2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
Attachment Development and Communication Disorders: A Brief Overview for Therapists and Early Interventionist
The purpose of this poster is to provide early interventionists (EIs), speech-language pathologists (SLPs), teachers, and other professionals working with children who have hearing loss and/or communication disorders an overview of attachment development. The rationale being that, in some cases, lack of improvement during intervention/therapy might reflect insecure attachment and/or poor parent-child interactions in the home. As key interactive (attachment) behaviors by both mother and child can impact the overall outcomes of therapy, it is important that EIs, SLPs, and other therapists know these behaviors and when to make appropriate referrals. In many instances, most professionals working with young children do not receive sufficient training during their undergraduate or graduate program on attachment development. Therefore, professionals working with young children with communications disorders might not know when, or to whom, to refer children for professional evaluations and/or treatment of attachment issues. This poster presentation will define attachment and the subcategories of insecure and secure attachment. Examples of both parental and child behaviors for each type of attachment will be presented. Lastly, red-flag behaviors and interactions will be discussed that should result in referrals for an attachment evaluation.
- After this poster presentation, the attendee will be able to define attachment and identify the differences between secure and insecure attachment.
- After this poster presentation, the attendee will be able to list the differences in attachment development of children with and without hearing loss and/or communication disorders.
- After this poster presentation, the attendee will be able to identify behavior traits often present in insecure attachment.
Poster:
3353554_14856HolleaRyan.pdf
Presenter: Hollea Ryan
Hollea Ryan recently served as the audiology program director at Samford University. After a recent move to Florida, she now serves as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Florida. Her areas of interest/research include pediatric audiology, cochlear implants, and attachment development.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
“I feel blessed to wake up every day and do what I love – teach my students about speech pathology.” A native of Indiana, Thatcher taught at Ball State University for 13 years before moving to Birmingham, AL. She has worked at Samford University for 7 years where is an associate professor in the Communications and Disorders Department. She also volunteers her time to work with pediatric and adult patients who have communication disorders.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -