CCHAT Program Spotlight: Baby & Me

CCHAT aims to provide comprehensive support and services to families of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. This assistance begins just days after birth.

With CCHAT’s Baby & Me Program, families have access to a staff of listening and spoken language experts who are committed to setting up their child for a lifetime of success.

The CCHAT Baby & Me Program

As soon as children are diagnosed with hearing loss, it is imperative that they take steps toward listening and language development.

CCHAT’s Baby & Me Program gives these families a welcoming home with teachers, speech therapists and audiologists available to guide them through the process to come.

Baby & Me meets once a week and includes speech therapy that is personalized for the family. Because Baby & Me is for children from birth to 18 months old, much of the content of the program is geared toward preparing parents or guardians for what is to come. Providing support and strategies for parents gives them the tools to guide their child’s listening and spoken language journey with confidence.

Key components of Baby & Me include:

• Audiological education and management: CCHAT’s staff will help families navigate the process of obtaining hearing-assistive technology and also provide guidance on upcoming important audiological milestones that should be reached.
• Access to parent/infant advisors who hold master’s degrees and are highly skilled in listening and spoken language strategies: With a majority of development happening at home, especially in the early stages of a child’s life, CCHAT aims to equip families with tools that they can implement to immediately begin building a foundation of communication skills for their child.
• Access to deaf mentors: CCHAT makes it a priority to have adults with hearing loss on staff who can provide firsthand knowledge about what the future will look like for a child who is deaf or hard of hearing and how parents and family members can best support them on their journey. 
• Connections with other families: Baby & Me gives parents a chance to form relationships with other families who are on the same journey. Families can share successes, provide tips and support each other in a welcoming, community environment. 

Working Collaboratively

CCHAT knows it is just one member of a child’s team. CCHAT staff members work hand-in-hand with a family’s physicians and medical care providers to ensure that each child is receiving personalized attention specific to their needs. Most importantly, CCHAT recognizes the imperative role played by parents and ensures that their voice is heard throughout the process. 

The goal of Baby & Me is to set children and families up for a life without limits. CCHAT has more than 25 years of experience empowering children who are DHH with listening and spoken language skills. Many of these children begin in CCHAT’s Baby & Me Program, and the success they eventually achieve can be directly attributed to this head start. 

Enrollment for Baby & Me is open to all babies with hearing loss and their primary caregivers. Participation can begin immediately after early diagnosis. To learn more or inquire about joining the class, call 916-361-7290 or contact us through our website.