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According to ASHA guidelines "Audiology Service Provision in and for the Schools" (2002), the role of audiologists in the schools is defined by Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 2004). In these regulations, audiology includes the identification and diagnosis of hearing difficulties, re/habilitation, selecting and fitting of individual and group amplification systems, implementation of assistive technology devices and services, prevention activities, and counseling and guidance for children, parents, and teachers. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also ensure that students with disabilities, including hearing loss, have access to classroom instruction even though they may not qualify for special education services based on test scores alone.
In 1991, a survey of state education agencies revealed a paucity of audiology services and positions in public schools (Johnson, 1991). In the fall of 2007, ASHA and the Educational Audiology Association (EAA) collaborated to design an online survey that would help describe the issues that contribute to personnel shortages in educational audiology to provide more targeted awareness and advocacy for the discipline. Using e-mail addresses provided by EAA, 871 educational audiologists were invited to participate; the response rate was 41% (361 responses).
Some of the survey results are illustrated here; complete information from the survey will be used by the National Coalition on Personnel Shortages in Special Education and Related Services on its Web site, through distribution at meetings, and posted on the ASHA audiology home page.
View the survey results [PDF].
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