EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 2-5, 2021
(Virtually the same conference, without elevators, airplane tickets, or hotel room keys)
Helping Pediatric Patient’s Learn About Their Ears: A child’s guide to hearing loss and hearing aids
The audiologist’s ability to educate others about their hearing loss and hearing aids sets them apart from any other provider, and the importance of this education can be seen in both the pediatric and adult population. When it comes to the pediatric population there is a lack of educational resources that the audiologist can provide directly to the patient. Consequently, many audiologists may not be educating their patients as much as they could. Educating a patient on their hearing loss, why they should use their hearing assistive devices, how their specific devices work and what to do if those assistive devices stop working, all help that patient feel more in charge of their hearing loss. Teaching children self-advocacy is becoming increasingly prevalent in elementary and middle schools. With this increased emphasis on self-advocacy, it seems warranted to also push for increased education for children on their hearing loss and amplification. There is little research on how to counsel pediatric patients directly, or what to counsel them about. This clinical project facilitates the closing of this gap in counseling and research by creating a guide for audiologists as they counsel pediatric patients above the age of 8, in addition to take-home materials for those patients. The educational materials are easy to customize by the audiologist for each individual patient and written at a 2nd-3rd grade reading level to allow patient’s personal access to the information. Parent-directed educational materials were referenced in order to create an outline of topics for the guide.
- Utilization of this educational tool for direct counseling of pediatric patients above the age of 8.
- The importance of direct patient education for the pediatric population.
Poster:
23278_13514KalieBuchman.pdf
Presenter: Kalie Buchman
Kalie Buchman is an audiology graduate student at Rush University. She received a Bachelors of Science from Nazareth College in Rochester, NY and is currently completing her 4th year externship at Children's Hospital Colorado. Her clinical interests include self advocacy and education for pediatric patients.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.