Why a Fact Sheet on Natural Environments?
The concept of “natural environments” as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA 1997; 2004) has created confusion regarding the appropriate settings for services for families and their infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing. The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide clarification and recommendations from the Joint Committee of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the Council on Education of the Deaf (CED) on natural environments. This fact sheet provides recommendations for selecting natural environments for families and their young deaf or hard of hearing children, and for advocating for appropriate environments for services; it also provides resources for further information.
