Abstract

Cathwood E. M1*, Emeli Crane Sandi2, Catherine M. C2 and Winslow H. Rose3

Hearing loss is the most common congenital disorder in newborns. Children with insufficient access to sound are at considerable risk for speech, language, and academic delays. This pilot study evaluated vocabulary gains over a 5-month period when children with hearing loss in South Vietnam were taught by teachers of the deaf who had participated in a specialized training program provided by the Global Foundation For Children With Hearing Loss to learn effective teaching strategies to promote listening and spoken language development. Results were compared to vocabulary gains of children whose teachers had not participated in the Global Foundation’s program. Results of this pilot study demonstrated that children with hearing loss achieve better outcomes when they receive services from well-trained professionals who have the specialized skills and expertise to effectively implement listening and spoken language strategies to optimize language development and educational achievement. The importance of establishing strong infrastructure to support newborn hearing screening, use of advanced hearing technology, and appropriate and intensive early intervention services are also discussed.