Responsive parenting intervention after identification of hearing loss by Universal Newborn Hearing Screening: The concept of the Muenster Parental Programme

Parents of newborns with hearing loss (HL) identified by Universal Newborn Hearing
Screening (UNHS) programmes wish for educational support soon after confirmation and for contact with
other affected families. Besides pedaudiological care, a high level of family involvement and an early
start of educational intervention are the best predictors for successful oral language development in
children with HL. The implementation of UNHS has made it necessary to adapt existing intervention
concepts for families of children with HL to the needs of preverbal infants. In particular, responsiveness
has proven to be a crucial skill of intuitive parental behaviour in early communication between parents
and their child. Since infants with HL are being fitted earlier with hearing devices, their chances of
learning oral language naturally in daily communication with family members have noticeably
improved.
Objectives: The Muenster Parental Programme (MPP) aims at empowering parents in communicating with
their preverbal child with HL and in (re-)building confidence in their own parental resources.
Additionally, it supplies specific information about auditory and language development and enables
exchange with other affected parents shortly after the diagnosis.
Concept: The MPP is a responsive parenting intervention specific to the needs of parents of infants with
HL identified by UNHS or through other indices and testing within the first 18 months of life. It is based on
the communication-oriented Natural Auditory Oral Approach and trains parental responsiveness to
preverbal (3–18 months) infants with HL. The MPP has been developed for groups of 4–6 families and
comprises six group sessions (without infants), two single training sessions with video feedback, and two
individual counselling sessions. At the age of 24–30 months, an individual refresher training session is
offered to the parents for adapting their responsiveness to the current verbal level of the child via
dialogic book reading. The programme also benefits parents of paediatric cochlear implant (CI)
candidates preimplantation and postimplantation.
Conclusions: The MPP is evidence-based (see Glanemann et al., this volume) and meets the current need
for effective family-centred educational intervention after UNHS.