1. MODEL PROGRAM: TRAINING EARLY INTERVENTIONISTS ABOUT HEARING LOSS Karen Munoz, M.S., CCC-A Faye P. McCollister, Ed.D., CCC-A Kathleen Watts, M.A. National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management

2. The Role of the Early Interventionist Parent education Provide appropriate and timely referrals Identify relevant local and state resources Management of monitoring and ongoing needs

3. Training Considerations Interventionists’ level and type of involvement Previous education related to hearing loss Availability of local resources and support

4. Training Challenges Who can provide the training? How best to reach those in need of training? How best to address ongoing training needs? How often should training be offered? What type of support is needed?

5. Pilot Project for Two Texas Sites One on-site program with 80 participants One interactive video teleconference with 20 sites with over 200 participants Target audience Sponsored by: NCHAM Texas Educational Technology Program SKI HI

6. Topics For Pilot Programs Aspects of hearing loss Pediatric audiological assessment Hearing aids, cochlear implants and assistive technology Communication options

7. Participant Topic Rating - Needs Etiology Communication methodologies Hearing aids/Cochlear implants Assistive technology IFSP

8. Discussion In Your State: What challenges exist related to training EI personnel about hearing loss? What training is needed? How can efforts to train EI personnel about hearing loss be improved? How do you feel this type of training should be delivered In an ideal world how should early interventionists be prepared to deal with hearing loss?