Timeliness of service delivery for children with later-identified mild-to-severe hearing loss.

PURPOSE In this study, the authors examined diagnostic and intervention services for children identified with hearing loss (HL) after the newborn period. METHOD The authors compared ages at service delivery and length of delays between service delivery steps for 57 later-identified children with HL and 193 children who referred for assessment from the newborn hearing screen (NHS). For only later-identified children, regression models were used to investigate relationships among predictor variables and dependent variables related to service delivery. RESULTS Children who referred from the NHS received follow-up services at younger ages than later-identified children. Later-identified children had significantly longer delays from HL confirmation to entry into early intervention, compared to children who referred from the NHS. For later-identified children, degree of HL predicted ages at follow-up clinical services. Children with more severe HL received services at younger ages compared to children with milder HL. Gender predicted the length of the delay from confirmation to entry into early intervention, with girls demonstrating shorter delays. CONCLUSIONS The current results lend support to the need for ongoing hearing monitoring programs after the neonatal period, particularly when children enter early intervention programs because of language/developmental delays.