| Type | Name | Download PDF | Download Text |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brochure | Newborn Hearing Screening Program Brochure (English) | Text | |
| Brochure | Newborn Hearing Screening Program Brochure (Chuukese) | Text | |
| Brochure | Newborn Hearing Screening Program Brochure (Chamoru) | Text | |
| Brochure | Newborn Hearing Screening Program Brochure (Tagalog) | Text | |
| Brochure | Newborn Hearing Screening Program Brochure (Korean) | ||
| Brochure | Hearing and Speech Development (English) | Text | |
| Brochure | Hearing and Speech Development (Chuukese) | Text | |
| Brochure | Hearing and Speech Development (Chamoru) | Text | |
| Brochure | Hearing and Speech Development (Tagalog) | Text | |
| Brochure | Hearing and Speech Development (Korean) | ||
| Brochure | Family Support Group | Text | |
| Brochure | Family Support Group (Korean) | ||
| Directory | 2018 Neni Directory | Text | |
| Directory | 2017 Neni Directory | Text | |
| Early Childhood | Hugando Parent Play Book (English) | Text | |
| Early Childhood | Hugando Parent Play Book (Chuukese) | ||
| Early Childhood | Hugando Parent Play Book (Tagalog) | ||
| Early Childhood | 2015 Guam Early Childhood State Plan | Text | |
| Early Childhood | 2015 Guam Early Learning Guidelines (Birth to 36 Months) | Text | |
| Early Childhood | 2014 Guam Early Learning Guidelines (Three to Five Years) | Text | |
| Early Childhood | 2013 School Readiness Plan | Text | |
| Fact Sheet | Project Fitme Fact Sheet (English) | Text | |
| Fact Sheet | Project Fitme Fact Sheet (Chamoru) | Text | |
| Fact Sheet | Project Fitme Fact Sheet (Korean) | ||
| Fact Sheet | Project Fitme Fact Sheet (Tagalog) | Text | |
| Fact Sheet | Project Fitme Fact Sheet (Chuukese) | Text | |
| Poster | Guam EHDI Audiologist | Text | |
| Poster | Milestones of Normal Hearing and Speech Development | Text | |
| Poster | Is Your Infant “At Risk” for Hearing Loss? | Text | |
| Poster | Guam EHDI Poster | Text |
For Families
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Parents
Why should my baby’s hearing be screened?
Babies learn to talk and communicate through hearing sounds and words from you and those around him/her. If your baby has a hearing loss, it may interfere with his/her ability to speak and communicate. Hearing screening allows you to know if your baby has a hearing loss so you can get the appropriate intervention services as soon as possible.
Is there a fee for newborn hearing screening?
No. The law mandates newborn hearing screening as a standard of care for ALL newborns on Guam. The screening is part of the routine care given to babies at birth, just like taking their weight and temperature.
What if my baby fails the hearing screening?
If your baby fails the hearing screening, it does not mean he or she is deaf or has a hearing loss. It just means your baby needs further testing. Your baby will be referred to the Guam Early Intervention System (GEIS) for further hearing evaluation. It is important to keep your baby’s hearing evaluation appointment to find out if your baby has hearing loss. Some babies need to be tested again even if they pass the first screening. Some babies may have certain risk factors that may cause a hearing loss, as they grow older. These babies need to have a hearing evaluation at 6 months of age, so discuss this with your baby’s doctor for a referral to an audiologist.
What are the risk factors that might cause my baby to have a hearing loss?
- There is concern about your baby’s hearing, speech, language or development for any reason
- Family history of hearing loss
- Born before or during the 30th week of pregnancy
- Birth weight was less than 3 lbs
- Experienced a lack of oxygen after birth
- Needed a machine to help him/her breathe
- Spent 48 hours or more in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) or had complications while in the NICU
- Was given medications that might hurt hearing (Ask your health care provider)
- Was exposed to infection that was present before birth
- Has head, face or ears shaped or formed in a different way than usual
- Head injury
- Infection that was present at birth or shortly after birth (Cytomegalovirus, Syphilis, Rubella, etc.)
- Jaundice (hyperbilirubinemia) needing special procedure (exchange transfusion)
- Was given medication for cancer chemotherapy
- Has had an infection around the brain and spinal cord called meningitis
- Has a condition (neurological disorder) that is associated with hearing loss
- Frequent ear infections
- Syndrome (CHARGE, down, etc.)
If your baby was identified with one or more of the high risk indicators listed above, or if any of these risk factors show up later, please call Guam Early Intervention System (GEIS) at (671) 300-5776 to schedule a FREE hearing screening BEFORE your baby is 6 months old. You can also make an appointment with your baby’s doctor to share your concerns about your child’s hearing.
Family Support Group
The Guam EHDI Family Support Group is made up of parents with children ages 2-10 who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families. The Group has been meeting since 2004 and has been sharing joys and tribulations of the challenges they face.
For more information or to join the group, contact one of the family leaders below:
Joyce Tejeresas
Mobile: (671) 838-4215
Email: flores.joyricha.joyce816@gmail.com
Ann Marie Cruz
Mobile: (671) 777-7991
Email: amdcruz@teleguam.net
Hearing and Speech Milestones
What is a developmental milestone?
Developmental milestones are a set of functional skills or age-specific tasks that most children can do at a certain age range. Your pediatrician or primary health care provider uses milestones to help check how your child is developing. Every child is unique. Therefore, although each milestone has an age level, when a developmental milestone is achieved varies from child to child.
Download CDC’s Free Milestone Tracker App from the Apple App Store, and Google Play. Learn more at cdc.gov/MilestoneTracker.
The Guam Early Intervention System
Early intervention services are family-centered services and supports that help families meet the overall developmental needs of an infant or toddler (birth to three years old). The Guam Department of Education Guam Early Intervention System (GEIS) provides diagnostic, family support, and intervention services to infants, toddlers, and their families.
Steps to Receiving Early Intervention Services
- Referral
- Information is gathered about the child, and parents’ consent is obtained.
- Evaluation / Assessment is conducted to determine if the child is eligible for services. The family is involved with the evaluation process.
- Eligibility
- The evaluation(s) will be reviewed and eligibility for the program will be determined with the family.
For more information about the Guam Early Intervention System please call 300-5776 / 5816, or visit their website at sites.google.com/a/gdoe.net/geis/.
3 Types of Hearing Loss
Conductive Hearing Loss
Occurs when sound is not conducted efficiently through the outer ear canal to the eardrum and the tiny bones, or ossicles, of the middle ear. It usually involves a reduction in sound level, or the ability to hear faint sounds. This type of hearing loss can often be medically or surgically corrected.
Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Occurs when there is damage to the inner ear (cochlea) or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear (retrocochlear) to the brain. It cannot be medically or surgically corrected and is a permanent loss. This type of loss not only involves a reduction in sound level, or the ability to hear faint sounds, but it also affects the ability to hear clearly and understand speech.
Mixed Hearing Loss
Sometimes a conductive hearing loss occurs in combination with a sensorineural hearing loss. This means that there may be damage in the outer or middle ear and in the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve.