In North Carolina, the eligibility criteria for enrollment in Part C early intervention services do not exclude infants and toddlers based on the severity or laterality of hearing loss. As such, the state's early intervention population represents a widely diverse array of children ranging from those with minimal to profound hearing losses. While…

As a group, children with hearing loss demonstrate delays in language development relative to their peers with normal hearing. Early intervention has a profound impact on language outcomes in children with hearing loss. Data examining the relationship between degree of hearing loss and language outcomes are variable. Two approaches are used in the…