Background: When proper protocols are followed, children who are identified with a permanent
hearing loss early in life have opportunities to develop language on par with their
typical hearing peers. Young children with hearing loss are dependent on their parents
to manage intervention during early years critical to their development, and parents’
ability to effectively integrate recommendations in daily life is foundational for
intervention success. Audiologists and early intervention professionals not only need
to provide current evidence-based services, but also must address parents’ emotional
and learning needs related to their child’s hearing loss.
Purpose: This study explored practice patterns related to education and support provided to
parents of children with hearing loss and the influence of an in-service training
on provider attitudes.
Research Design: This study used a prepost design with a self-report questionnaire to identify practice
patterns related to communication skills and support used by providers when working
with parents of children with hearing loss.
Study Sample: A total of 45 participants (21 professionals and 24 graduate students) currently
working with children completed the pretraining questionnaire, and 29 participants
(13 professionals and 16 graduate students) completed the postquestionnaire.
Data Collection and Analysis: Data were collected using an online questionnaire before the training and 1 mo after
training. Descriptive analyses were done to identify trends, and paired-samples t-tests were used to determine changes pretraining to posttraining.
Results: Findings revealed that professionals most frequently teach skills to mothers (91%)
and infrequently teach skills to fathers (19%) and other caregivers (10%). Professionals
reported frequently collaborating with other intervention providers (76%) and infrequently
collaborating with primary care physicians (19%). One-third of the professionals reported
addressing symptoms of depression and anxiety as an interfering factor with the ability
to implement management recommendations. For providers who completed both the prequestionnaires
and postquestionnaires, an increase in confidence was reported for several areas of
communication; however, as expected, practices remained similar, and all of the practicing
professionals and 94% of the graduate students indicated a desire for more training
on how to be effective in supporting parents with implementing intervention recommendations.
Conclusions: Providers do not necessarily use effective methods of communication, needed to adequately
help parents, requiring additional focused training to change how providers interact
with parents and how support is provided.
Key Words
Pediatric audiology - hearing aids - parent education and support
