AUDIE: Hearing Help for Kids

AUDIE is an early intervention program designed to educate families about hearing aid care and use, and to help families purchase hearing aids for children with newly identified hearing loss. This program is a result of the joint efforts of the KU Med Audiology Clinic and Hartley Family Center, both administrated within the Hearing and Speech Department at KU Med Center. Funding for this program is obtained through individual, corporate, and service organization donations and fund raising activities. Support is also provided through community and state grants, and grants from the hearing aid industry.

Early Identification and Intervention of Hearing Loss

Communication is the foundation of all human relationships. Communication allows us to interact in the family, community, and society. It provides us with a means to learn, grow, and achieve.

Children with untreated hearing loss are at high risk for speech and language delays. Poor speech and language skills often contribute to poor academic performance. The goal of early intervention is to minimize these potential problems and maximize the child's opportunity to succeed socially, academically, and professionally.

Children who are identified at birth with hearing loss can be fit with hearing aids as soon as the hearing loss is confirmed.

Hartley Family Center and the KU Med Audiology Clinic work together through the AUDIE program to provide amplification in a timely manner and to provide the educational support that help families improve their child's opportunity to succeed in school.

Hearing Aid Technology

Our early intervention program is family centered, interdisciplinary, and believes on building on informed choice for families. Education about hearing aid technology is an important component of the program and helps families make informed decisions about options such as:

• Directional microphones
• Noise reduction circuits
• Programmable/digital options
• Direct audio input
• FM compatibility
• Telecoil applications
• Multi-memory options

Children are fit with loaner hearing aids as soon as the hearing loss is confirmed. Families are educated about the process of obtaining hearing aids and about the options most appropriate for their child. Financial assistance is provided through the AUDIE program based on financial need.

The AUDIE team includes audiologists, speech-language pathologists, early intervention specialists and paraprofessionals. Families participate in regular hearing healthcare appointments to monitor care and use of the hearing aids, and achievement in speech, language, and hearing developmental milestones.

The overall goal of the AUDIE program is to improve the child's opportunity to participate fully in life by building relationships through effective communication.