The average delay between birth and confirmation of significant hearing loss in children in the United States is 2½ years or more. This unacceptable lag has stimulated interest in auditory screening in infants and children, now an evolving and changing field. The Bill Wilkerson Center, part of the Division of Hearing and Speech Sciences of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (Nashville, Tenn), has long been a leader in clinical research relating to speech and hearing disorders in childhood. This book is based on papers by leaders in the field from around the world, presented at an international symposium conducted at the Wilkerson Center in June 1991.
The book is divided into four major parts: newborn screening, screening infants and young children, screening school-age children, and intervention. Important issues about the methodology of screening are addressed throughout the text. Improved efforts at neonatal screening, increasing physician awareness, and efforts at early