Early Hearing and Communication Development

Foreword

In response to growing interest in the field of early hearing and communication development (EHCD), the Health Surveillance and Epidemiology Division in Health Canada (now part of the Public Health Agency of Canada) established the Canadian Working Group on Childhood Hearing in September 2000.

The Working Group was multidisciplinary and included representatives of national professional associations, a parent representative and experts in otolaryngology, audiology, speech-language pathology, deaf education, nursing, child health and public health from across Canada. Its mandate was to review and evaluate scientific evidence in areas essential to the development of EHCD programs, and to develop a report that could function as a resource document.

The Working Group produced a draft report in early 2003, and then held consultations across Canada with representatives from provincial/territorial governments, health professionals, researchers, educators and consumer groups to get feedback on the draft report. The cooperation and participation of these individuals is gratefully acknowledged.

This resulting report constitutes a part of the information base from which EHCD programs and policies may be developed. It should facilitate the development of a framework of Canada-wide common goals, practices and procedures in the area of EHCD. The development and implementation of EHCD programs will vary provincially and regionally, depending on human, financial and material resources, and on the policies and priorities of those provinces and regions.

I wish to thank the members of the Canadian Working Group on Childhood Hearing for the many hours they dedicated to this project. Thanks also to the staff of the Public Health Agency of Canada for their hard work. We all hope that this resource document will be useful to our colleagues across the country who provide these important services to Canadian children and their families.

Andrée Durieux-Smith, PhD
Vice Dean, Professional Affairs
Faculty of Health Sciences
University of Ottawa
Ottawa, Ontario
Chair, Canadian Working Group on Childhood Hearing

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