Infant Hearing Program: Language Services

The lead agency for the Central South (Ontario) Infant Hearing Program is Affiliated Services for Children and Youth (ASCY), based in Hamilton, and services the communities of Niagara, Brant, Haldimand-Norfolk and Hamilton. It if funded by the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services.

Ontario’s Infant Hearing Program has two main functions:

1. Identify newborns with permanent hearing loss as early as possible (facilitated by ASCY; not a Niagara Children’s Centre service)
2. Support children with permanent hearing loss so they will be ready to start school through:

• Audiology assessments and hearing aid management provided by a trained audiologist
• Language development services to support language and early literacy development
• Family support services to provide guidance and assistance in accessing community resources

At Niagara Children’s Centre, we provide language services to eligible children identified by the Infant Hearing Program, in collaboration with designated Infant Hearing Program audiologists, family support workers, and families. Speech-language pathologists are specially trained to support the development of spoken language through listening and development of communication skills in children with permanent hearing loss. A variety of approaches and strategies are used to help children communicate through spoken language to the best of their ability, including auditory verbal therapy (AVT). All strategies are developed for each client based on their specific needs.

There are many available service delivery models for infant hearing program language development services. Based on a child’s specific needs, the child’s speech-language pathologist will make recommendations for which service delivery model is best suited to achieve the best results for the child.

With any service delivery model, speech-language pathologists will generally monitor progress every 6 months. They will also attend regular communication plan development meetings with other Infant Hearing Program professionals involved with your child’s care.

IHP Language services are provided for children in the Niagara Region who have a hearing issue recognized by the Central South Hearing Program. Services are provided from infancy until the child transitions to school. If a family chooses not to send their child to school once they are eligible for their first year of kindergarten, limited services will be available until the child reaches second-year kindergarten age.

Referrals come to Niagara Children’s Centre directly from the Central South Infant Hearing Program soon after children are identified with permanent hearing loss. If you have questions regarding your child’s hearing, please speak to your family doctor.

• Hear On Learning Videos – University of Western Ontario
• The Hear On learning videos were created for families of children who have permanent hearing loss
• The videos are designed to help parents learn about and develop strategies for managing their child’s hearing loss
• Visit the Ontario government’s Infant Hearing Program website for more information on the program