2024 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 17-19, 2024 • Denver, CO
| Bridging the Gap: Connecting the Clinic and Early Intervention
Bridging the Gap: Connecting the Clinic and Early Intervention
When a child is diagnosed with hearing loss, parents often feel they lack adequate resources required to make educated decisions about their child's future. Although the foundation of making these informed decisions stems from understanding their children’s audiologic diagnosis and hearing management options, the support required is multi-dimensional. This is why a team based perspective, with multidisciplinary providers, yields a more holistic approach to supporting families in making decisions that are right for them. At the University of Miami’s Children’s Hearing Program, we have recognized the importance of this and cultivated a team including educators, social workers, psychologists, and Auditory Verbal Speech therapists that work alongside the audiologists. However, with a team this big, visits to the clinic can become overwhelming and place additional barriers to care for families. This is why we offer this team based approach through a variety of telehealth appointments. Offering a variety of services through telehealth reduces absences from work and school, travel time and cost, as well as other barriers that prevent families from receiving early intervention. In this presentation we will highlight what kinds of tele-health appointments are being provided by the Children’s Hearing Program. We will also discuss how this has improved patient access in the State of Florida to our specialized multidisciplinary team.
- Participants will identify barriers to care in newly diagnosed and managed children with hearing loss.
- Participants will understand the importance of a multidisciplinary team approach in providing early intervention supports to families.
- Participants will discover how telehealth care can improve access to multidisciplinary hearing care and early intervention services.
Presentation:
3478265_16359SamanthaEspinal.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Alexandria Mestres
(Primary Presenter,Co-Presenter,Author,Co-Author), University of Miami Children's Hearing Program, asm120@med.miami.edu;
Alex Mestres, a Miami native, attended Flagler College where she received a degree in Education of the Hearing Impaired and Elementary Education. She holds a Master's Degree in Applied Learning Sciences from University of Miami. Alex also has a wide variety of experience and credentialing in early childhood. She has worked in the private sector as an administrator, professional development trainer, and consultant. More recently she served as the department chairperson for Deaf and Hard of Hearing services with Miami Dade County Public School. While with the county she oversaw the itinerant teacher program and provided technical assistance to a wide variety of schools. Alex currently serves as a consultant and provides all deaf and hard of hearing services for Academica Charter Schools as well as Charter Schools USA. Along with those responsibilities, she is the educational specialist at the University Miami's Children's Hearing Program where she provides educational support for families of children with hearing loss.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with University of Miami.
Nature: AGBell Florida Board, AGBell International Financial Aid Committee, ACIA Scientific Committee.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Samantha Espinal
(Co-Presenter,Co-Author), University of Miami Children's Hearing Program, sgespinal@med.miami.edu;
Samantha Espinal is a pediatric audiologist at the University of Miami Ear Institute’s Children’s Hearing Program. She earned her clinical doctorate in audiology from Gallaudet University and completed her externship and Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) training at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Samantha is passionate about pediatric audiology, early intervention, and improving healthcare accessibility. Her day to day practices includes pediatric diagnostics, ABRs, hearing aids, and bone conduction devices.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with .
Nature: .
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Michelle Coppola
(Author), University of Miami Children's Hearing Program, mxc2892@miami.edu;
Dr. Michelle Coppola is a clinical audiologist at University of Miami’s Ear Institute. She received her clinical doctorate in audiology from Rush University and is currently licensed in the state of Florida. Dr. Michelle Coppola specializes in pediatric audiology within the UM Children’s Hearing Program. Her areas of focus include diagnostic testing, hearing aids, osseointegrated devices, and electrophysiology testing.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from University of Miami.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with University of Miami .
Nature: Employment.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Ivette Cejas
(Author), University of Miami Department of Otolaryngology, icejas@med.miami.edu;
Dr. Ivette Cejas is an Associate Professor and Director of Family Support Services at the University of Miami Ear Institute. She is a Licensed Psychologist in the state of Florida. Dr. Cejas is a well-known researcher in pediatric hearing loss, publishing extensively in this area and at numerous conferences. As part of the UM Children’s Hearing program she provides therapeutic services to children and families coping with a hearing loss diagnosis or comorbid disorders. She is an advocate for all children with hearing loss and organizes a comprehensive family program at UHealth to assist families through their journey with hearing loss. She is on the Board of Directors at AG Bell and is a member of the American Cochlear Implant Alliance.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -