Twenty-four motivated professionals from 17 States and Territories recently joined with ECHO Initiative staff in outlining ways to increase the capacity of early care and education, Part C, and health care providers to screen young children for hearing loss. In a two-day meeting, participants discussed each main aspect of hearing screening program development including:

Outreach -> Planning TA -> Training -> Follow-up TA 

  

Within this framework, a range of professionals can play significant roles in setting up and supporting high-quality Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) hearing screening programs.   

One exciting new option for "teaming up" to provide TA and Training nationwide will be combining intensive Web Class instruction (delivered by ECHO Initiative staff) with "hands on" support from state-based Pediatric Audiologists and other highly-skilled professionals. This will allow local screening program staff to benefit from:

• Advice on selecting appropriate equipment and setting up a follow-up tracking system.

• A standardized web-based training experience.

• "Live" hands-on instruction and feedback on screener skills.

• Ongoing assistance in monitoring screening program quality.

In addition to sharing their ideas and expertise on these and other topics, participants from AL, CO, CT, HI, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, NC, NM, OK, OR, UT, VI, and VT also managed to have a little fun in the beautiful Boulder, CO landscape!