The Indiana Department of Health’s Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education has launched a mobile unit to better reach Hoosier children who are deaf or hard of hearing and in need of services and support.
“The center continues to eliminate barriers and ensure that members of Indiana’s deaf and hard of hearing community can access resources that may not have been easily accessible in their community,” said State Health Commissioner Kris Box, M.D., FACOG. “By visiting school districts directly, center staff can collaborate with the school’s existing staff and resources and come together to help students get the support they need.”
The center is currently piloting a program in which the mobile unit visits school districts around the state that have needs for their staff and students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Services can include assistance with hearing screening follow-up, ongoing educational audiology services and professional development training for speech language pathologists.
The needs of the community and school determine which of the center’s specialized professionals staff the mobile unit each trip. Staff may include an accommodations specialist, an audiologist, an early intervention specialist, an educational psychologist, a teacher of deaf and hard of hearing and a speech-language pathologist.
The wheelchair-accessible vehicle is equipped with a full hearing sound booth and equipment appropriate for testing children of all ages, as well as hearing aid test equipment to fit and evaluate amplification, including hearing assistive technology. There is also a consultation area for counseling families and professionals and facilitating completion of communication and academic assessments. You can take a virtual tour of the unit at https://www.in.gov/isdh/28727.htm.
For more information about the center, visit https://www.in.gov/isdh/25883.htm. Visit the state Department of Health’s website at health.in.gov for important health and safety information or follow us on Twitter at @StateHealthIN and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/StateHealthIN.