Head Start programs make sure every child receives a hearing screening. Use these videos with families to help them understand the hearing screening process. The first video explains what the hearing screening process looks like for all families. The second and third videos are for families who need to follow up with their doctor or an audiologist if the hearing screening test shows their child may have hearing loss.
Your Child’s Hearing Screening
Your Child’s Hearing Screening
Narrator: When your child joins a Head Start program, great things happen. We want your child to grow, learn, and have fun. Your child's hearing plays an important role in all of these goals. This is why Head Start programs make sure every child gets a hearing screening.
Research shows that early language learning has a big impact on children's development and on their future reading and writing skills. Did you know the number of words a child knows by age three is the single best predictor of reading level by third grade?
Early language learning happens when children experience and respond to language, participate in back-and-forth conversations, and experience language in many different ways. As a family, you help early language learning every time you play, sing, or read with your child.
When you do these activities, you are teaching your child new words and concepts that help their brain develop. No one is better equipped to help children learn language than their own families. Because the language of the home is the language of the heart. But hearing loss can get in the way. If a child has a hearing loss that is not found early, they might be missing out on all the new words and language you are trying to teach them.
An undetected hearing loss can cause language delays. Language delays slow down learning. Hearing loss is not something you can see or detect just by talking to and playing with children. Many hearing losses can go unnoticed by teachers and families. That's why hearing screenings are so important.
Hearing screenings help us identify children who may need to see a healthcare provider to make sure their hearing is OK. What do you need to know about the hearing screening your child will receive at your Head Start program? One, it's painless. Two, it's quick. Three, it's free. Oh, and one more thing.
Language learning starts when your child is born. Most newborns are screened by the hospital right after birth. However, because a hearing loss can happen at any time, Head Start programs make sure all children get hearing screenings. We want to make sure that we know if your child develops a hearing loss in the first years of life.
We can help you get your child the help they need. After we complete your child's hearing screening, we will share the results with you. Some children might need to be re-screened. If that happens, we will repeat the hearing screening two weeks after the first screening and then share those results with you as well.
Until then, keep up your child's language learning. Be the singer, storyteller, and chatting partner your child needs.
If a child has a hearing loss that is not found early, they might be missing out on all the new words and language you are trying to teach them. That’s why hearing screening is so important. Watch this video to learn about hearing screenings in your child’s Head Start program.
