(Rockville, Md.—October 9, 2007) The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) applauds the 2007 Position Statement by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH).
"Principles and Guidelines for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Programs" appears in this month's issue of Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. The article provides complete, updated standards of early hearing detection and intervention systems, including identification of hearing problems in infants in neonatal intensive care units, detailed specifications of screening and diagnostic protocols for hospitalized and well infants, and requirements for improved data management and tracking in all states and internationally.
As a founding member of the Joint Committee, ASHA is proud to have contributed to the JCIH position statements for more than 30 years, and was a major contributor to the development of the new guidelines. ASHA continues to call on legislators, healthcare providers, insurers and parents to learn more about infant hearing so every child will have the opportunity to develop strong language, cognitive, and social skills to last a lifetime.
Great strides have been made in screening infants in the United States for hearing loss since the last JCIH recommendations were released, with an increase from 38 percent to 92 percent of newborns screened from 2000 to 2007. Alarming, though, is the lost opportunity to help children identified at birth with possible hearing loss: half of the infants who need follow-up screening, diagnosis, and treatment are not receiving any further services.
"It is essential that every child has not just hearing screening, but those important follow-up diagnostics and then interventions that make sense for the growing child and their family," according to Noma B. Anderson, president of ASHA and a speech-language pathologist.
"Each situation is different, so a comprehensive plan is critical to supporting each child as they develop skills in language development, critical thinking, communication, and social skills to help them develop into adulthood," Anderson continued.
ASHA's leadership in infant hearing was recently recognized by the American Society of Association Executives, which presented their prestigious 2007 Summit Award in recognition of the accomplishments of ASHA's Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Campaign that focuses on the hearing health of the very young.
"We hope that the new recommendations of JCIH will facilitate the development of seamless systems of care to guarantee that all infants who fail a newborn hearing screen will receive timely diagnosis and intervention," said Betty Vohr, MD, a neonatologist and Chair of the JCIH.
"ASHA is proud to be part of these new standards, as we have been for the past thirty years," said Pam Mason, Director of Audiology Professional Practices at ASHA. "Setting standards is a critical step in moving this important issue forward and creating an environment—and the public will—to help all children make a great start in life. We now have 46 states with laws or statewide voluntary programs, up from 11 just seven years ago," explains Mason.
The new guidelines point the way to reducing the lost opportunity to support healthy development in those children whose initial screening does not show normal hearing. The statement and an executive summary are available at asha.org/docs/html/PS2007-00281.html.
Key Areas Covered by the 2007 JCIH Statement
An update of the 2000 Position Statement, the new document spells out protocols and recommendations concerning:
- Identifying hearing abnormalities in newborns, with separate protocols for those in well baby care and neonatal intensive care
- Follow-up medical evaluations
- Early intervention services from experts in hearing, speech and communication
- Hearing checks of hearing by pediatricians at 9, 18, 24 and 30 months of age or any time parents are concerned
- Parent education and counseling that is well-timed and tailored
- Data tracking systems at the state level that support the development of evidence-based public health policies and programs for all children, no matter their geography, socio-economic status, or ethnicity
ASHA, located in Rockville, Maryland, is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 127,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists in the United States and internationally. For more information on speech, language, and hearing disorders, consumers can log on to www.asha.org or call 1-800-638-TALK.
Along with ASHA, JCIH is comprised of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the American Academy of Audiology, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, the Council of Education of the Deaf, and the Directors of Speech and Hearing Programs in State Health and Welfare Agencies. JCIH is supported by Boys Town National Research Hospital, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and the National Institute on Deafness and other Communications Disorders of the National Institutes of Health.
