Each year, 500 Illinois babies are born with hearing loss. Because
of the large number of infants and children receiving cochlear implants, a
corresponding demand for professionals with expertise in helping children
use spoken language in addition to or instead of sign language has emerged.
Illinois State University will address that need with the help of a $778,941
grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Many veteran educators never received professional preparation in the area of cochlear implants, said grant recipient Maribeth Lartz. We have the curriculum to help teachers, speech pathologists and audiologists acquire the graduate specialization certificate in early intervention auditory-oral education. Because the need is prevalent in the Chicago area, we will deliver our program through on-site and video conferencing instruction that will connect Chicago-based educators in Des Plaines with Illinois State educators.
There are currently only two teacher preparation programs in Illinois that train teachers to work with students who are deaf/hard of hearing, and both programs are located south of I-80, while the majority of teachers serving these children are north of I-80. Lartz s program will provide educational programming to the highest-need area in the state. Lartz hopes the program will attract 70 Illinois professionals to complete the graduate specialization certificate in early intervention auditory-oral education. The professionals will be trained to provide early intervention services to families and children with hearing loss, birth to three years of age.
The program will lead to certification as a Developmental Therapist-Hearing (DTH) for deaf babies and families. There are only 56 fully credentialed providers, and there are huge voids in McHenry County, the south side of Chicago and the Peoria area. Many of the DTHs are certified teachers of the deaf who work full-time and may serve only one to two babies after work or on the weekend. Even those working as private therapists potentially only help a few babies.
The medical director of Illinois largest pediatric cochlear implant program has offered support for the grant. Dr. Nancy Young has offered to let students observe cochlear implant surgeries, cochlear implant mapping by audiologists and hearing therapy by Children s Memorial Hospital speech pathologists in Chicago. In addition, Dr. Michael Novak, chief implant surgeon for the Carle Clinic Cochlear Implant Center in Champaign, will provide downstate students with similar surgery and therapy observation opportunities.
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