Abstract: The needs of Head Start Program staff in mainstreaming handicapped children with hearing impairments are examined in a manual prepared for teachers and parents of hearing-impaired preschoolers. These children present special challenges to Project Head Start to plan educational activities, learning experiences and materials that permit them to mainstream into classroom with non-handicapped children. Teaching guidelines and techniques are presented to help hearing-impaired youngsters perform as well as normal children of the same age. Resources are reviewed which are available for help outside and Head Start. An appendix outlines test for screening and diagnosis of hearing problems and charts the normal development of the preschool child.

The fourth edition of Children With Hearing Loss: Developing Listening and Talking, Birth to Six is a dynamic compilation of important information for the facilitation of spoken language for infants and young children with hearing loss. This text covers current and up-to-date information about auditory brain development, listening scenarios, auditory technologies, spoken language development, and intervention for young children with hearing loss whose parents have chosen to have them learn to listen and talk. The book is divided into two parts. Part I, Audiological and Technological Foundations of Auditory Brain Development, consists of the first five chapters that lay the foundation for brain-based listening and talking. These chapters include neurological development and discussions of ear anatomy and physiology, pathologies that cause hearing loss, audiologic testing of infants and children, and the latest in amplification technologies. Part II, Developmental, Family-Focused Instruction for Listening and Spoken Language Enrichment, includes the second five chapters on intervention: listening, talking, and communicating through the utilization of a developmental and preventative model that focuses on enriching the child’s auditory brain centers. New to the Fourth Edition: *All technology information has been updated as has information about neurophysiology. *The reference list is exhaustive with the addition of the newest studies while maintaining seminal works about neurophysiology, technology, and listening and spoken language development. *New artwork throughout the book illustrates key concepts of family-focused listening and spoken language intervention. This text is intended for undergraduate and graduate-level training programs for professionals who work with children who have hearing loss and their families. This fourth edition is also directly relevant for parents, listening and spoken language specialists (LSLS Cert. AVT and LSLS Cert. AVEd), speech-language pathologists, audiologists, early childhood instructors, and teachers. In addition, much of the information in Chapters 1 through 5, and also Chapter 7 can be helpful to individuals of all ages who experience hearing loss, especially to newly diagnosed adults, as a practical “owner’s manual.”

This edition provides a reference and description of the current state of knowledge on hearing and auditory disorders in infants, toddlers and young children.

For clinicians and speech therapists, This handy resource on speech development for children with hearing loss contains diagrams and descriptions, which blend pictures, words and sentences together; worksheets; lesson plans; sensory cues and aids for shaping speech; syllable drills; progress and final report forms; guidelines for parents; and a list of suggested reading to follow up on related subjects. This is a time-proven curriculum, which has resulted in a high rate of speech improvement in children with hearing loss.

This essential subject to Otolaryngologists on Hearing Loss in Children is edited by leading physicians and academicians Dr. Bradley Kesser and Dr. Margaret Kenna. Topics in this issue on the state of art of diagnosing and managing pediatric hearing loss include: Audiometric evaluation of children with hearing loss; Taking the history and physical exam of the child with hearing loss; Radiographic evaluation of children with hearing loss; Acquired Hearing Loss in Children and Laboratory evaluation of children with hearing loss; Management of children with non-atretic conductive hearing loss; Management of children with congenital aural atresia; Diagnostic evaluation of children with sensorineural hearing loss; Management of children with mild, moderate, and moderate-severe SNHL; Management of children with severe, severe-profound, and profound SNHL; Management of children with unilateral hearing loss; Auditory Neuropathy/Dyssynchrony Disorder; Genetics of Hearing Loss – Syndromic; Genetics of Hearing Loss – Nonsyndromic; Psychosocial aspects of hearing loss in children; Speech and Auditory-Verbal Therapy; On the horizon - cochlear implant technology; Auditory brainstem implants; On the distant horizon - medical therapy for SNHL; Early Practice Considerations for Pediatric Hearing Loss. Each article presents clinically focused diagnosis and management.