Assessment of Co-Occurring Disabilities in Young Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Overall, the literature is clear that more research is needed on various assessment techniques for identifying co-occurring disabilities in young children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). As individualized, norm-referenced assessment measures are updated to keep up with the changing demographics of the United States, there appears to be more of an effort to include children with various disabilities within the standardization samples; however, the communication barriers and required assessment accommodations remain the most salient with DHH students. Because accommodations are test-specific, psychologists must be cognizant of the accommodation and interpretation procedures of each test they select for an assessment battery when attempting to determine co-occurring diagnoses or special education eligibility categories for young children who are DHH. This article reviews the literature on the assessment of common co-occurring disabilities in young children, including intellectual disability, specific learning disability, autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and emotional and behavioral disorders

Universal Design for Learning: Promoting Access in Early Childhood Education for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children

The following article is a literature review of the guiding principles for universal design for learning (UDL) specifically for early childhood education with implications for children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). In recent years, early childhood education has become more inclusive for all children with and without disabilities. Given that educators need to plan lessons and design their classrooms with every child in mind prior to meeting them, guidance on the UDL framework is warranted. DHH children present unique barriers in the classroom. This article walks through the three guiding principles, engagement, representation, and expression along with integration of assistive technology for DHH children and their educators. Three future directions for integrating the UDL framework into the classroom are included. They are (a) educator preparation programs, (b) school district’s professional development, and (c) select available technology web-based resources

An In-depth Analysis of Topics in Deaf Education in Early Childhood Education

Despite federal mandates of the services and inclusion of students who are deaf and hard of hearing in early childhood there is more discussion and research to be done to support educators and students who are deaf and hard of hearing and their families that they serve in early education. This article is an overview of a collection of eight articles housed within the special issue covering a range of topics related to critical issues in deaf education and early childhood education. These include: literacy and language development; developing and implementing universal design for learning; autonomy, self-advocacy, and self-determination skills; curriculum concepts, theories and philosophies; and assessment of students who are deaf with additional disabilities. The article employs existing research and practices in deaf education, such as newborn hearing screening and language deprivation related to deaf education practices. The authors acknowledge the need for further discussion and research in all areas; however, note this special issue is progress towards filling in gaps in current practices in deaf education within early childhood education

Educational Strategies for Deaf Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)

In this paper we highlight some of the difficulties that deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are likely to exhibit in the classroom, such as echolalia and insistence on sameness, deficits in perspective-taking and theory of mind, difficulty producing and comprehending facial expressions and pronouns, articulation difficulties, and challenges with social interaction. For each challenging area we propose educational strategies that teachers may find useful, including video modeling, visual schedules, Social Stories, Power Cards, and peer support groups. We encourage educators to be flexible and creative in their use of multiple teaching strategies with these children, so that we can meet our ultimate goal of serving students’ diverse educational needs more effectively

Preparing Practitioners to Work With Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infants, Toddlers, and Their Families: Professional Competencies that Result in Positive Outcomes

Infants and toddlers who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) are unique in their physical and individual abilities and resources. Their diversity extends beyond hearing levels and involves physical, cognitive, social-emotional, and communicative attributes. Families with newly identified children have a wide range of backgrounds and experiences that influence how they respond to learning that their child is DHH and what they need from professionals in the first few days and months after their baby has been identified. While knowledge and skills generic to the field of early childhood special education provide a foundation for working with these children and their families, there are specialized areas of expertise that are beyond the scope of practice of generically prepared practitioners that are critical to the successful outcomes of infants and toddlers who are DHH. This article will address the areas of professional competencies that are meant to result in positive outcomes for young children who are DHH and their families and how this specialized expertise can be acquired