|
Infant and Toddlers: Child Find for Vision and/or Hearing Impairments. Infants and toddlers suspected of or identified as having a vision and/or hearing impairment are underrepresented in timely identification and receipt of vision services. Across the nation, medical, related services, and school-based personnel too often do not connect families to vision and/or hearing services for their children until the early elementary years. To close these gaps, conversations between medical and educational professionals are needed as there are many factors to consider when connecting families of infants and toddlers to vision services. These factors comprise of high risk etiologies, including neurological vision impairments, how vision and hearing screenings are conducted at birth for developmental impact, training of medical and school-based personnel, including early childhood intervention (ECI) providers, and sharing of informational resources. Please join this session as panelists will discuss the following topics of infants and toddlers who are suspected of or have a vision and/or hearing impairmentInstruction Level: Intermediate; Prerequisites: None. Learning Objectives: 1. Distinguish common high risk etiologies, including neurological / cortical vision impairments, impacting development. 2. Identify infants and toddlers who may have a disability affecting developmental milestones. 3. Identify challenges and barriers to locating, and providing services to this population of children. 4. Review best practices and strategies for working together as a community to locate, identify, and provide services for infants and toddlers while also supporting families. |
