Deaf* Early Start Teacher Resources

On this website you will find family and child-centered holistic resources for supporting families with Deaf* babies and toddlers. These resources focus on providing families with a positive and research-based perspective on having a Deaf child. In this current environment of medicalizing Deaf babies, family members need Early Start teachers that can help them focus on bonding with their child and embracing all the ways their child is developing like any other child.

*The term Deaf is an inclusive term that refers to children with varying hearing levels as well as children with hearing assistive technology.

California was the 1st state to implement newborn hearing screening. The California Department of Health Care Services runs the California Newborn Hearing Screening Program which screens most babies hearing soon after they are born.

NorCal Services for Deaf & Hard of Hearing has been awarded the federal grant by Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA-20-047) to support the current Newborn Hearing Screening Program (NHSP) in California. Centralized services focus on supporting families with infants who have been identified as deaf or hard of hearing. LEAD-K Family Services connects families with local school districts, Early Start Home Visit teachers and other supports as outlined in an Individualized Family Support Program.