What is EHDI:
The Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program (EHDI) is a program under the auspices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, this national program identifies newborns and infants and enrolls them in special programs to ensure they develop the language and cognitive skills. Many, but not all, states and territories have EHDI programs.
How EHDI Works:
Newborns are given hearing screenings before hospital release. If a newborn does not pass, EHDI follows up. Follow up is important, because it is just a screening. It is NOT an official diagnosis of hearing loss.
EHDI has three key goals:
- Screen babies before one month old
- Follow up on babies before they are three months old
- Begin providing early intervention services before the baby is six months old
EHDI Benefits for Families:
Through the online cd-rom guide "A Parent's Guide to Hearing Loss," I learned about Part C programs (not part of EHDI) and Individual Family Service Plans. Part C programs/IFSPs can help pay for hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other services/equipment for the infant or toddler. According to Nectac.org, Part C goes up through age two. State Part C coordinators can provide more information. (At three, there is a change to Part D and Department of Education.)
EHDI Information and Outreach:
EHDI holds annual conferences and professional teleconferences. Pediatricians are offered training. An online clearinghouse of educational materials for state program administrators has videos and pamphlets, and links to state programs. (In my own state, as many as 500 babies are born each year with hearing loss).
Free educational materials are also available online. For example, one item is "Questions You May Want to Ask Your Child's Audiologist."
Finding an EHDI Program:
The website has a contact list. Contact persons are usually with state departments of health. There is also an online database of state EHDI programs, found under "state profile." The search results in a list of questions and answers about each state's EHDI program.
