The aim of the original research was to prepare a proposition of social changes, as a result of which actions will be taken, including interdepartmental ones, aimed at helping children with hearing impairment and their families as early as possible. We present the results of two decades of our own research on the group of over 3,000 children with hearing impairment in Poland. We used the mixed research method to observed the factors determining the process of speech acquisition among children with hearing impairment in their family microsystem. As a result, we propose holistic concepcion of supporting children with hearing impairment under 4 years old and their families. The solutions are shown in the light of the bioecological theory of human development. It enables hearing impairment children to be included in the mainstream of social life and thus regain the subjectivity lost in the existing support system.

A holistic concept of supporting the development of hearing-impaired children

It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm, that on behalf of the Cochlear Implant centers of the Radboud UMC in Nijmegen and Erasmus MC Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam to invite you to attend the 16th European Symposium on Pediatric Cochlear Implantation to Rotterdam, the Netherlands in 2023.

Yours sincerely, on behalf of the CI Centers at Radboud UMC and Erasmus MC,