Educational Audiology

History and Textbooks

In the United Kingdom, the role of the Educational Audiologist dates back to The Education Act of 1970. The act entitled ‘Handicapped Children,’ was put in place to ensure that disabled children could not be classified as unsuitable for receiving education at school. The act states that the Education Authority will take over the responsibility of employing specialists, transferring those previously employed by local health authorities.

The history of the role in the UK is outlined in this 2016 BATOD magazine article  Adding Value:  Becoming an Educational Audiologist  and the scope of the role in the UK is taken up by Simkiss (2013). He cites a key role for Educational Audiologists in overseeing effective audiological equipment use, and providing protocols for quality assurance.

Textbooks related to Educational Audiology fill out the historical picture.  

In the UK, historical textbooks on the topic are:

• McCracken W, Laiode-Kemp S (1997) Audiology in Education.  Whurr Publishers.    Blake S (2006) in Deafness & Education International, completed a book review                              
• Nolan M, Tucker I. (1984) Educational Audiology. London: Croom Helm.

In the United States of America, the role is strongly linked to disabilities legislation, which is outlined in three editions of the Educational Audiology Handbook which have now been published. Known as the gold standard in the field it straightforwardly presents the scope of practice for maintaining high-quality programs. 

• DeConde Johnson C, Seaton J (2019) Educational Audiology Handbook 3rd edition. Plural Publishing. 
• DeConde Johnson C, Seaton J (2011) Educational Audiology Handbook 2nd edition. Cengage Publishing.    
• De Condé Johnson C, Benson PV, Seaton JB. (1997) The Educational Audiology Handbook. London: Singular Publishing.
• English, K. (1995). Educational audiology across the lifespan: Serving all learners with hearing impairment. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.

Additionally, chapters in the following books relate to educational audiology:

• Madell J, Flexer C  (2013) Pediatric Audiology. Thieme.
• Miles S and McCracken W (2008) Educational Audiology in Developing Countries In McPherson B and Brouillete R Audiology in Developing Countries. Nova Publishers. 
• McCreery R, Walker E (2007) Pediatric Amplification: Enhancing Auditory Access . Plural Publishing.   

Beyond textbooks, articles on Educational Audiology also help to inform the historical picture.

English (1991) sought to begin discussions about development of professional identity, providing of optimal services to children, and best practices in Educational Audiology for which she obtained enthusiastic survey responses. 

In 2009, Richburg and Smiley  considered the ‘state’ of education audiology in the USA with a survey in 2007 comparing changes since 1990; and found no substantial improvements in numbers, federally mandated guidelines for hearing screening in schools, or definitions of hearing loss as criteria for special education services. 

In 2010, Seaton and DeConde Johnson  cited the importance of being knowledgeable about impact on services.  They noted that local policy decisions usually are in effect until challenged under state or federal law, and provided an overview of 2000-2010 to look at policy influences on Educational Audiology.