An infant is most importance learning takes place between birth and 4years of age. A hearing infant hears the sounds around him, and learns to respond accordingly. However an infant with hearing difficulties is unable to do so. It is important that hearing loss is identified as early as possible to maximise available services for the development of the child and to help the parents.

Parents and doctors should watch carefully for signs of hearing loss if:

	There is a history of hearing loss in the family
	There is an Rh or other blood problem
	The mother had German measles (Rubella), a high fever, or some viral infection during the first three months of pregnancy
	The birth was complicated.
	Hearing loss may also develop at later stages due to childhood diseases like scarlet fever, mumps or meningitis. Accidents, chronic allergic reactions or the use of certain drugs and medications may also contribute to hearing loss.
Below is a basic checklist to determine whether an infant has normal hearing.
Birth to 3 months:
	Startled by loud sounds
	Soothed by mother’s voice
3 to 6 months:
	Responds to mother’s voice
	Enjoys rattles and sound-making toys
	Imitates his own noises-ba-ba, oohs
	Turns eyes and head to search for location of sound
6 to 10 months:
	Responds to his own name, the sound of the telephone ringing, someone’s voice, even when not loud.
	Understands "no", "bye-bye" and other common words.
10 to 15 months:
	Able to point to or look at familiar words or objects when asked to do so.
	Imitates simple words and sounds.
15 to 18 months:
	Follows simple spoken directions.
	Able to utter a few words. A wider vocabulary by the age of 18 months.
The YMCA of Kuala Lumpur runs a special programme known as the Parent-Infant Preschool programme. This programme aims on increasing the family’s ability to adapt and respond to their hearing impaired child in a supportive manner, in order to optimize his or her development.
Adopting a total communication method, the programme is divided into the following components:
	Parent education and counseling
	The Parent-Infant programme for infants below 3 years of age.
	A Pre-school programme for 3 to 6 year olds.
PARENT EDUCATION AND COUNSELLING
A Parents’ Support Group meets once a month to assist parents in coping with the challenges of bringing up a special child. In order to fulfill the objective of increasing Deaf Awareness, the Centre organizes discussion and information sharing sessions, talks by professionals and sign language classes. Outings and camps are held to encourage maximum integration with the Deaf Community.
THE PARENT-INFANT PROGRAMME
This programme focuses on:
	Auditory Training To assist the infant to make full use of his/her residual hearing.
	Communication Skills Emphasis is placed on helping the infant communicate his/her needs and learning about his/her environment. Build up interaction between parent and child.
	Language Development Build up the infant’s language skills. Increase the frequency of output of vocabulary.
These goals are achieved through:
	Child Care Activities Parent Task Oriented Activities Child Initiated Activities Parent Directed Activities
Classes are an hour long and run either once or twice a week. Depending on the distance, classes are either home based, or held at the center.