Assessing Self-Efficacy in Families of Children with Hearing Concerns through an Audiological Early Intervention Training

When families use a listening and spoken language communication modality to communicate with their child, access to a rich linguistic environment through an intact auditory system is essential. In children with hearing loss, optimal auditory access is achieved through the consistent use of appropriately fitted hearing devices or other assistive hearing technology, allowing these children access to an ample language environment. Parents or caregivers of children with hearing loss or hearing concerns play a large role in facilitating their child’s use of hearing device, as well as supporting their child’s speech and language development, a potentially overwhelming experience for these families. The aim of this study was to continue a similar, previously completed project within the Audiology and Speech Language Pathology program at ETSU. The purpose of both studies was to improve parent self-efficacy, i.e., their confidence in their ability to optimize their child’s amplification use and linguistic exposure, increase family knowledge on language outcomes, and increase consistent use of amplification/treatment options by providing an educational workshop to families with children identified with hearing loss and/or hearing concerns. The current study was adapted based on caregiver feedback from the previous study. The hypothesis of this study was to see an enhancement of self-efficacy skills in parent participants. An educational workshop encompassing 1. the impact of hearing loss and/or hearing concerns on language development; 2. the importance of language exposure; 3. use and care of amplification/treatment options, and 4. empowerment to establish consistent device use in families that utilize amplification or other technology was delivered through a virtual meeting with participants. The participants’ self-efficacy skills regarding their child’s device use and language development were assessed and measured through a pre- and post-survey, the Scale of Parent Involvement and Self-Efficacy-Revised (SPISE-R). The SPISE-R surveys caregivers about their child’s device use as well as their perceptions of their own beliefs, knowledge, confidence, and actions pertaining to supporting their child’s auditory access and spoken language development. The assessment and workshop incorporated in this study were modeled after Ambrose et al. (J Early Hear Detect Interv, 2020) who developed the SPISE-R as a promising tool for use in early intervention to better understand and further support parent’s strengths and needs concerning their young child’s auditory access and spoken language development. Participants were recruited via email from an Early Intervention Specialist. A total of three pre-surveys were completed. Four parents attended the virtual workshop but none of them completed a post-survey. Therefore, data analysis was based on a comparison between the pre-surveys completed in the previous study (n=3) and in the current project. The results revealed that the participants from the current study rated themselves as having lower self-efficacy in supporting their child’s device use and language development than the participants of the previous project. Based on these results, future studies should consider: 1. recruiting from a larger pool of parents 2. hosting the workshops in-person instead of virtually 3. offering workshops multiple times to better accommodate parent schedules, and 4. shortening the survey