19th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 8-10, 2020 • Kansas City, MO
We are Family Too: Sibling Involvement in Early Intervention
Families play an important role in children’s social and linguistic development. Bowen’s ecological system theory states that families experience emotional interdependence and a shift in one area affects the family function. This is especially true in the case of families of children with a disability, and more specifically, children who are deaf or hard of hearing. A wealth of information exists on the benefits of family-centered early intervention services, showing that parent involvement improves outcomes for these children.
Parents play a vital role in creating language rich environments and supporting the development of language. High levels of family involvement directly correlate with better language outcomes for children (Yoshinaga-Itano et al., 1988; Moeller, 2000). With regard to fathers, research has shown that strong relationships exist between parenting self-efficacy, early intervention support, and impact of hearing loss (Hintermair M1, Sarimski K1, 2019).
When considering the interdependence of families, parents are not the only members who are affected by and can effect change. As a sibling myself, I have witnessed the benefits of sibling involvement on the family and the role of providers in fostering positive sibling relationships. Sibling inclusion in intervention has demonstrated positive effects on acquisition and generalization of targets skills and behaviors for children with disabilities (Kim & Horn, 2010; Leaf, Leaf, Dozier, Sheldon, &Sherman, 2012). Despite preliminary research, siblings continue to be a population that warrants further study.
Early intervention providers can facilitate relationships between family members that foster the communication development of children who are DHH. This presentation will look at early intervention provider perceptions of siblings’ roles in family-centered intervention gathered through a survey. Survey results will be analyzed to determine professional’s views regarding sibling involvement, current practice of involving siblings, and the benefits and challenges observed. Implications of findings for current practice will be discussed.
- 1. explore the role and contribution of siblings in family-centered intervention
- 2. Determine level of sibling involvement in current practices.
- 3. Discuss implications of findings on current practices.
Poster:
21060_12673EmilyCrouse.pdf
Presenter: Emily Crouse
Emily Crouse is a speech-language pathologist at Carle Auditory Oral School for the Deaf in Champaign, IL. She completed both her Bachelor's in Deaf Education and Master's in Speech Language Pathology at program at Fontbonne University in St. Louis. She specializes in working with children who are deaf or hard of hearing ages three to eight.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.