About Early Intervention

Questions Parents Often Ask

Download a pdf version of Questions Parents Often Ask in English (link to the left), Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Farsi, French, Korean, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, or Vietnamese.

Is my baby too young for early intervention services?

These early months are some of the most important learning times for your baby. Babies’ brains are programmed to begin learning language from the very beginning of their life. Early intervention services during infancy and early childhood provide critical opportunities to positively influence the development of children with a hearing loss.

What are early intervention services for babies with a hearing loss?

Early intervention services from qualified professionals provide families with the information they need to help their baby develop early communication (including listening, language, and speech). It is important to begin working with an early intervention specialist as soon as possible. They will be able to give you more information about your baby’s hearing loss and they can assist you during the early weeks of beginning hearing aid use with your baby. These early intervention specialists will also help you learn ways to take full advantage of play and home routines (for instance, changing diapers and feeding baby) to encourage early learning.

How do the Provincial Intervention and Service Coordinators (Susan Lane and Lori Bell) assist families?

Your baby was recently identified as having a hearing loss through the BC Early Hearing Program. Parents experience a range of emotions when they receive this news and often find it difficult to take in or remember all of the information they have been provided by various health care providers. The BC Early Hearing Program Intervention or Service Coordinator will assist you in finding the services that will help your family and baby. If you have not yet spoken with an early intervention specialist from the BC Early Hearing Program office, please contact us by email or through our toll free number: 1-866-612-2347. Even if you have already spoken with us, we would welcome your call or email for any reason.

What is the best approach to use with my baby?

We believe you have the right to the information and support you need in order to make appropriate decisions for your baby and family and to help you learn how to help your baby develop. You may discover that some doctors, teachers, and therapists have strong opinions about the best way to teach babies and young children with hearing loss and some may tell you they know the best approach for your child. We want you to know that no one specific method or approach has been found to work best for all children. We encourage you to work with your early interventionists and audiologist to discover what approach works best for your own baby and family. Your early interventionists will work with you to assess and monitor your baby’s development.

What is the Parent Guide Program?

We work closely with the Coordinator of the Guide By Your Side (GBYS) program, Teresa Kazemir. Through this program, families receive a phone call from one of the Parent Guides who themselves have children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The Parent Guides are trained to provide emotional support and unbiased information, and can share from their experiences raising a child with a hearing loss. Parents often tell us that the support and practical information they receive from other parents is very helpful. If you have not yet received a phone call from a parent guide but would like to, please call our toll free number (1-866-612-2347) to arrange a call.