Supporting Deaf Pupils in the Early Stages: Learning from Good Practice
Presented on Wednesday 4 February 2009
Early Support
Brian Shannan
Main Issues
- There is no centrally determined screening method
- There is a wide range of diagnostic assessments that can be utilised in a 'test battery'
- There is no national programme to coordinate services for families with deaf children
Consensus
- There is a need for services to be 'family friendly' – that is to focus on the support and care that each individual family need
- That there should be coordination/collaboration between services
- Parental choice
- Raised Expectations
- Improved professional knowledge and skills
Informed Choice
- that families can make knowledgeable decisions which reflect their own culture, values and views. It is based on access to comprehensive, unbiased and evidence-based information about the full range of options.
From a professional perspective
An approach to Informed Choice is one in which
- Service providers adopt open and flexible policies that effectively endorse a range of possibilities
- Services and professionals make no value judgements about one option over another and this stance is reflected in their strategic decision-making and resourcing
- Informed Choice is not seen as a one off decision but as an ongoing process
Partnership Working
- Clarifying the roles of the professional
- Awareness of quality standards for each profession
- Danger of stereotyping
- Communication
Audiology
- To know the screening and diagnostic procedures in your area
- When are behavioural assessments undertaken
- Strength and limitation of the assessments
- Aetiology