15th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 13-15, 2016 • San Diego, CA
| - | 7 - Family Perspectives and Support
Breaking Bad News: Protocols for Supporting the Needs of Caregivers when Diagnosing a Child with a Hearing Loss
Early identification and intervention plays a crucial role in the speech and language development of children with hearing loss. Although the audiologist plays an important role in early access, the child’s care provider must be actively involved in the process. For optimal success, the care provider must be willing to schedule and attend appointments, learn about treatment options, and provide speech and language stimulation in all environments for the child. Ineffective communication between the service provider and the patient can create barriers to progress in any medical field, especially when providers avoid displaying empathy. Breaking bad news and providing emotional support are not an easy skills for professionals to master. Plenty of training and practice is required, and many medical professionals lack sufficient training in this area.
This research project aims to determine the ideal protocol for informing a caregiver that his/her child has a hearing loss and providing steps for follow-up and intervention. This will be determined and presented through a review of the available literature. Additionally, this projects aims to determine the level of education provided to students in Au. D. programs. Surveys will be sent to directors of Au. D. studies or department chairs at all Au. D. programs in the United States to determine the amount of instruction provided in breaking bad news and the methods of instruction. Results will be qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed to determine trends.
From the literature review and survey data, audiologists will learn about the necessary training for informing caregivers that their child has a hearing loss. Other individuals may find the information useful for developing a training program in this area. As a result, caregivers of children with hearing loss will experience more meaningful and genuine interactions with audiologists.
- Explain the emotional and informational support caregivers need upon learning that their child has a hearing loss.
- Know the level of instruction and education audiology graduate programs are providing students in order to prepare them for interactions with caregivers of children with hearing loss.
- Describe steps for providing guidance to caregivers in an empathetic manner
Presentation:
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Handouts:
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CART:
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Presenters/Authors
Julia Omtvedt
(Primary Presenter,Author), University of iowa, julia-omtvedt@uiowa.edu;
Julia Omtvedt is currently a third year Au. D. graduate student at the University of Iowa. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Disorders from Minnesota State University- Mankato in 2013. She has particular interest in pediatrics and providing family-centered care.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Lenore Holte
(Author), Univ of Iowa Communication Sciences and Disorders, lenore-holte@uiowa.edu;
Lenore Holte, PhD, CCC-A, is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders and the Department of Pediatrics and serves as director of speech-language-pathology and audiology services at the Center for Disabilities and Development. She also provides audiological technical assistance to the Iowa Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program. Dr. Holte's professional background is primarily in pediatric audiology, newborn hearing screening and hearing assessment of individuals with disabilities. Her role in the OCHL study includes recruitment of families through cooperation with the Iowa EHDI team and development and conduct of test protocols
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Elizabeth Walker
(Author), University of Iowa, Elizabeth-walker@uiowa.edu;
Elizabeth Walker, PhD, CCC-A/SLP is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Iowa. Her research focuses on pediatric aural habilitation, specifically examining malleable factors that relate to individual differences in speech perception and language outcomes for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. For the past few years, she has been an investigator on several NIH-funded research grants, including the University of Iowa Cochlear Implant project, Outcomes of Children with Hearing Loss study, and Complex Listening in School Age Children who are Hard of Hearing.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -