Page Thomas A, Harrison Melody, Moeller Mary Pat, Oleson Jacob, Arenas Richard M, Spratford Meredith
Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Center for Childhood Deafness, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Omaha, NE.
Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch. 2018 Oct 24;49(4):965-981. doi: 10.1044/2018_LSHSS-17-0145.
To characterize preschool and school services for children who are hard of hearing (CHH), we described service setting, amount, and configuration and analyzed the relationship between service receipt and student hearing levels and language scores. Characteristics of professionals providing services were described and then used to predict level of comfort with skills supporting listening and spoken language. The amount of provider communication with children's audiologists was also investigated.
Participants included parents of CHH (preschool n = 174; school n = 155) and professionals (preschool n = 133; school n = 104) who completed interviews and questionnaires as part of a longitudinal study. Children's hearing, speech, and language data were collected from annual testing and analyzed in relation to service data.
A majority (81%) of preschool-age CHH received services. Children were more likely to be in a preschool for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (CDHH) or exceptional children than a general education preschool. By elementary school, 70% received services, nearly all in general education settings. Sessions averaged twice a week for a total of approximately 90 min. Children who no longer received services performed significantly better on speech/language measures than those who received services, regardless of service setting. Professionals were primarily speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and teachers of CDHH. SLPs reported significantly less comfort with skills involving auditory development and hearing technologies and less frequent communication with the child's audiologists than teachers of CDHH. Overall communication with audiologists was more frequent in the preschool years.
As preschool-age CHH transition into school, the majority continue to qualify for services. Congruent with national trends, school-age CHH in the Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss study were most often in general education settings. Without specialized preprofessional or postgraduate training, SLPs and teachers of CDHH did not report comfort with all the skills critical to developing listening and spoken language. This finding supports the need for increased implementation of interprofessional practice among SLPs and teachers of CDHH, as well as audiologists, to best meet the needs unique to this population.
为了描述为听力障碍儿童（CHH）提供的学前和学校服务，我们阐述了服务环境、数量和配置，并分析了接受服务与学生听力水平和语言分数之间的关系。描述了提供服务的专业人员的特征，然后用于预测在支持听力和口语语言技能方面的舒适程度。还调查了服务提供者与儿童听力学家之间的沟通量。
参与者包括听力障碍儿童的家长（学前儿童n = 174；学校儿童n = 155）和专业人员（学前儿童n = 133；学校儿童n = 104），他们作为纵向研究的一部分完成了访谈和问卷调查。从年度测试中收集儿童的听力、言语和语言数据，并与服务数据相关联进行分析。
大多数（81%）学龄前听力障碍儿童接受了服务。与普通教育幼儿园相比，儿童更有可能就读于聋儿或听力障碍儿童（CDHH）幼儿园或特殊儿童幼儿园。到小学时，70%的儿童接受了服务，几乎全部在普通教育环境中。课程平均每周两次，总共约90分钟。不再接受服务的儿童在言语/语言测试中的表现明显优于接受服务的儿童，无论服务环境如何。专业人员主要是言语语言病理学家（SLP）和聋儿教师。与聋儿教师相比，言语语言病理学家在涉及听觉发展和听力技术的技能方面的舒适度明显较低，与儿童听力学家的沟通频率也较低。在学前阶段，与听力学家的总体沟通更为频繁。
随着学龄前听力障碍儿童进入学校，大多数儿童仍有资格接受服务。与全国趋势一致，听力损失儿童研究中的学龄期听力障碍儿童大多在普通教育环境中。没有经过专门职业前或研究生培训，言语语言病理学家和聋儿教师对发展听力和口语语言至关重要的所有技能并不感到舒适。这一发现支持了言语语言病理学家、聋儿教师以及听力学家之间加强跨专业实践的必要性，以最好地满足这一人群的独特需求。
