejandra Ullauri AuD, MPH (Audiology En Español) and Mariana Mejía Turnbull AuD (NYU Langone Health).

*Click here for the Japanese Version of this Infographic.

The translation of Listening—Language—Literacy into Japanese was completed by Olivia Wee LSLS Cert AVT (Hear My Voice Auditory-Verbal Therapy) and Lelien.

*Click here for the French Version of this Infographic.

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*Click here for the Korean Version of this Infographic.

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*Click here for the Mandarin Version of this Infographic.

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We are grateful to the individuals who participated in the collaboration