Throughout a child’s educational journey, from birth to graduation and beyond, hearing impacts an individual’s ability to develop language, communication, and social emotional skills. In the United States, hearing loss affects nearly 15% of school aged children ages 6-19. (-
US Centers for Disease Control).
The Special Services department of ESD 123 is proud to partner with school systems and the medical community across southeast Washington to bring audiology services to children and young adults.
Audiology services help to ensure access to auditory-based classroom instruction for all deaf and hard of hearing students, regardless of eligibility status. These services support children not only academically, but also socially and emotionally.
We’re Here to Help
The ESD 123 Audiology Department provides access to the following services for 23 school districts across seven counties:
- A mobile clinic that brings hearing assessments and devices to your school
- Comprehensive hearing evaluations for any child (ages 7 months – 21 years) within our service area. Evaluations are conducted at NO COST to the family.
- Diagnostic Behavioral Testing
- Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA) ages 7 months-3 years
- Conditioned Play Audiometry (CPA) ages 3-5 years
- Conventional Audiometry ages 5+
- Diagnostic Objective Testing:
- Tympanometry
- Acoustic Reflexes
- Otoacoustic Emissions
- Fitting and dispensing hearing aids for children with hearing loss (ages 5-21 years). ESD 123 Audiology works with Medicaid & State Insurance for hearing aid devices.
- Connecting families with resources to access hearing-related equipment
- Collaborating with schools to access assistive technology for hearing impaired students as appropriate and as designated by education support plans
- Training students, staff, and teachers on care and use of equipment
- Consultation, training, and support for school teams on classroom accommodations and more
- Counseling families on how best to support children with hearing loss and their listening needs.
Early identification of hearing loss is key!
When a student’s hearing ability is compromised, it can negatively impact their performance at school. This can potentially lead to overall reduced academic achievement and poor self-esteem and self-confidence long term. The earlier a child can start receiving services, the more likely they are to reach their full potential in school and in life.
Accessing pediatric audiology services can be challenging for many families in eastern Washington. ESD 123’s Audiology Department is here to help connect families and their children to services and make this journey easier.
If your child or someone you care for is in need of audiological services, you can contact our team and/or submit an inquiry: