Abstract
Audiologists have a wide range of responsibilities, including the identification and treatment of hearing loss. These responsibilities are important when dealing with any population; however, working with children presents unique challenges. Children must receive prompt, thorough evaluations and intervention to minimize the adverse effects of hearing loss in areas such as speech and language, academic, and social-emotional development. The authors of a national survey examined the educational preparation of audiologists to work with the pediatric population. Responses revealed much room for improvement. More than 40% of both the audiologists and the program directors stated that the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) requirements for the Clinical Certificate of Competence in Audiology were insufficient to prepare audiologists to perform pediatric assessments. In addition, the majority of both groups felt that the ASHA requirements were inadequate to prepare audiologists to provide pediatric habilitation. The literature suggests a demand for audiologists who have considerable academic and practicum experience with this population upon graduation. In this article, results of a national survey replicating the original study are reported. Although improvements were noted, there continue to be areas of concern related to the timely identification of and intervention with our youngest patients.
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