Your baby should be able to do the following:

A newborn (0 to 4 months) usually reacts suddenly to loud sounds through movements such as widening the eyes, jumping or extending the arms and legs. Parents should look for signs of localization from their child. Localization is eye movement or turning the head towards the direction of the sound source.

A baby of 3 to 6 months of age should turn and search out a different sound. They should also be able to respond to the sound of their name. During this particular developmental time, the baby will play with sounds by cooing and babbling. The baby should be smile or stop crying when either of the parents speaks to him/her. In addition, the baby should act differently to the ways the parents talk to him/her (angry, friendly, loving).

A baby of 6 to 10 months of age should be able to seek out the sound source. When his or her name is called, the baby should look towards the speaker. In addition, the baby should respond to both soft and loud sounds. Familiar sounds such as a doorbell ringing or a dog barking should get a response from the baby. The baby should also pay attention when the parents talk to him/her.

A baby or 10 to 15 months will begin to increase his or her babbling and begin to more closely resemble speech. The baby plays with sounds and is able to put sounds together in different patterns.

A child of 15 to 18 months is able to directly localize to most sounds. In addition, the child can understand simple phrases, identify familiar objects such as body parts and follow simple directions. A child at 18 months should have an expressive vocabulary of 20 or more words and short phrases.

North Dakota’s Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program (UNHS), is working to provide physiological hearing screenings to over 90% of all newborns in the state before hospital discharge and refer those identified with a hearing loss to appropriate early intervention services. In the past months, the First Sounds project has taken major steps towards fulfilling many of the outlined objectives and goals stated within the Federal grant proposal. First Sounds has identified birthing hospitals that do not have the equipment needed to conduct UNHS. Project members are working to establish an agreement with at least four health care facilities to serve as regional referral centers. Referral centers will have clinical OAE equipment and clinical diagnostic ABR systems with frequency specific and bone conduction capabilities.

A task force that is made up of members of the state Advisory Panel and other stakeholders has been convened in order to review existing systems for managing statewide screening data and other relevant issues. A task force of North Dakota audiologists has been created in order to obtain documentation and pricing information from publishers of the major software programs available. In addition, the Audiology task force is working to determine UNHS protocols for screening and referral. These protocols will be based on validated models from states where UNHS is already in place. Eight of North Dakota’s licensed audiologists have participated in a three day training seminar conducted by the renowned Dr. David Lilly who is an expert in the field of electrophysiology, specifically with ABR and OAE testing of infants and children. In addition, other well-known speakers such as Dr. Richard Seewald and Marlene Bagatto provided training on amplification and fitting procedures with infants and children. The training occurred on September 21 to the 23rd. Additional training will be provided next year for audiologists unable to attend this year’s session. First Sounds is also in the process of developing a press kit for the involved hospitals. A brochure that will provide relevant information for both medical professionals and families is in the finalizing process and will be soon available for distribution. A power point presentation has been created to provide information on infants with hearing loss and the goals of First Sounds. If you have a question about your baby's hearing or language, call First Sounds of North Dakota at 1-800-233-1737 or email ndcpd@minotstateu.edu