Deaf adults in early intervention programs

ABSTRACT Family-Centred Early Intervention (FCEI), an international congress that meets biannually, concurred that programmes serving young deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) children and their families should include D/HH adults when offering family social and emotional support (Principle 4) and engaging in collaborative teamwork with D/HH adults (Principle 8) (Moeller, Carr, Seaver, Stredler-Brown, & Holzinger, 2013). However, to date, there is no known published research investigating roles of D/HH adults in such programmes. This article discusses results from an online exploratory survey distributed internationally with the focus on the support and roles of deaf adults working in programmes serving young deaf children and their families. Forty-eight respondents completed the survey. Findings indicate that the support provided by deaf adults includes educational information and communication support, and that the major roles provided by deaf adults are as role models and language providers. Additionally, respondents reported that families do not have a diverse range of deaf professionals to connect with in early intervention programmes. This article concludes with a call to action for infusing deaf adults in programmes that include Formalisation, Collaboration, Education, and Infusion. For the purpose of this manuscript, the term “deaf” is an inclusive term representing all individuals with various hearing levels and cultural experiences.