19th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 8-10, 2020 • Kansas City, MO
Integrating Sibling Support Activities As Part Of the Sound Beginnings Family Connections Program for Parents of Children with Hearing Loss
As parents begin their journey with a child who has a hearing loss, many questions will naturally arise. Families can experience difficulty understanding and adjusting to the different aspects of life that hearing loss can bring and may not know what to expect when their children continue to progress across developmental domains. Sound Beginnings responds to parents’ needs to connect with each other and receive helpful information by holding monthly educational seminars provided by an interdisciplinary team. Seminar topics are based upon fundamental skills related to the listening and spoken language approach.
While parents are attending seminars, Sound Beginnings aims to provide an inclusive role for siblings of children with hearing loss by participating in group-building activities in effort to offer family-centered care. Siblings are encouraged to participate in each monthly activity, deepen their ties with each other, and establish friendships with other children. Parents have indicated an important secondary benefit of involving the siblings of children who are deaf or hard of hearing; the opportunity to bring siblings to participate in the children’s activities removes the barrier that lack of childcare options would have otherwise posed for the family.
Children who participate in the activities are aged between 18 months and kindergarten (5-6 years old). Each child is taught by teachers of the deaf, graduate students in the listening and spoken language programs, and other trained volunteers. Teachers present themed lessons and stimulating age-appropriate activities for all participants. At the conclusion of the activities, parents are invited to the children’s showcase presentation. Children perform prepared acts that highlight each child and include song, dance, and/or spoken parts.
Family Connections meetings with a sibling support program help parents to achieve family balance and encourage siblings to forge greater ties within their family and community.
- Participants will learn about the Sound Beginnings Family Connections program at Utah State University, including information about the parent discussions and the activity plans for children with hearing loss and their siblings.
- Participants will discuss benefits of having a family support group for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their siblings as well as explore how participants can implement a similar support system for families they serve in their own classroom or community.
- Participants will analyze reviews submitted by current parents attending the Sound Beginnings Family Connections program concerning their insights on the effectiveness of including sibling support as part of the program’s intended focus.
Poster:
21060_12719BrittanyStucki.pdf
21060_12719NicoleJacobson.pdf
Presenter: Brittany Stucki
Brittany is currently a graduate Deaf Education student in the Listening and Spoken Language Graduate Training Program at Utah State University. She completed her undergraduate degree at USU. She grew up in Heber City, UT. She worked previously as an SLT in the Tooele County School District and is excited to help kids with hearing loss and their families.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Nicole Jacobson is the Director of Sound Beginnings at Utah State University. She is also a clinical supervisor for students enrolled in the Listening and Spoken Language Graduate Studies program at Utah State University. She has experience both as a speech-language pathologist and as a special educator and is certified as a listening and spoken language specialist, auditory-verbal educator.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.