Iowa EHDI: Enrolling children in appropriate early intervention

Lenore Holte, Ph.D., CCC-ACenter for Disabilities and

DevelopmentUniversity of Iowa

Snapshot of IAEHDI

• 37,000 births per year• 93 birthing hospitals• 3 Level III perinatal centers• voluntary screening programs in

hospitals responsible for 99% of births• about 93% of babies in these hospitals

screened in 2000• 7 diagnostic centers, including one in

Nebraska

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs)• Primary providers of early intervention services to

hearing-impaired children of all ages• 15 independent regions, numbered 1 through 16• Grew out of Joint County School Systems• Established in 1975 by Iowa state legislature• Provide services to member school districts in media

and technology support, staff development, curriculum development, and special education

• Local school districts elect members to the AEA Board of Directors

• IDEA, Part B and Part C funds

Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs)• Each AEA has a hearing conservation team

with;• 1 to 11 audiologists• 2 to 7 audiometrists• 2 to 14 teachers of the hearing-impaired• up to 20 interpreters

• SKI- HI training• Since 1994, over 100 professionals have received

SKI-HI training

• Iowa School for the Deaf, Council Bluffs

Iowa Early ACCESS (IDEA, Part C)• Early ACCESS is Iowa’s federal program

under The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part C.

• Collaborative system between IDPH, IDE, IDHS, and CHSC (Title V, CSHCN)

• Coordination of early intervention services• One Early ACCESS coordinator in each Early

ACCESS region. Regions overlap AEAs.• Coordinators develop IFSP’s.

AEA audiologists provide

• rescreens of babies who fail the birth admission screen

• referral to diagnostic centers• referral to AEA early intervention services• follow-up behavioral testing• fitting and monitoring of amplification• counseling regarding communication

methodologies

Who Can Use Early ACCESS?

• Any Iowa infant or toddler, (0-3) • Have a 25% delay in one or more

areas of development • OR have a known condition that

has a high probability of resulting in a later delay in development.

University of Iowa: Family treatment weekends• At Wendell Johnson Speech and

Hearing Center• Training of audiology graduate

students• Training of parents• Professional continuing education