Internet Enduring Material. Sponsored by Stanford University School of Medicine. Presented by the Stanford Center for Continuing Medical Education, Stanford Medicine HEAL Network (Health Equity Action Leadership), Stanford Medicine REACH Initiative (Racial Equity to Advance a Community of Health), and the Stanford Medicine GME Diversity Committee.
Deaf and hard of hearing adults who experienced severe adverse childhood communication experiences (ACCEs) as children are at increased risk for acquiring chronic diseases and comorbidity. Toxic stress as a result of adverse childhood communication experiences is not only related to the quality of one-on-one parental communication, but also related to deaf and hard of hearing children’s access to incidental information through family communication and environment. If the severity is high in which the child is deprived of language or experience barriers to accessing family group communication, this has a negative and long-term impact on the child’s physical and mental health well being. The audience can help co-produce solutions to prevent or reduce ACCEs. This may be done through systematic or policy changes that will mandate early interventionists, social workers, and healthcare professionals to screen for ACCEs as part of the deaf and hard of hearing child’s well checkups. A collaborative effort is needed to effectively reach this goal, which will ultimately reduce health disparities among deaf and hard of hearing people.
