Training the Next Generation of Practitioners In Early Intervention and Telepractice: Three University Models

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to shape the provision of family-centered early intervention services for children who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing and their families. In programs, schools, and centers, direct in-person contact with families have been significantly curtailed as a means to limit the exposure to and spead of the virus. Emergency remote learning has lead to an increase in telepractice, also referred to as teleintervention, as the designated model of service provision. Most early interventionists, speech-language pathologists, and teachers of the Deaf were not sufficiently trained to suddenly implement emergency remote teaching or telepractice services, but service providers had no option but to forge ahead, often with limited or no prior knowledge and experience with the provision of services using only telecommunications technology. Fortunately, however, some university training programs have integrated telepractice into their curricula and practica experiences for many years, and three of those programs are profiled here