2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
3/04/2019 | 11:15 AM - 12:15 PM | Parent-Physician Communication: Strategies for Effective Collaboration After a New Diagnosis | International B/C
Parent-Physician Communication: Strategies for Effective Collaboration After a New Diagnosis
When a child is identified as having reduced hearing, caregivers - a majority of whom have no experience with childhood hearing loss - can feel overwhelmed, (Mitchell et al 2004). Families must navigate referrals, evaluations, and new diagnoses, which can be a stressful and complex process (Lederberg et al 2002). Despite improvements to the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening process, poor communication between providers and families, as well as an incomplete understanding of recommendations for children with reduced hearing on behalf of providers likely play a role in the large numbers of children who are still “lost to follow up” (2016 EHDI Data; Moeller et al 2006). This presentation, by a physician and a psychologist, will address parent-physician communication barriers. It will offer strategies for caregivers to enhance their interactions with their healthcare providers while asking critical questions, thereby reducing parental stress and increasing the ability of parents to adhere to recommended treatment. We will outline strategies to empower parents to remain active participants in the diagnostic process and the subsequent care of their children. Next, we will present the recommendations offered by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and Joint Commission on Infant Hearing (JCIH) for management indicated after a newly confirmed diagnosis of reduced hearing, and will do so with family-centered language, offering an accessible framework for parents to understand and pediatricians in the community to adopt for their own practices (JCIH 2007, JCIH 2013). We will also highlight the need for timely early intervention referrals and offer ideas for facilitating initial discussions about communication choices/opportunities and language development. By empowering caregivers and providers with enhanced communication strategies and an accessible way to understand and present society guidelines, through this presentation we hope to improve parent-provider interactions and increase understanding of recommendations for management of children with reduced hearing.
- Participants will be able to list a minimum of three (3) practical strategies for interacting with pediatricians and medical providers
- Participants will be able to identify a minimum of two (2) topics that are important for health care providers to address in the initial post-diagnosis workup
- Participants will be able to describe a minimum of two (2) questions that they should ask of their child's physician or health care provider regarding referrals for supports
Presentation:
18878_10541ArielleSpellun.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Arielle Spellun
(), Division of Developmental Medicine, Arielle.Spellun@childrens.harvard.edu;
Arielle Spellun is a developmental and behavioral pediatrician fellow at Boston Children's Hospital in Boston, MA. She is from Warwick, RI and went to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA for her undergraduate degree in Biology where she also studied ASL and Deaf Studies. She attended medical school at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University. She hopes to practice developmental and behavioral pediatrics and work as a medical home provider for children who are d/Deaf and hard of hearing as well as children with special health care needs and medical complexity.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Consulting fee,Grants for Independent contractor from Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program of MA.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Amy Szarkowski
(), Children's Center for Communication/Beverly School for the Deaf, Amy.Szarkowski@childrens.harvard.edu;
Amy Szarkowski, PhD, is the Director of The Institute and The Clinic at the Children's Center for Communication/ Beverly School for the Deaf (CCCBSD), and faculty for LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities), at Boston Children's Hospital. Dr. Szarkowski holds an academic appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. She is also an adjunct instructor for the Infants, Toddlers and Families (ITF) Interdisciplinary program at Gallaudet University.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from Boston Children's Hospital/Harvard Medical School.
• Receives Salary for Employment from CCCBSD.
• Receives Salary for Employment from Gallaudet University.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.