title: Factors Affecting Early Services for Children Who Are Hard of Hearing.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe factors affecting early intervention (EI) for children who are hard of hearing, we analyzed (a) service setting(s) and the relationship of setting to families' frequency of participation, and (b) provider preparation, caseload composition, and experience in relation to comfort with skills that support spoken language for children who are deaf and hard of hearing (CDHH).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants included 122 EI professionals who completed an online questionnaire annually and 131 parents who participated in annual telephone interviews.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Most families received EI in the home. Family participation in this setting was significantly higher than in services provided elsewhere. EI professionals were primarily teachers of CDHH or speech-language pathologists. Caseload composition was correlated moderately to strongly with most provider comfort levels. Level of preparation to support spoken language weakly to moderately correlated with provider comfort with 18 specific skills.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Results suggest family involvement is highest when EI is home-based, which supports the need for EI in the home whenever possible. Access to hands-on experience with this population, reflected in a high percentage of CDHH on providers' current caseloads, contributed to professional comfort. Specialized preparation made a modest contribution to comfort level.
authors.forename: Melody
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harrison
authors.forename: Thomas A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: Jacob
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Oleson
authors.forename: Meredith
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Spratford
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Unflat Berry
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Welhaven
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Arenas
authors.forename: Mary Pat
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Moeller
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018479:Early Intervention, Educational / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000150:complications / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007806:Language Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires