MESHGuides

In the United Kingdom, Quality Standards: Early years support for children with a hearing loss aged 0 to 5 (England, 2016) were developed by the National Deaf Children’s Society (NDCS) and a steering group.  The standards ‘set out how health, education and care providers should work together to support deaf children to achieve key outcomes by the time they start school’ (NDCS, 2016). 

Presentations are regularly made about the role of the Educational Audiologist in the UK at both educational and audiology conferences, such as the following:

The postgraduate qualification is usually delivered by blended learning in part at Mary Hare’s campus. It is a two year part-time Post Graduate Diploma in Deaf Education Studies (Educational Audiology) which can be topped up with a third year dissertation to an MSc in Educational Audiology. The intake to this distance-learning course is biennial.  

The British Cochlear Implant Group conference 2020 included a poster about the role of Educational Audiologists related to auditory implants, entitled ‘Linking Up Listening Life:  Improving Healthcare in the 21st Century. 

In 2014, as the British Academy of Audiology began the process of developing a greater recognition of Educational Audiologists which eventually led to their professional registration, the chair of the British Association of Educational Audiologists was invited to present to the conference of the British Academy of Audiology.

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.

Educational audiology provides a vital link between health and education by supporting children with hearing loss in educational settings; as attested by McCormick RIchburg (2005) who surveyed education professionals in regards to minimal hearing loss and found results that ‘support the importance of an educational audiologist on the service delivery team to help teachers understand the ramifications… and assist in meeting the educational and psychosocial needs of students....’ 

In the United Kingdom, a separate and bespoke postgraduate degree for Educational Audiologists, possibly unique in the world, is offered. This column is largely information provided about this UK training route.

In 2014, as the British Academy of Audiology began the process of developing a greater recognition of Educational Audiologists which eventually led to their professional registration, the chair of the British Educational Audiology Association was invited to present to the conference of the British Academy of Audiology.

The British Cochlear Implant Group conference 2020 included a poster about the role of Educational Audiologists related to auditory implants, including aspects of Child and Family Support, entitled ‘Linking Up Listening Life:  Improving Healthcare in the 21st Century.'