Early Interventionist - Frequently Asked Questions

Michigan Hands and Voices supports families of children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing (DHH) regardless of language or communication mode. They provide families an opportunity to visit with a Parent Guide, a trained and experienced parent of a child who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Families receive tremendous benefits from talking with someone who has “been there” and can help connect new families to resources. Guide by Your Side Program

Yes! Best practices include objective hearing screening for all children referred for early intervention services. A baby can pass the hearing screen at birth but have a hearing loss later. Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) screening is one way to identify late onset hearing loss.

Hands-on training is a critical portion of learning how to use the Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) screening equipment. Contact Jennifer Dakers at 517-335-8353 or DakersJ@michigan.gov or connect with a local pediatric/ educational audiologist to learn more. Click for a list of EHDI Pediatric Audiology Centers.

Utilize the training modules on the ECHO website, including the tools/resources for training such as the screener proficiency check list.

Reference the guidance document on utilizing OAE Hearing Screening Equipment.

Guidance for Early On Providers - Utilizing OAE Hearing Screening Equipment

Yes! Several valuable resources are listed below.

• Parent Checklist
  A checklist describing next steps for families who have a child recently identified as Deaf or Hard of Hearing.
• Reasons to say YES to Early Intervention
  Michigan Hands and Voices created a resource for families outlining reasons to say YES to Early Intervention.
  Reasons to say YES to Early Intervention for your child who is Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH) (mihandsandvoices.org)
• Online curriculum for learning American Sign Language (ASL). 
  A resource for families with a child who is under 36 months of age to obtain free innovative on-line curriculum to learn ASL.
  Sign It! American Sign Language (ASL) classes online:
• Hear to Learn
  An interactive resource in English and Spanish, for parents and professionals to support spoken language development.
  Hear To Learn
• Cue College:
  Learn to Cue Online. Cued speech combines simple hand cues with natural mouth movements of speech to make all sounds of spoken language visually clear.
  Cue College