Volta Voices May-June 2014 Magazine by Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

LISTENINGANDSPOKENL ANGUAGE .ORG

VOLUME 21 ISSUE 3 MAY/JUN 2014

Early Intervention Services and Beyond

Developing Language and Literacy

OF NEWLY DIAGNOSED YOUNG CHILDREN

Beginning the Journey

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING

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MAY/JUN 2014 // VOLUME 21 // ISSUE 3

FEATURES 1 2 From One Parent to Another: An Open Letter to Parents Read about one family’s journey with hearing loss as well as tips and strategies that can be applied at any point during your journey. BY ALEX DEMOLINA 1 6 Ready, Set, Caption: How Closed Captions Can Support Your Child as a Reader Closed captions are becoming portable and can be used across a variety of media sources as a supplemental literacy tool. BY KRYSTYANN KRYWKO, Ed.D.

¡Sí, puedo! Yes I Can! Growing up Bilingual with Hearing Loss in Spain Read about children with hearing loss in Spain growing up learning two spoken languages and programs that provide options for bilingual education. BY MARK GUIBERSON, Ph.D., AND DALE SINDELL

2 4 Empowering Children Who Are Hard of Hearing and Their Families in Taiwan Read about the work of the Children’s Hearing Foundation in Taiwan. BY KUEI-JU LIN

2 8 Financial Aid Resources for Hearing Aids Families may find the cost of hearing technology a challenge. Read about resources available to provide assistance with the cost of hearing technology. BY ANNA KARKOVSKA MCGLEW, M.A.

3 0 John Stanton, Esq. 2014 Honors of the Association Award Recipient Stanton has been a member of AG Bell since the mid-1990s and is the current chair of the AG Bell Public Affairs Council. Read about his life and many years of committed service. BY ANNA KARKOVSKA MCGLEW, M.A.

IN EVERY ISSUE

DEPARTMENTS

2 Want to Write for Volta Voices?

5 Voices from AG Bell Equating Deafness with Greatness

7 Editor’s Note

Parenting Young Children with Hearing Loss

1 0 Sound Bites

3 4 Tips for Parents

On Being a Deaf Mom

4 2 Directory of Services

3 6 Hear Our Voices

Doing Hard Things

5 0 List of Advertisers

3 8 The Honor Roll of Donors

Special Section: Recognizing the Generosity of Our Donors

5 2 Up Front on the Back Page

interview by anna karkovska mcglew, m.a.

Voices Contributors

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING 3417 VOLTA PLACE, N.W., WASHINGTON, DC 20007 // LISTENINGANDSPOKENLANGUAGE.ORG

Joseph Smaldino, Ph.D.

Want to Write for Volta Voices? Advancing Listening and Spoken Language for Individuals Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing Adopted by the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Board of Directors, July 2013

ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING 3417 Volta Place, N.W., Washington, DC 20007 ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org VOICE 202.337.5220 TTY 202.337.5221 | FAX 202.337.8314 Volta Voices Staff Director of Communications and Marketing Susan Boswell, M.A., CAE Editor Anna Karkovska McGlew, M.A. Advertising, Exhibit and Sponsorship Sales The Townsend Group Design and Layout GRAPHEK AG Bell Board of Directors President Donald M. Goldberg, Ph.D., LSLS Cert. AVT (OH) President-Elect Meredith Knueve Sugar, Esq. (OH) Immediate Past President Kathleen S. Treni (NJ) Secretary-Treasurer Ted Meyer, M.D., Ph.D. (SC) Chief Executive Officer Emilio Alonso-Mendoza, J.D., CFRE Joni Y. Alberg, Ph.D. (NC) Corrine Altman (NV) Rachel Arfa, Esq. (IL) Jonathan Berger, Esq. (NY) Evan Brunell (MA) Wendy Deters, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVEd (IL) Kevin Franck, Ph.D., MBA, CCC-A (MA)

Submissions to Volta Voices Volta Voices welcomes submissions from both AG Bell members and nonmembers. The magazine is published six times annually. Its audience consists of individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing, parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing, and professionals in fields related to hearing loss (audiology, speech-language pathology, psychology, otology, social services, education). For submission guidelines and to submit content, visit the Volta Voices page at ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org. Subjects of Interest • Technology—related to hearing loss, new technology, improvements to or problems with existing technology, or how people are using existing technology, accommodations. • Education—related to public or private schools through post-secondary education, new approaches and teaching methods, legal implications and issues, etc. • Advocacy—information on legislation, hearing health, special or mainstream education, and accessibility. • Health—audiology issues relating to children or adults with hearing loss and/or their families and friends. • Action—stories about people with hearing loss who use spoken language as their primary mode of communication; deafness need not be the focal point of the article. Editorial Guidelines The periodicals department reserves the right to edit material to fit the style and tone of Volta Voices and the space available. Articles are selected on a space-available and relevancy basis; submission of materials is not a guarantee of use.

Transfer of Copyright The revised copyright law, which went into effect in January 1978, provides that from the time a manuscript is written, statutory copyright is vested with the author(s). All authors whose articles have been accepted for publication in Volta Voices are requested to transfer copyright of their articles to AG Bell prior to publication. This copyright can be transferred only by written agreement. Without copyright ownership, the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing cannot issue or disseminate reprints, authorize copying by individuals and libraries, or authorize indexing and abstracting services to use material from the magazine. Art Submission Guidelines Volta Voices prefers digital images over original artwork. When submitting electronic files, please provide them in the following formats: TIF, EPS or JPG (no BMP or GIF images). Digital images must be at least 300 dpi (at size).

SUBMIT ARTICLES/ITEMS TO: Volta Voices Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing 3417 Volta Place, N.W. • Washington, DC 20007 Email: editor@agbell.org Submit online at ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org

Letters to the Editor Let us know how we are doing. Write a Letter to the Editor, and you could see your comment in the next issue. Media Kit Visit ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org and select “About AG Bell” for advertising information.

Susan Lenihan, Ph.D., CED (MO) Catharine McNally (VA) Lyn Robertson, Ph.D. (OH) On the cover: Guide For Parents of Newly Diagnosed Young Children

VOLTA VOICES Volume 21, Issue 3, May/June (ISSN 1074-8016) is published 6 times per year in J/F, M/A, M/J, J/A, S/O, and N/D for $50 per year by Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 3417 Volta Pl., N.W., Washington, DC, 20007. Periodicals postage is paid at Washington, DC, and other additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Volta Voices, Subscription Department, 3417 Volta Pl., N.W., Washington, DC 20007, 202/337-5220 (voice) or 202/337-5221 (TTY). Claims for undelivered issues must be made within 4 months of publication. Volta Voices is sent to all members of the association. Yearly individual membership dues are $50. Volta Voices comprises $30 of membership dues. Subscriptions for schools, libraries and institutions are $115 domestic and $135 international (postage included in both prices). Back issues, when available, are $7.50 plus shipping and handling. Copyright ©2014 by the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc., 3417 Volta Pl., N.W., Washington, DC 20007. Articles published in Volta Voices do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Acceptance of advertising by Volta Voices does not constitute endorsement of the advertiser, their products or services, nor does Volta Voices make any claims or guarantees as to the accuracy or validity of the advertisers’ offer. PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40624074 Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to: P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6

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*) Peer-reviewed & accepted for publication in Journal of Educational Audiology, Schafer EC, Sanders K, Bryant D, Keeney K, & Baldus N (2013) Effects of Voice Priority in FM Systems for Children with Hearing Aids.

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VOICES FROM AG BELL

Equating Deafness with Greatness Please accept my sincere thanks for allowing me to serve as President of AG Bell. As I reflect on my professional career, I first learned about AG Bell while volunteering at the Helen Beebe Speech and Hearing Center as a student at Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. A unique practicum assignment in a kindergarten classroom at the March School led me to Robert, a very talkative youngster who just happened to be wearing two body hearing aids in a harness on his chest. This bubbly 6-year-old was my awakening and introduction to hearing loss. For the rest of my college years I volunteered at the Beebe Center, not truly appreciating what they were doing; but nonetheless, I went to graduate school with the idea that children who were deaf could listen and talk. During graduate school and spending time in a Gainesville, Florida public school classroom and at the state’s school for the deaf, my eyes were opened to the range of hearing differences, varied language and literacy skills, and diversity in the speech skills, which later became the focus of my doctoral dissertation. I truly have been blessed in meeting an immense number of children who are deaf and hard of hearing, along with their dedicated, hard working parents and family members. I have taught—and learned from—hundreds of students in speechlanguage pathology, audiology, education of the deaf through classroom instruction and professional workshops. I am also grateful to my professional colleagues who have shared their knowledge with me. Thanks especially to my friends, peers and colleagues who often knew more than I, but still participated in my workshops. Through the years, we have journeyed from being criticized and mocked for the “audacity” of thinking that a child who is deaf could listen and talk, to the excitement among professionals who are now eager to

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Don Goldberg and his first professional mentor, Helen Hulick Beebe.

learn more about listening and spoken language. The strongest voices come from the children themselves, who can most definitely listen and talk. I hope and trust that my time as president has been marked by true stewardship of the association and that I have served well as an ambassador for AG Bell. I certainly have gotten around! To be clear, invited talks were not at the expense of AG Bell, and a caveat of acceptance of any speaking opportunity has been the requirement for distributing AG Bell materials and donating any speaker honorarium to AG Bell. I have been offered the opportunity to speak in Auckland, New Zealand, and Sydney and Melbourne, Australia (summer 2012); Antwerp, Belgium, and Amsterdam (Thanksgiving 2012); and Taipei, Taiwan, and Beijing (summer 2013). Presentations to state chapters in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and the meetings of the American Academy of Audiology, Educational Audiology Association and the AG Bell Listening and Spoken Language Symposium have all been forums to spread the word. Each venue was an opportunity to talk about the Listening and Spoken Language Specialist (LSLS®) certification. I historically have been fond of stating that “the sky is the limit” for our children who are deaf and do not focus on their limitations, but I also have observed the commonly held notion

that equates “a child who is deaf” with “sign language.” I look forward to a future where people that hear the phrase “a child who is deaf” immediately equate it with “greatness.” Children who are deaf and hard of hearing should be given the opportunity to develop listening and spoken language, if their parents so choose. I am very proud of our newly minted strategic plan—completed and approved under my tenure—which focuses on the need to advance listening and spoken language as our mission. We must shine a light on listening and spoken language which is the future for many of our families. To past, current, and incoming Executive Directors/Chief Executive Officers— Alexander Graham, Judy Harrison and Emilio Alonso-Mendoza—thanks for what you have taught me and for your dedication to the challenges ahead. To each of the truly skilled professional staff members at the Volta Bureau in Washington, D.C. , my sincere appreciation for your hard work. Thanks to the many volunteers from the Executive Committee and board of directors, to the chapter and local leaders, and to the professionals, individuals and families who make up this great organization. I look forward to the magic of Disney this summer with my family, including granddaughters Sarah and Lydia who will meet the princesses! Appreciation and thanks to my wife Sharon and our family for enduring my time away immersed in the intensity of my many roles in life. I am honored to have played a role as President of AG Bell in moving us forward. I will watch with a smile as we continue to achieve greatness and have the world learn that anything is possible for our children and that deafness is equivalent to “greatness.” Sincerely,

Donald M. Goldberg Ph.D., CCC-SLP/A, FAAA, LSLS Cert. AVT President goldbed@ccf.org

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Parenting Young Children with Hearing Loss This issue of Volta Voices is dedicated to supporting parents in the early years of their journey in parenting a child who is deaf or hard of hearing. AG Bell’s groundbreaking Family Needs Assessment survey showed that parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing most need support after their child is diagnosed with hearing loss, and in the preschool years. We hope that these articles will provide a roadmap to guide parents on their path in supporting their child’s language and literacy development. In an open letter from one parent to another, Alex DeMolina describes her own journey—from her emotions after her daughter’s diagnosis with hearing loss to the advocacy success that she accomplished to provide greater access to cochlear implants under Florida Medicaid. She shares tips and strategies that helped her along the way that are useful to parents of children of all ages. The article touches on an issue that can be a challenge for many parents of children with hearing loss—funding for hearing technology. According to the AG Bell Family Needs Assessment, funding the cost of hearing aid purchases was an area where families indicated that financial assistance would be extremely valuable. In response, the article “Financial Aid Resources for Hearing Aids” guides readers to a range of resources that exist to provide support for the cost of hearing technology. We encourage you to use this article as a starting point in your research. “Growing up Bilingual with Hearing Loss in Spain” shares the latest research

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from a country where most of the population speaks two or more languages to explore the bilingual advantages for children with hearing loss—and to dispel common myths about bilingualism. The article also shares an innovative program that has been established to support the development of bilingualism for children with hearing loss in learning two spoken languages. "Empowering Children Who Are Hard of Hearing and Their Families in Taiwan" profiles the Children's Hearing Foundation, which works with families of children with hearing loss in Taiwan in the belief that parental involvement is the key to children's success and independence through listening and talking. Thanks to federal regulations and technological advances, parents can turn on the captions and enhance their child’s reading development. Captioning is now available in a wide range of media and technologies, including television, videos, mobile telephones and internet videos, to name a few. Krysty Krywko shares tips and strategies for parents to use captioning to put even the youngest readers on the path to literacy. This issue would not be complete without a tribute to an individual who has been a tireless supporter of captioning and a longtime advocate for people who are deaf and hard of hearing, whose commitment, perseverance and passion exemplify the mission of the AG Bell association. John Stanton, a lawyer and chair of the AG Bell Public Affairs Council who has been selected for the 2014 Honors of the Association Award, shares his background and deep involvement in AG Bell. Our “Up Front on the Back Page” column features Joe Smaldino, who was the editor of AG Bell’s The Volta

Review from 2008-2013. He shares his memories of that time and reflects on his preference for academia and his work on classroom acoustics. In this issue’s “Hear Our Voices” column, Skye Carter writes about doing hard things and how taking a risk resulted in a number of wonderful opportunities and inspired her to help and serve others in need. Finally, Lisa Goldstein introduces us to the challenges—and infinite rewards—of parenting from a different perspective. Goldstein is a parent who is deaf and has two children with typical hearing. She shares the adaptations that she made at each stage of her children’s development— and the unexpected perks that her kids enjoy in having a parent who is deaf! We hope that these pages will offer your family resources, inspiration and hope. We invite you to share your family’s story with us and would like to know what has worked well for you. We welcome your comments, suggestions or story ideas! Please email editor@agbell.org. Kind regards,

Susan Boswell

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? CONCERNS? Write to us: AG Bell 3417 Volta Place, N.W. Washington, DC 20007 Or email us: editor@agbell.org Or online: ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org

VOICES CONTRIBUTORS Skye Carter, author of this issue's “Hear Our Voices” column, writes about her experiences of taking chances. Carter, now in her sophomore year of high school, was born with a profound sensorineural hearing loss. She is actively involved in charity events such as Chicago Dance Marathon, DePaul University DemonTHON and Speedway, and has partnered with the Al Mann Foundation. She is on her school's mock trial, track and cross country teams, and is a ballroom dancer. She shares her experiences in the hopes of inspiring others to take chances and make a change in the world. Alex DeMolina, author of “From One Parent to Another: An Open Letter to Parents,” graduated from the University of South Florida with a degree in Cultural Anthropology. She then joined AmeriCorps VISTA’s 20/20 Vista Vision program, where she served in Manatee County’s Neighborhood Services. After becoming a stay-at-home mother, DeMolina invested her energy to advocating for her daughter and other children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

In 2013, DeMolina graduated from Partners in Policymaking, which is sponsored by the Florida Developmental Disabilities Council, and now works with the University of South Florida’s Bay Area Early Steps as their family resource specialist. In January 2014, DeMolina was elected as a member for the AG Bell Florida executive board of directors. Lisa A. Goldstein, M.J., author of this issue’s “Tips for Parents” column, has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California Berkeley, a digital hearing aid, a cochlear implant and plenty of deaf-friendly communication equipment. She spends her days juggling life as a freelance journalist, wife and mother of two in Pittsburgh, Pa. Her article originally appeared on the website Hearing Like Me, developed by Phonak, at www.hearinglikeme.com/living/ relationships/being-deaf-mom. Mark Guiberson, Ph.D., co-author of “¡Sí, puedo! Yes I Can! Growing up Bilingual with Hearing Loss in Spain,” is an assistant professor in Communication

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Disorders at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo. He has extensive experience working with Spanish-speaking children and working in bilingual education programs. His primary areas of research include bilingualism in children who are deaf and hard of hearing and early intervention services with Spanishspeaking families. He also consults with the Allies in English program as well as with former students and clients with hearing loss. Krystyann Krywko, Ed.D., author of “Ready, Set, Caption: How Closed Captions Can Support Your Child as a Reader,” is a writer and education researcher who specializes in hearing loss and the impact it has on children and families. Both she and her young son were diagnosed with hearing loss one year apart. She is the author of the e-book, “What to Do When Your Child Is Diagnosed with Late Onset Hearing Loss: A Parent’s Perspective,” available on Amazon. She also authors the blog, “After the Diagnosis: Helping Families with Hearing Loss.” She can be contacted through her website www.lateonsethearingloss.org. Kuei-Ju Lin, Ph.D. candidate, author of “Empowering Children Who Are Hard of Hearing and Their Families in Taiwan,” works at the Children's Hearing Foundation in Taiwan, where she is an assistant research fellow and auditoryverbal therapist. She is the editor of the book Family-Centered Early Intervention for Children with Hearing Impairments: Theory and Practice of Auditory-Verbal Therapy, which will be published in May 2014.

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VOICES CONTRIBUTORS Dale Sindell, co-author of “¡Sí, puedo! Yes I Can! Growing up Bilingual with Hearing Loss in Spain,” lives in Spain with her family and has severe-profound hearing loss. She is director of marketing at Citibank. When her youngest son was diagnosed with hearing loss, Sindell founded t-oigo.com to help Spanishspeaking people with hearing loss. Her passion for bilingual education led her to create the Allies in English program in which American study-abroad students volunteer to help children who are deaf and hard of hearing in Spain with learning English as a spoken language.

Sindell supports t-oigo.com’s 30,000 users per month and hopes to educate the public about hearing loss through talks and television appearances, including TED. Joseph Smaldino, Ph.D., CCC-A, is a professor of Audiology at Illinois State University in Normal, Ill. He received his doctorate in Clinical Audiology from the University of Florida. He has researched, made professional presentations and published in the area of classroom acoustics for the last 20 years. Smaldino served on the American National

Standards Committee that has formulated recommendations for desirable classroom acoustics. He has been a professor of Audiology for nearly 40 years. Smaldino has been a Fulbright Scholar and has won awards from the Educational Audiology Association and the American Academy of Audiology. He has served as an associate editor and reviewer for many audiology journals and was the editor of AG Bell’s The Volta Review from 2008–2013.

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NEWS BITES Text to 911 Update On January 30, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) adopted a policy statement setting forth goals for achieving text-to-911 and issued a Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM). The policy statement highlighted the nation’s four largest wireless telephone providers’ commitment to make text-to-911 available to all their customers nationwide by May 15, 2014. The FCC encouraged other text providers to offer text-to-911 as well and asked for comment on proposals to meet the goals of making sure that people with disabilities have direct access to 911 services and enabling people in situations from which it might be impossible or dangerous to make a voice call (i.e., hostage situation, domestic violence) to make text-to-911 calls. In his statement at the FCC’s Open Commission Meeting, Chairman Tom Wheeler said it is now up to the 911 call centers, known as Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), to make themselves ready to accept these texts. Advanced Bionics Releases New myNaída App Advanced Bionics launched a new app that delivers a dynamic and user-friendly guide for its latest innovation, the Naída CI Q70 (Naída CI) sound processor. Available free for both iPad® and Android™ devices, the app provides guides, videos and instructions for users. The current English-language release will be followed by additional versions in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch and Portuguese. To learn more about AB apps, visit AdvancedBionics.com/ABapps.

Bluetooth and EHIMA Partner to Advance Hearing Instrument Technology Following the World Health Organization’s International Ear Care Day, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group and European Hearing Instrument Manufacturers Association (EHIMA) recently announced a memo of understanding aimed at developing a standard for new hearing aids, while improving existing features, and creating new ones such as stereo audio from a mobile device or media gateway with Bluetooth® wireless technology. With the recent revolution in smart phones, personal music players, TVs and tablets, people with hearing loss are underserved as few hearing instruments offer direct connectivity to these devices. This means that many users are limited to what the manufacturer provides and cannot customize or add new functionality to the hearing aid. Currently, the only standard for wireless reception of audio signals in hearing aids is the telecoil, which dates back to the 1950s. This technology is difficult to incorporate into smart phones. Furthermore, the number of installed loop systems that can transmit audio signals to hearing aids with telecoils varies greatly from country to country. As a result, hearing aid users have limited access to high quality audio signals from external sources. Building on the existing Bluetooth standard that is widely supported in today’s smart phones, tablets and personal computers will give more users who are deaf and hard of hearing the same choice of products and opportunities as everyone else. The new hearing aid profile will be developed to meet the challenging power requirements of hearing aids, which have to operate with sub-miniature batteries.

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COMPILED BY: ANNA KARKOVSKA MCGLEW

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CHAPTERS Nevada Chapter Bright & Shining Star Awards The Nevada chapter of AG Bell recently presented the Annual Bright and Shining Star awards for acts of kindness and volunteerism, professionalism and education, and corporate sponsorship to individuals and organizations that have benefited the lives of children with hearing loss and their families. credit : dave meek

SSgt. Lael Rockwell (far right) and USMC troops representing Toys for Tots with their Bright and Shining Star award. credit: rainbow media , las vegas, nev.

AG Bell Nevada Co-Presidents Kim Sorenson, left, and Arnie Altman, right, present a Bright and Shining Star award to Nichole Sheldon, Au.D., CCC-A. credit: rainbow media , las vegas, nev.

North Carolina AG Bell Member Receives Award AG Bell member, Kathryn Wilson, was honored on March 11, 2014, with the Distinguished Service Award given by the Exceptional Children Division of the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to honor individuals who are distinguished for their many years of service and statewide impact on improving the education and lives of exceptional children in North Carolina. Kathryn Wilson Congratulations, Kathryn!

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credit : bradford woods

Above: Having fun at Hear Indiana’s Listening and Spoken Language Camp in 2013.

Hear Indiana Listening and Spoken Language Camp Hear Indiana will host the 25th Annual Listening and Spoken Language Camp for children who are deaf and hard of hearing in Martinsville, Ind., July 6–11, 2014. This year’s camp will be a true jubilee celebration with exciting activities such as rock climbing, ropes courses, talent shows, horseback riding, archery, swimming, self-advocacy workshops and much more! Visit HearIndiana.org/Camp for more information.

North Carolina Chapter Award Recipient The North Carolina chapter of AG Bell recognizes a professional who has made significant contributions to the advancement of listening and spoken language for children with hearing loss with the Daniel Ling Award. This year’s recipient is AG Bell member Beverly Elwell who received the award at the 20th Hear ‘N’ Now Conference in November of last year. Beverly Elwell

From One Parent to Another: An Open Letter to Parents By Alex DeMolina

DEAR PARENT, St. Patrick’s Day 2010—this was the day our daughter Kiersta was diagnosed with a bilateral sensorineural severe-to-profound hearing loss. What a heartbreaking day that was! How did this happen? Why us? There is no history of hearing loss on either side of our family. Anxious thoughts were running through my mind: Will she ever get to hear me sing a lullaby to her? Will she be able to play hide and seek with her friends on a playground? Will she be able to talk on the phone to her Grandmommy? I know you have asked yourself similar questions. In the first month after Kiersta’s hearing loss diagnosis, I bounced around between shock, anger and depression. When Kiersta was 2 years old, I discovered Dr. Seuss’s book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!, which I hold dear in my heart. It prompted me to understand success as a state of mind and an attitude, and it helped me believe that my daughter can accomplish anything she puts her mind to. I continue to read it to her and to myself every couple of months.

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Our Journey My partner, Brian, and I were living in Bradenton, Fla., when we decided to start a family. I was working at AmeriCorps VISTA in Manatee County Neighborhood Services, and Brian was finishing school as an air conditioning technician. Kiersta made her arrival into this world in February 2010. Since she was born a little early, Kiersta had to learn how to suck, swallow and breathe, so she had a short visit in the neonatal intensive care unit. Kiersta was then given the newborn hearing screening, which is fortunately mandated by Florida law. We owe so much to having a child during a time when service providers understand the importance of early hearing detection and assessment. After Kiersta did not pass her newborn hearing screening, we were referred to early intervention services through Early Steps and Children’s Medical Services. Should we start early intervention services where we were currently living? Brian and I knew that we eventually wanted to move back to Tampa. Prior to Kiersta’s birth, I thought that I would finish my year of service with AmeriCorps, especially since they offered childcare. But after a month of appointments with pediatricians, audiologists and speech-language pathologists, I realized that I would need to devote myself fully to raising my daughter. I resigned from my position with AmeriCorps and we dealt with the fact that we would be a singleincome household once Brian finished school. We applied for Social Security Income. I started to learn quickly how to navigate the complex maze of social services. Because of the medical diagnosis of Kiersta’s hearing loss and our low income, we qualified and started receiving Social Security Income disability within a few months after applying for it. The internet became my best friend. I spent many a late night searching and saving websites to folders on my computer. It was definitely confusing, but we became parents who are educated and empowered to make decisions concerning our daughter’s future. In the two months after Kiersta’s diagnosis, Brian and I had many what-if talks and we both decided that we

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wanted to choose listening and spoken language for Kiersta. When Kiersta was 4 months old, she received her first pair of hearing aids. We knew from looking at the speech banana and her degree of hearing loss that Kiersta probably would not gain enough from her hearing aids to acquire speech. We firmly advocated our wishes to all our service providers that we wanted to pursue a cochlear implant for Kiersta. We encountered some resistance with the team that was assisting our family at the time. We saw the urgency and the immediate need to have the cochlear implant surgery performed when Kiersta turned 1 year old to give her fuller access to sound, but we just didn’t feel the same urgency on the part of the providers. This was a blessing in disguise because it led us down a road where we eventually could surround our daughter with a very supportive cochlear implant team. When Kiersta was 5 months old, we started auditory-verbal therapy with a certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist (LSLS®) and at 8 months of age, we found a very committed audiologist and a dedicated cochlear implant surgeon. This decision to change teams led to Kiersta becoming a cochlear implant candidate at 9 months old and then having her first cochlear implant surgery at 16 months old. In the meantime, when Kiersta was 4 months old, we decided to go ahead and start early intervention services with Early Steps in Bradenton where we lived at the time. We had our first Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) meeting and it was agreed upon that we would be communicating solely through listening and spoken language and our early intervention coordinator would come to our home every other week. When Kiersta was 6 months old, we did decide to move to Tampa and her IFSP followed her to our local Early Steps office. I can honestly say that Kiersta is a true product of early intervention. As I look back and review the timeline of that first year, it boggled my mind how quickly decisions had to be made. I was able to take a little bit of a breather once Kiersta learned

how to listen after her first cochlear implant surgery. This rest period was not long because we decided that Kiersta deserved to hear with both ears. With the support of our auditory-verbal therapist, audiologist and cochlear implant surgeon, we submitted Kiersta’s application to Florida’s Medicaid provider. At the time, Florida’s Medicaid policy was to fund only one cochlear implant. I contacted an advocacy group, Disability Rights Florida, in October 2012, which helped me track Kiersta’s application for bilateral cochlear implantation. I am so honored to have worked with such a wonderful organization and am proud to say that Kiersta received her second cochlear implant in May 2013 and the Medicaid policy changed in September 2013 to cover bilateral cochlear implants if deemed medically necessary. The journey that I described above is just a quick snapshot of our lives from the time Kiersta was born to the time she received her second cochlear implant.

Camping at the Riverhawk, Sertoma Youth Ranch. credit: alex demolina

So much has happened in such a short amount of time! Part of me feels that I lost out on just being a mommy, the other part is very proud because I have become a true advocate for not only my daughter, but for other families and children with hearing loss who are on the same journey. Our journey is unique to our family. The tips that I am going to suggest below are not age-specific; they can be applied at any point during your journey.

Familiarize Yourself with the Speech Banana The Speech Banana is available on the AG Bell Listening and Spoken Language Knowledge Center and is one of the most popular resources on the website. I love the visual imagery. This tool took the mystery out of audiograms and enabled me to relate the degree of my daughter’s hearing loss to different sounds. When she was first diagnosed, I told people that sound had to be as loud as a lawn mower in order for her to hear. As time went on, I was able to understand that she could hear a baby crying, but not the first letter in her name. Now, she can hear all sounds of the letters in the speech banana, but not the leaves falling.

Family photo at the Celebrate Sound | Don’t Walk in Silence event in March 2014. credit: alex demolina

Learn the Alphabet Soup of Acronyms The terminology of the hearing loss world was like a foreign language to me. Add all the acronyms to that and the terminology became gibberish. Make sure to bookmark the Knowledge Center’s Glossary of Terms (ListeningandSpokenLanguage. org/Glossary), which provides you with an A to Z on hearing loss terms and acronyms. For early intervention resources, click on the Advocate tab and then visit the Education Advocacy section on the Knowledge Center, which has a

Speech Banana. Available at ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org/SpeechBanana

page dedicated to supporting organizations for education and advocacy. One of these organizations is the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)—its site has a wonderful section devoted to disability and special education acronyms. Make sure to take a look at the different sections and print out what is pertinent to your family, as the site lost its funding and will be shutting down in September 2014.

Surround Yourself with a Support Team that Respects Your Family’s Choices We chose listening and spoken language as Kiersta’s primary mode of communication after we educated ourselves about the options available and chose what was best for our family. It is important to choose what is right for you, your child and your family. If your support team does not accept your family’s decisions, you have the right to seek other providers, agencies or services. Initially, Kiersta was receiving speech therapy because that was the only option presented to us. We were not educated about the options for auditory-verbal therapy, until we sought advice from a cochlear implant center that happened to be 300 miles away from our home. The audiologist there told us about a provider that offered auditory-verbal therapy only 15 minutes from our home. The Knowledge Center can help you locate LSLS certified professionals in your area through the Find Services tab where you can search for local LSLS providers,

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services and other resources. Our family had to travel 300 miles to find out that there was an organization that provided auditory-verbal therapy for us right here in our back yard.

Take Care of Yourself and Stay Connected

When I resigned from my job, I lost part of myself and was quite depressed. Once I was able to come up and breathe from all the initial appointments, I started Utilize the Internet Wisely volunteering at a local resource center. I became an empowered parent because of This allowed me to network and get to the internet. But it certainly provides infor- know local and state service providers and mation overload. Parents can find facts, the services they had to offer. Now, I am research and support online, but should be working as the Family Resource Specialist cautious of the potential of encountering at USF Bay Area Early Steps and helping biased and inaccurate information. At first, families as they go through the journey of the internet was a way for me to fully grasp early intervention. what hearing loss actually is and then it Search for the short essay “Welcome turned into a vehicle to educate myself on to Holland” by Emily Perl Kingsley, which scholarly research. describes what it is like to raise a child with The internet, and in particular, a disability. As Kingsley says in her essay: Facebook, provides a tremendous “You must go out and buy new guide books. outpouring of parent-to-parent support. And you must learn a whole new language. In addition to the AG Bell Facebook And you will meet a whole new group of group, these are just a few of the Facebook people you would never have met.” groups out there: Parents and Caregivers As you embark or continue on your of Children with Cochlear Implants; journey, take it easy on yourself and CI Pride; and Parents of Children with remember to enjoy life as a family and Hearing Loss. as an individual. Don’t be afraid to share

Kiersta at the Celebrate Sound | Don’t Walk in Silence event in March 2014. credit : kathy sills

your story—it is therapeutic and empowering. Become an advocate for your child and for his/her right to live a full and productive life. Believe!

Online Professional Education for educators, parents and professionals who wish to expand their knowledge on topics related to children who are deaf and hard of hearing. • Online Seminars • Study Groups • Workshops • Education Materials Visit the Professional Education page on BoysTownHospital.org.

Consultant uditory Resource A

Network

Boys Town National Research Hospital

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READY, SET, CAPTION: HOW SUPPORT YOUR CHILD AS A BY KRYSTYANN KRYWKO, ED.D.

eading is a complex process involving multiple skills that must be coordinated in order to result in fluent reading behaviors. Closed captioning, a technology that already resides in most homes but is often overlooked, is becoming portable and is increasingly linked with the development of reading skills (Linebarger, Piotrowski, & Greenwood, 2010). In July 1993, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) required all analog television receivers with screens 13 inches or larger, that were sold or manufactured in the United States to contain built-in decoder circuitry to display closed captioning. The original purpose of closed captioned media was to help individuals who were deaf and hard of hearing follow along with television programming. As of July 1, 2002, the FCC also required that digital television receivers include closed captioning display capability (Federal Communications Commission, 2014).

Closed captions were only available on television programming, but with the advent of portable electronic devices such as smartphones and tablets there are numerous devices that allow parents and their children to take captions along wherever they may go.

Language Development & Reading: What’s Really Happening? Closed captions can reinforce the reading basics skills that children need to develop in the early years, and can be used across a variety of media sources as a supplemental literacy tool to support word recognition, content comprehension and code-related literacy skills, such as knowing the alphabet and what sounds letters make (Linebarger, Piotrowski, & Greenwood, 2010). “The simple view of reading isn’t all that simple when you break it down,” says Susan Easterbrooks, Professor of Educational Psychology and Special Education at Georgia State University, “instead reading is a complex mix of sounds, letters, words, grammar, the ideas words represent, and contextual knowledge.”

As an adult it is difficult to appreciate the numerous processes that are involved in helping a child learn to read. Wolf (2007) outlines the different processes that need to work together in order for a child to begin as a successful reader. • Phonological development—how children gradually learn to hear, segment and understand the small units of sound that make up words is at the heart of decoding. • Orthographic development—how children learn how the writing system represents oral language. Children need to learn the visual aspects of print—such as the features of letters, common letter patterns and “sight” words. This word familiarity helps children become more fluent readers as they no longer have to spend time sounding out words. • Semantic and pragmatic development—how children learn more and more about the meanings of words from the language and culture around them. It helps children recognize a word they are trying to decode and can lead to quicker comprehension. • Syntactic development—how children learn the grammatical

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CLOSED CAPTIONS CAN READER

forms and structures of sentences, which enables them to make sense of how words are used to construct sentences, paragraphs and stories. It also teaches them how events relate to each other in texts. • Morphological development—prepares children to learn the rules around how words are formed from smaller, meaningful roots and units of meaning (Wolf, 2007). So, what does all this mean and how can closed captions help support your child as they make their way towards becoming a competent reader?

Building Word Familiarity & Recognition Children often love to watch the same DVD or television show over and over again, and this repetition can be used to their advantage when it comes to reading. Regular contact with familiar material in familiar contexts will better suit a developing reader, rather than trying to expose them to a wide variety of materials for which they might not be ready (Clay, 1991). This familiarity can be easily achieved by providing opportunities for children to reengage with material they have already been exposed to. However, it is not just about making the same information available to your child over and over again; rather, the materials that are used and the process must engage your child’s full attention (Easterbrooks & Beal-Alvarez, 2013). Many picture books are now available in DVD format, often bundled together with other works by the same author. Read the picture book with your child and then watch the DVD together—try to look for a

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specific word that you pointed out in the text, or look for words that rhyme. If your child is older, you can preview the closed captioned material and design a scavenger hunt where they need to follow clues to find the words. Word recognition and familiarity can also be found within a specific episode of a closed captioned show. “I always found that shows with repetition were the best for helping my kids to read,” says Karen Putz, mother of three teenagers who are deaf and hard of hearing. “Sesame Street was awesome because they would focus on specific words in each episode and spell out the words on the screen. That night during bath time we would take the foam letters and try to spell out some of the words that we saw that day.”

Engaging Different Senses: Connecting Closed Captions with Pictures Much in the same way that illustrations in a picture book enhance a story, closed captions also provide a way for children to connect with the story. While viewing closed captioned media, children see words combined with visual information and hear the accompanying audio content that helps them match the printed word form to the picture, object or emotion that is being portrayed on the screen. When the same information is presented in two modalities (audio and visual), it can enhance young children’s understanding of content by increasing the number of cognitive paths that can be followed to retrieve the information, which can lead to increased learning (Linebarger, Kosanic, Greenwod, & Doku, 2004). This process is similar with what happens when reading a story book, but can also provide children with a different way to engage

when they see the actions and emotions of the story come to life. Although the process of reading captions, which are displayed quickly across the screen, prevents the caption reader from going back to re-read the text the way they would be able to if reading a book, the visual cues in the video seem to contribute important perceptual data that the viewer can use to supplement the information obtained from the captions (Jelinek-Lewis & Jackson, 2001).

Filling in the Gaps Two areas where children who are deaf and hard of hearing often lag behind their peers with typical hearing are in the areas of background knowledge and vocabulary. As children begin to move into third and fourth grade, school assignments begin to require background knowledge and familiarity with more abstract, technical and literary words that are usually found in higher level texts. As children’s listening comprehension is often more developed than their reading comprehension, using closed captioned media can help them view new concepts visually in addition to being exposed to the vocabulary and spelling that goes along with the text. Information that

was once considered incomprehensible will eventually settle into the child’s background understanding before they become frustrated with the material (Huston & Wright, 1989). The same can be said for exposure to new vocabulary. If a child starts out building vocabulary slowly, they will continue to develop vocabulary slowly; if a child starts out rapidly, then they will continue to develop vocabulary rapidly (Easterbrooks & Beal-Alvarez, 2013). Good readers know what words mean and can use them. Television shows like the Wild Kratts on PBS and the kidsgov channel on YouTube spend time breaking down new vocabulary words and concepts and explaining what they mean so that children can begin to fill in some of those gaps.

It’s Better Together While using captions can be a useful tool to help your child with their reading skills, they are not as effective if you simply put your child in front of a computer or the television set and leave the room. Instead, the captions and the pictures need to be put into context. The way that both you and your child interact will impact the way that the child will use the captions.

“We do know that visual materials on a computer screen have been helpful in teaching children to read and we also know this process works best, and more rapidly, when there is a teacher or parent involved,” says Easterbrooks. “Simply placing the child in front of a computer screen does not have the same influence on learning as when an adult is present to help the child work through the information on the screen.” “I would generally sit next to my children and engage them in dialogue,” says Putz. “That way they could understand what was being said, and it also helped me to figure out what ideas were new to them.” Moments like this between a parent and child are called “sustained shared conversations” (Siraj-Blatchford, 2005), where two or more individuals work together in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept or extend a story. In reality, many of the conversations we have with our children are on either a superficial level—“How was school today? Who did you sit with at lunch?”—or are directional (“Sit still while eating your dinner.” “Put your socks on first, then your shoes.”). It is important to find moments where you can help to expand

FCC Adopts Closed Captioning Quality Standards In February 2014, the Federal Communications Commission set new rules that will improve the reading experience of closed captions. The new standards explain that to be fully accessible, closed captions on television programs must accurately convey dialogue and sounds in the program, and run from the beginning to the end of the program. The new rules apply to all television programming with captions including pre-recorded, live and near-live programming. The captions must be: • Accurate: Captions must match the spoken words in the dialogue and convey background noises and other sounds to the fullest extent possible. • Synchronous: Captions must coincide with their corresponding spoken words and sounds to the greatest extent possible and must be displayed on the screen at a speed that can be read by viewers. • Complete: Captions must run from the beginning to the end of the program to the fullest extent possible. • Properly placed: Captions should not block other important visual content on the screen, overlap one another, run off the edge of the video screen, or be blocked by other information. For more information on the FCC’s new closed captioning quality standards, visit www.fcc.gov/guides/closed-captioning.

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your child’s thinking, background knowledge and vocabulary.

Engaging Struggling Readers One of the difficulties with young readers who are struggling to read is content suitability: because they are not reading at an age-appropriate level, the books they are able to read often have content that is better suited for younger children; further, books that would be of interest to them prove too difficult. Research suggests that this group of struggling readers who are not yet fluent in reading demonstrate the greatest gains from exposure to on-screen print because the content will be perceived as both interesting and cognitively challenging (Huston & Wright, 1989; Linebarger, Piotrowski, & Greenwood, 2010). Websites like www.brainpopjr.com and www.brainpop.com offer a series of free closed captioned videos that range in topics from historical figures to science basics (families can also pay a fee to access additional captioned videos). The videos are short and engaging and might just provide enough information to help your child begin to gain confidence in an area that is of interest to him/her. Instructional videos are also a great way to engage struggling readers—whether it is how to build a Lego model or the latest Rainbow Loom bracelet, YouTube offers a wide variety of captioned videos. (In order to do a quick search for captioned videos simply type in what you are looking for followed by cc. For example, if I was searching for a Lego video I would enter “Lego, cc” and the results show those videos which are closed captioned.)

It’s All About the Language Stanislas Dehaene, in his book Reading in the Brain. The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention (2009), suggests that a developing brain needs to be exposed to 20,000 hours of spoken language in order to get ready to read. In the case of children who are deaf and hard of hearing there is an even greater need to consistently expose them to appropriate and sophisticated language models (Easterbrooks & Alvarez, 2013). Children need to be exposed to language in

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a variety of contexts such as interpersonal communication, storytelling, being read to as well as purposeful writing experiences. The use of quality closed captioned material across a variety of media is one way to help support your child in their reading ability. REFERENCES Clay, M. (1991). Becoming Literate: The Construction of Inner Control. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Dehaene, S. (2009). Reading in the Brain: The Science and Evolution of a Human Invention. New York, NY: Viking. Easterbrooks, S., & Beal-Alvarez, J. (2013). Literacy Instruction for Students Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Federal Communications Commission (2014). Retrieved from http://www.fcc.gov/guides/closed-captioning

Huston, A., & Wright, J. (1989). The forms of television and the child viewer. In G. Comstock (Ed.), Public Communication and Behavior (vol. 2, pp. 103-158). San Diego, CA: Academic Press. Jelinek-Lewis, M., & Jackson, D. (2001). Television literacy: Comprehension of program content using closed captions for the deaf. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 6(1), Winter, 43-53. Linebarger, D., Kosanic, A., Greenwood, C., & Doku, N. (2004). Effects of viewing the television program Between the Lions on the emergent literacy skills of young children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 297-308. Linebarger, D., Piotrowski, J. T., & Greenwood, C. (2010). Learning to read from television: The effects of using captions and narration. Journal of Research in Reading, 33(2), 148-167. Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2005). Quality Interaction in the Early Years. Paper presented at TACTYC Annual Conference Birth to Eight Matters: Seeking Seamlessness–Continuity? Integration? Creativity?. Cardiff, United Kingdom. Wolf, M. (2007). Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain. New York, NY: Harper Collins.

Choosing Appropriate Captioned Material Many programs are captioned today. When you are focusing on your child as an emerging reader, there are some guidelines that can help support your reader in choosing more supportive captioned material. • Is there repetition of vocabulary to reinforce learning? Young children who are just beginning to read need high-frequency and basic vocabulary repeated in a meaningful context. • Is the program short enough to allow repeated showings? Shorter programs allow for repeated viewings for the mastery of sight words. Shorter programs may also have a better chance of holding the attention of your child. • Is the closed captioning free from spelling and punctuation errors? While it is great to have access to many programs that are closed captioned, not all closed captioning is created equal, particularly on the internet. Many captioned programs contain spelling and punctuation errors which detract from the educational value of the program.

JWPOSD is celebrating 47 years of helping children who are deaf and hard of hearing to listen, to speak, and to communicate in the world around them. • Educational Programs—Mommy & Me, Toddlers, Preschool, K/1 • Mainstream Preschool and Support Services • Parent Education • Therapy Services • Audiology—HA, CI, & FM • BabyTalk—Teletherapy Services 3518 Jefferson Avenue, Redwood City, CA 94062 Tel 650-365-7500 • Fax 650-365-7557 Email jwposd@jwposd.org • www.deafkidstalk.org

¡Si puedo! Yes I can! Growing up Bilingual with Hearing Loss in Spain At least half of the world’s population is fluent in two or more spoken languages (Baker & Prys Jones, 1998). Spain is a country with a linguistically diverse heritage where over 50 percent of the adult population is bilingual or multilingual, and in some of the country’s autonomous communities, between 68 percent and 100 percent of elementary school-age children are enrolled in bilingual education programs.

¡Buenos días niño! Morning Dad! By Mark Guiberson, Ph.D., and Dale Sindell

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In such a linguistically rich context, it is expected that children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) would be exposed to more than one spoken language and that they would have equal access to becoming bilingual. Two recent studies were completed in Spain that examine bilingualism—defined as two spoken languages—in children who are DHH. Spain was selected for these studies because it is a multilingual country, where Castilian Spanish is spoken in addition to several languages specific to autonomous communities of Spain such as Galician, Catalan and Basque. More than a quarter of the Spanish population speaks one of these autonomous community languages as their first language, while English is the most common foreign language spoken in Spain. Results from these two studies reveal that bilingualism is indeed possible for children who are DHH and add to an emerging body of research advocating that children who are DHH should have equal access to developing two spoken languages and highlighting the need for expanded opportunities for bilingualism for children who are DHH.

First Study: Choosing Bilingualism The first study, Survey of Spanish Parents of Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Decision-Making Factors Associated With Communication Modality and Bilingualism, included 71 parents of children who are DHH and looked at factors and trends related to parents’ choice of communication modality and bilingualism (Guiberson, 2013a). While over 70 percent of the families indicated that they believed that children who are DHH are capable of becoming bilingual and that learning a second spoken language would not result in confusion or overtax the child’s language system, only 38 percent of the families surveyed chose to raise their children to be bilingual. Bilingual children with two spoken languages were represented equally across the mode of communication groups—listening and spoken language (LSL); LSL and sign language; or cued speech. We found that if the parents were fluent in two spoken languages and believed in the importance of raising their child with hearing loss bilingually, their child was more likely to be bilingual. Nearly half of the parents participating in this study indicated a desire for more options for their children, and many also indicated that they wished there were bilingual programs available so that their children could have adequate exposure and/ or support in learning a second spoken language. This supports the results of a recent systematic review of studies that described bilingualism in children who are DHH, which found that exposure and support in each language is critically important (Crowe & McLeod, 2014). Children who are DHH will develop better bilingual skills when provided with rich and frequent opportunities to hear and use each spoken language.

Second Study: Two Is Better than One The second study, Bilingual Skills of Deaf/Hard of Hearing Children from Spain, was undertaken to determine if bilingual children who are DHH had first language skills that were similar to their monolingual peers who are DHH, and to understand parents’ satisfaction with their children’s bilingual abilities (Guiberson, 2014). Fifty-one

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families completed a survey in which they rated their children’s spoken language communication skills. The majority (80 percent) of the parents of bilingual children indicated that their child’s second language abilities were at the level they expected or better, reflecting the parent’s overall satisfaction with their decision to raise their children bilingually. Parental ratings of bilingual children’s first language skills were higher than parental ratings of monolingual children. These results strongly suggest that first language development does not suffer when children who are DHH are raised bilingually, and that children may in fact experience a bilingual benefit or boost from learning two spoken languages at the same time. The results from this study also parallel a recent American study that showed that children who are DHH can be bilingual without adverse effects to linguistic development (Bunta & Douglas, 2013).

Need for a Bilingual Language Program These two studies as well as earlier ones indicate that bilingual families frequently want their children who are DHH to develop two spoken languages in order to achieve greater educational opportunities and vocational successes (Douglas, 2011; Flores, Martin, & Champlin, 1996; Steinberg, Delgado, Bain, Ruperto, & Yuelin, 2003). Further, there is a need and a call for familycentered programming for children who are DHH that empowers families by providing a full range of options that will increase opportunities and maximize the children’s potential for developing two spoken languages. Bilingualism confers many cognitive, linguistic and economic advantages on children and their families, in addition to creating strong bonds with the families’ extended linguistic communities. As such, parents naturally expressed a desire for bilingual programs for their children so that children belong to the parents’ linguistic communities, have equal access to the educational and cognitive benefits of bilingualism as well as to the benefits of bilingualism in terms of career, employment and financial benefits. The results of these studies, along with the call for familycentered programming, motivated a parent group in Spain to address this need by developing a program that encourages bilingualism in children who are DHH.

T-Oigo.com: Allies in English Allies in English (AE) is a free program created by t-oigo.com (which in Spanish means “I hear you”). T-oigo.com is a non-profit association and virtual community based in Spain that helps Spanish-speaking parents of children who are DHH. The goal of the AE program is to encourage spoken language bilingualism in children who are DHH. The program was created for children who are DHH who use spoken language as their main form of communication and who demonstrate good results with their hearing aids or cochlear implants. The program was developed in English because fluency in English is critically important to Spanish children’s future regardless of hearing ability. The program works by pairing American study-abroad student volunteers in Spain to visit families of children who are DHH in

their home. The goal of the program is to support the learning of English as a second language by providing children who are DHH with access in their home to a native English-speaking model in an acoustically “friendly” and personalized environment. This access further creates a cross-cultural exchange and a learning experience for families and American study-abroad student volunteers that fosters empathy and learning about hearing loss, cultures and language.

There are many obstacles to learning at school for children who are DHH in foreign language classes. These may include classes of 25–30 students, reverberation and poor acoustics, auditory-focused methodologies of instruction, and non-native instructors. These challenges may be present even if children are hearing well with their cochlear implants and/or hearing aids, and developing appropriate listening and spoken language communication in their first language. The AE program aims to provide a natural and social situation that motivates children to learn English, with the experience that this interest transfers to the English classes the children attend at school, generating greater interest in learning English according to parents and participants.

Big Brother, Big Sister

Student volunteers and children with hearing loss participate in the Allies in English program in Spain and engage in a variety of fun activities to practice English. credit: t-oigo.com

Allies in English goes beyond and supports the classroom experience. For many of the children and families, participation in AE represents the first close relationship with a person from another culture. Developing an emotional bond and using English to communicate with this person at home motivates the child to want to learn English in the structured classroom environment where learning may be more challenging and at times less interesting or engaging.

The AE sessions are conducted weekly during the fall or spring semester with some breaks for vacation periods, usually resulting in about 10 American student visits per semester to their assigned child’s home. The AE program provides training to American student volunteers, which includes an explanation of hearing loss, videos of AE program activities, and the opportunity to try on models of hearing aids and cochlear implants. Both parents and student volunteers are informed of the theoretical approach underlying the program: children learn language through motivating, fun, social relationships. The key is for both the families and the volunteer students to have clear expectations and to recognize the student’s role not as an English tutor, but as a key motivator and “a special friend who speaks English.” The volunteer’s role is similar to that of a big brother or sister. Once the students understand this, they usually do not need further guidance on how to play with the children. The program’s blog, ihearyou.t-oigo.com, includes ideas and experiences from the program. Activities are varied and may include playing sports, singing, baking, and playing games like Simon Says, Monopoly, hide and seek, and other familiar games. Activities are highly individualized and typically are

Have a good day at school!

¡Gracias Mamá!

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centered on the child’s and the student volunteer’s interests. The AE visits involve materials and toys that the family already owns, so no extra purchasing of materials is necessary. Siblings, regardless of hearing ability, often participate in the sessions.

How AE Works The program is decentralized locally on some levels, allowing the coordinators to manage the family-volunteer relationships and events in each city. This is also essential to managing the program nationally. From its headquarters in Madrid, t-oigo.com publishes its blog, obtains sponsorships, runs media campaigns, and shares information among the local coordinators on a national level. Each local AE program organizes a celebration each semester to unite the families, children and student volunteers in a fun activity to meet each other and share ideas in person. The celebration also provides opportunities for publicity with Spanish media that supports the growth of the program and helps to educate the general public about the ability of children who are DHH to learn a second spoken language. In 2014, the AE program is being offered in 10 cities including Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza, and will be expanded to Sevilla in the fall. It is expected that 100–150 families will participate nationally in Spain each semester. A large body of research shows that children with communication disorders, including children who are DHH, are capable of learning two spoken languages. Like with their typically developing peers, the bilingual skills of children who are DHH will depend upon the exposure to and support for each of these languages. Given this knowledge, it is important to provide a full range of bilingual options for children who are DHH so that they have access to opportunities similar to those of their peers with typical hearing. Adults sometimes fear that children learning two languages will get confused or overwhelmed by two languages; this has been referred to as language confusion. Language confusion is the popularly held belief that children are incapable of becoming bilingual without becoming confused. The presumed symptoms of language confusion include difficulty separating the first language and second language, code-mixing and poor language outcomes. There is substantial research showing that by 2 years of age children are capable of separating out two languages adequately, that code-switching is a normal bilingual behavior seen in both children and adults, and that children demonstrate cognitive and linguistic benefits from bilingualism (Guiberson, 2013b). There is no scientific evidence that suggests that language confusion exists. Studies are showing that typically developing children as well as children with a variety of disabilities are capable of becoming bilingual to the best of their ability. Our experience and research adds to this knowledge base by showing that children who are DHH do not get confused by two languages; they can adequately separate two languages and learn a second spoken language. Children with communication disorders will have challenges in developing their communication skills, but this does not mean that these children are not capable of developing a second, or third, spoken language. Bilingualism does not cause communication disorder, and prescribing monolingualism will not cure it (Kohnert, 2013).

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Olga, left, decorates a cupcake with help from a t-oigo.com student volunteer at a cooking party in Madrid, Spain. credit : t- oigo . com

No one, regardless of hearing ability, can expect to learn a second spoken language in a few hours of class per week. More exposure, both structured and informal or social, will result in better English or other language learning. Programs such as t-oigo.com’s Allies in English help support the academic process of learning a second language by making it personal, motivating and meaningful. Parents are becoming more and more aware that as a result of early intervention and technology such as hearing aids and cochlear implants their children who are DHH can have the same opportunities as children with typical hearing, including the ability to learn a second spoken language. REFERENCES Baker, C., & Prys Jones, S. (1998). Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education. Philadelphia, PA: Multilingual Matters. Bunta, F., & Douglas, M. (2013). The effects of dual-language support on the language skills of bilingual children with hearing loss who use listening devices relative to their monolingual peers. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 44(3), 281-290. Crowe, K., & McLeod, S. (2014). A systematic review of cross-linguistic and multilingual speech and language outcomes for children with hearing loss. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 17, 1-23. Douglas, M. (2011). Teaching children with hearing impairment to listen and speak when the home language is not English. Perspectives on Hearing and Hearing Disorders in Children, 21, 20–30. Flores, P., Martin, F. N., & Champlin, C. A. (1996). Providing audiological services to Spanish speakers. American Journal of Audiology, 5, 69-73. Guiberson, M. (2013a). Survey of Spanish parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing: Decision making factors associated with communication modality and bilingualism. American Journal of Audiology. doi:10.1044/1059-0889(2012/12-0042) Guiberson, M. (2013b). Bilingual myth-busters series: Language confusion in bilinguals. Perspectives on Communication Disorders in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations, 20, 5-14. Guiberson, M. (2014). Bilingual skills of deaf/hard of hearing children from Spain. Cochlear Implants International, 15, 87-92. Kohnert, K. (2013). Language Disorders in Bilingual Children and Adults. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing. Steinberg, A., Delgado, G., Bain, L., Ruperto, V., & Yuelin, L. (2003). Decisions Hispanic families make after the identification of deafness. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 8, 291–314.

EMPOWERING CHILDREN

Who Are Hard of Hearing and Their Families

in TAIWAN

By Kuei-Ju Lin, Ph.D. candidate Eighty percent of school-age Taiwanese students with hearing loss attend mainstream schools.

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Alana Nichols was born with profound bilateral hearing loss in Taipei, Taiwan. Upon receiving this diagnosis, her parents—Joanna Nichols

“If a person tastes the sweetness of helping others, he or she will want to continue doing so.” —Joanna Nichols

and Kenny Cheng— traveled the world to seek medical resources to help Alana to hear and speak. They chose to pursue a listening and spoken language (LSL) outcome for Alana and she received a cochlear implant to help her gain access to sound and develop spoken language. After years of hearing habilitation, Alana completed high school with honors and she is currently attending university. After their experiences with raising Alana who thrives in the mainstream, the Chengs established the Children’s Hearing Foundation (CHF) in December 1996 to help other children with hearing loss in Taiwan and their families have similar access to listening and spoken language services, resources, information and professional support, so that they can receive education in the mainstream and live up to their full potential. Since 1996, CHF has expanded to four centers in Taiwan: the Taipei Headquarters, Southern Taiwan Center, Yilan Center and Chung-Yuan Center. Furthermore, to enhance the quality of interventions, knowledge management and innovation, CHF established a speech and hearing science research institute in 2013. The Chengs also continue to raise awareness of the listening and spoken language option for children with hearing loss throughout Asia.

Adapting LSL Services to Mandarin CHF is one of the first organizations to offer a listening and spoken language program for children with hearing loss in Taiwan as well as a pioneering international organization that has adapted auditory-verbal services into Mandarin.

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To realize the mission of benefiting children with hearing loss and their families, CHF is devoted to training and promoting Mandarin auditory-verbal practitioners in all areas of spoken Mandarin. Furthermore, the CHF cooperates with school systems, hospitals and researchers. Since its inception, CHF has provided services to more than 3,300 children who are hard of hearing and their families. The organization works to assist children to develop their independence through listening and speaking. CHF focuses on delivering LSL services, advocating for family-centered early intervention, and valuing both the family unit and children with hearing loss. Through its unique services, the CHF team empowers families as the primary facilitators of listening and spoken language for children, supporting children to ensure a successful transition into early childhood mainstream education.

Hearing Loss in Taiwan In Taiwan, children with hearing loss comprise 0.11 percent of the school-age population, 7–18 years old (Special Education Transmit Net, 2013). Depending on their needs, they either attend a special

education school or remain in a mainstream classroom, receiving specialized services in resource or self-contained classrooms. Most students with special needs in Taiwan are served under The Special Education Act, which works to provide them with appropriate education to develop their full potential, as individuals and members of Taiwanese society. Numerous inclusive programs have been developed and implemented in Taiwan. Statistics indicate that 80 percent of school-age students with hearing loss attend mainstream schools that provide them with special education services (Lin, in press) such as resource room programs, speech therapy, hearing management services or itinerant services. The rights of children who are deaf and hard of hearing in Taiwan are protected to ensure that they receive an appropriate education regardless of their abilities. Grants are provided to increase parental participation and involvement in school affairs. To ensure that all children who have special needs receive interventions as soon as possible, the 2013 Act indicated that special education practices should begin as early as 2 years of age. The first two years of a child’s life are critical for developing language and speech. Early diagnosis of hearing loss is imperative in order to ensure appropriate language development in children with hearing loss. On March 15, 2012, the Taiwanese Ministry of Health and Welfare implemented the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program free of charge, ensuring a promising outlook for children with hearing loss in Taiwan. The program and appropriate early interventions should provide additional opportunities for children who are deaf and hard of hearing to enhance their potential for developing listening and spoken language skills.

The CHF Approach

OTHER

MEDICAL

FAMILY children with hearing loss

MEDICAL ENT, Audiologist, Speech Therapist, Psychotherapist

OTHER Assistive Device Companies EDUCATION School Personnel, Homeroom Teacher & Assistive Teacher, Auditory-Verbal Therapist, Itinerant Teacher, Peers with Typical Hearing & Their Families

SOCIAL WELFARE Social Worker

The interaction model of the team members in auditory-verbal practice. source: adapted from lin (2011 , p. 21) . credit : children ’s hearing foundation

Parents and other family members play the primary roles in teaching their children to listen and speak; thus, the auditoryverbal practitioners at CHF primarily work with family members rather than children. The ultimate objective of CHF is to maximize the potential of children with hearing loss to learn to listen and speak, ensuring that they become competent and independent individuals. In a family-centered early intervention model, the family is considered the expert on their child. Audiologists and early interventionists provide information and guide the family in making choices. CHF works to empower family members to be active and involved participants in their children’s education.

Family-centered Early Intervention CHF provides services to enhance the independence of infants, toddlers and preschoolers with hearing loss through a variety of services such as consultations and training, loan services for assistive devices, educational materials for short-term use as well as supporting parental groups in advocacy.

SOCIAL WELFARE

EDUCATION

Teamwork Auditory-verbal practice requires joint participation from the children’s parents as well as members of all fields of education, medical and social welfare such as otolaryngologists, audiologists, listening and spoken language professionals, social

workers, school teachers, and assistive device companies. Thus, CHF conducts various teamwork-based therapies.

Following the Principles of Auditory-Verbal Practice Auditory-verbal practice encourages children with hearing loss to develop their ability to listen so that listening becomes spontaneous and children can learn from listening in their daily lives. Therefore, CHF emphasizes the use of audition, which is considered critical for the development of listening and learning language through listening. Each child with hearing loss requires individualized intervention because of individual differences in factors such as the degree of hearing loss, age of onset and type of language or communication system that the child uses. Furthermore, the parents themselves are each unique and individual. Auditory-verbal practice primarily adopts a one-to-one individualized diagnostic assessment method to identify the unique development of children

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regarding audition, speech, language, cognition and communication. Listening and spoken language professionals develop individualized intervention plans based on the results of the diagnostic assessment.

Meaningful Language Input CHF advocates that auditory-verbal practice should be based on the individual differences among children to provide them with meaningful language. In addition, CHF encourages parents to learn educational strategies to develop the listening and spoken language abilities of their children by regularly providing them with meaningful learning experiences in daily life. The main primary stimulus is a meaningful language input, and parents should become familiar with the unique development of their children regarding audition, speech, language, cognition and communication. Thus, parents can use age- and ability-appropriate words and

language at suitable development stages, encouraging children with hearing loss to enhance their self-confidence and learning interests. By initially working to adapt LSL services to Mandarin from English due to differences in the prosody, pragmatics, semantics, syntax, morphology and phonology between the two languages, CHF established the foundation needed to provide children with hearing loss in Taiwan with the opportunity to develop listening and spoken language skills. Further, by cooperating with the local educational and health systems, CHF works to ensure that Taiwanese children who are hard of hearing can be successfully integrated into mainstream life. Every day, CHF works with the families of children with hearing loss in the belief that parental involvement is the key to success in early hearing interventions for children who are hard of hearing in Taiwan.

ion t a c muni air m o C Rep

The family is the expert in educating their child with hearing loss. credit: children’s hearing foundation ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The author thanks Chien-Wen Lee, Chun-Yi Lin & Yi-ping Chang, for their helpful comments of this article. REFERENCES Lin, K. J. (2011). Auditory training and management for children with hearing impairments in early intervention. Journal of Special Education in Yunlin and Jiayi, 14, 19-25. Lin, K. J. (Ed.) (in press). Family-centered early intervention for children with hearing impairments: Theory and practice of auditory-verbal therapy. Taipei, Taiwan: Psychological Publishing. Special Education Transmit Net (2013). The statistics on the number of students with hearing impairments. Retrieved from http://www.set.edu.tw/sta2/default.asp

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RESOURCES FOR

By Anna Karkovska McGlew, M.A. 28

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ACCESS TO SOUND right from the

AG Bell Resources and Information

start is critical for children who are

The AG Bell Listening and Spoken Language Knowledge Center provides information and resources in the Families tab of the website, which offers parents with a starting point to identify sources of financial assistance for hearing technology as well as listening and spoken languages services. Organizations such as AUDIENT, The HIKE Fund and Miracle-Ear® Foundation help families with financial difficulties to get access to hearing devices. AG Bell offers a variety of Financial Aid programs for families of children with hearing loss at various stages of their development: from birth through 12th grade. For a complete list of these programs and resources offered by other organizations, visit the Families tab at ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org, click on Financial Aid Programs and explore the links in this section. Under the same Families tab, parents can visit the Family Resources section, which provides a variety of resources for and by parents, including tips from parents for getting organized to ensure their child’s success and a guide for parents to understand their insurance benefits and exclusions as well as other programs available to their child(ren).

deaf and hard of hearing to develop listening and spoken language. Yet, families may find the cost of hearing technology a challenge. AG Bell’s groundbreaking 2013 Family Needs Assessment survey found that hearing technology and related services—including hearing aids, auditory-verbal/speech-language therapy services and assistive listening devices—were the three items families rated as the most significant financial barriers. There are a number of resources available to provide assistance with the cost of hearing technology. State mandates for hearing aids have increased over the years. There are now 20 states that have passed mandates for hearing aid coverage. All of these states require health benefit plans to cover hearing aids for children. Only three states—Arkansas, New Hampshire and Rhode Island— require coverage for both children and adults. One (Wisconsin) also requires coverage for cochlear implants for children. State mandates vary with regard to the amount of coverage, benefit period and provider qualifications. The American Speech-LanguageHearing Association maintains a website with brief descriptions and links to each statute: www. asha.org/advocacy/state/issues/ ha_reimbursement/.

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Hearing Aid Loaner Banks Immediate access to hearing aids is often curtailed by cost or delays in insurance or third-party approvals. Hearing aid loaner banks fill the gap by providing access to appropriate amplification while families obtain approval or financial assistance for hearing technology. The National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM) at Utah State University maintains a list of hearing aid loaner banks in the United States. Through a 2011 survey, NCHAM identified hearing aid loaner banks in 26 states and territories. The center regularly updates this information, which is available at www.infanthearing.org/ ha-loaner/index.html. The Oticon Pediatrics Loaner Bank Program makes hearing aids available for children, birth to 3 years old, who are in

need of immediate amplification when amplification is not readily available and the family is typically waiting for thirdparty reimbursement approval or for a cochlear implant evaluation. Oticon also provides an Information and Application Booklet on its website. Visit www.pro. oticonusa.com/pediatrics/clinicalsupport/oticon-resources/loaner-bank. aspx for more information.

Other Organizations and Resources The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has an extensive section on its website—Funding for Audiology Services and Hearing Aids—which provides links to federal, state and local funding sources, agencies and programs; funding plans; and hearing aid loaner banks. The organization also provides advice to parents on working with their employer to cover speech, language and hearing services for themselves and their child(ren) through the company’s health plan. It also describes the “ideal” health plan coverage for hearing, speech and language benefits. Visit www.asha.org/ public/coverage/audfundingresources/ to access all of this information. The Hearing Loss Association of America also maintains a list of programs and foundations providing hearing aid financial assistance for both children and adults, which is available at www. hearingloss.org/content/financialassistance-programs-foundations. The Better Hearing Institute has compiled a list of multiple charitable foundations, private organizations, insurance plans, corporate benefits and government programs that help people across the country gain access to hearing aids. The list is available at www.betterhearing.org/ hearingpedia/hearing-loss-resources/ financial-assistance. This list is not extensive and is a starting point for identifying resources. There are other public programs such as Medicaid and state vocational rehabilitation agencies as well as private organizations that can provide support or additional referrals to local resources.

John Stanton, Esq.

2014 Honors of the Association Award Recipient by anna k arkovsk a mcglew, m.a. Left to Right: Stanton, second from left, with his parents and sister in 1993 at his graduation from Dartmouth College. credit: louis yaffe. Stanton, left, with then-AG Bell President Michael Tecklenburg at the 1996 AG Bell Convention. credit: david lupi-sher. Stanton with daughter Charlotte at a Georgetown football game in 2007. credit: ed stanton.

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Stanton in 1994 as an intern at the Supreme Court of the United States. credit: ed stanton

AS AN INDIVIDUAL WITH HEARING LOSS who was born and raised before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990 and other legal protections for individuals with disabilities, John Stanton, recipient of the 2014 AG Bell Honors of the Association Award, knows that “opportunities and progress don’t happen by themselves. It takes advocacy.” Commitment, perseverance and passion are the hallmarks of successful advocacy that brings about positive and lasting change for individuals and communities. On June 28, 2014, as part of the 2014 AG Bell Convention, AG Bell President Donald M. Goldberg, Ph.D., CCC-SLP/A, FAAA, LSLS Cert. AVT, will present Stanton with the 2014 Honors of the Association award. This honor is presented in recognition of an outstanding individual in the field of listening and spoken language who has advanced the goals of AG Bell over many years of committed service. Past recipients include former AG Bell President Kathleen Sussman, Mildred Oberkotter, Stephen Epstein, Helen Beebe, Doreen Pollack, Bruce A. Goldstein, Ken Levinson, Inez Janger and Karen Youdelman, among others. “I am both thrilled and humbled to be selected for the Honors of the Association Award,” said Stanton. “I do not believe that I would be where I am today without the work and infrastructure that AG Bell set forth over the years. I look forward to continuing the progress to ensure that tomorrow’s individuals with hearing loss have even more opportunities than we have today.” Stanton has been a member of AG Bell since the mid-1990s and is a former member of the board of directors. He is the current chair of the AG Bell Public Affairs Council (PAC)—a body, which is instrumental in establishing the direction of the association’s public policy efforts by being the “board’s eyes and ears regarding potential laws and regulations” and guiding the board’s positions. The PAC is charged with being on the lookout for court cases, legislation, regulations and other laws that could potentially impact AG Bell’s member-ship. “It’s a terrific committee. We have very knowledgeable people representing AG Bell’s three constituencies— parents, professionals and adults with hearing loss,” noted Stanton. During his long and deep involvement in the association, Stanton has filed numerous briefs on behalf of AG Bell in courts at every level, advocating for the advancement of rights for people with hearing loss. He has worked with the association on the development of many of its position statements, including on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), the first international treaty to address disability rights.

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“I don’t think it is possible to put into words the positive impact AG Bell has had on our lives. AG Bell has a long history of advocating for the mainstreaming of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Thanks to the policies set by AG Bell’s philosophies, there are all types of opportunities for children with hearing loss to succeed today that didn’t exist generations ago,” said Stanton.

Stanton with his wife Cindy (third and fourth from the right), their daughter Annabelle (held), and Cindy’s family in 2011. credit: bill worrell

He has guided the association in cases where the association chooses to file amicus briefs or other petitions on behalf of individuals with hearing loss pursuing appropriate accommodations such as working to compel shopping malls to take people with disabilities into account when they design their emergency evacuation plans and asking schools to provide Computer-Assisted Realtime Transcription (CART) interpreting for students who are deaf and hard of hearing in order to access fully the general education curriculum. “Over the years, AG Bell has gotten involved in a number of court cases that potentially impact the rights of individuals with hearing loss. I’ve argued on behalf of AG Bell in some of these. I’m proud to say that we’ve won more often than we’ve lost,” noted Stanton.

Growing up with Hearing Loss in the Mainstream Stanton became deaf from meningitis when he was 4 and half years old and grew up using spoken language and speechreading. “I do not remember being hearing,” reminisced Stanton. He received a cochlear implant in 2001. After it became clear that his hearing loss was permanent, experts recommended to his parents that Stanton be enrolled in a school for the deaf. His parents felt that Stanton should receive mainstream education and were able to find a Catholic school in their neighborhood, which was willing to accept him as a student. “Happily, things worked out very well, and I have many fond memories of elementary school,” remembered Stanton.

Stanton playing little league baseball in 1981.

His parents’ commitment and support were instrumental in Stanton’s experiences at school. His father volunteered to coach all of his youth sports teams because he was afraid that otherwise Stanton would run into a coach who didn’t want to accommodate his deafness. His mother was in close contact with his teachers to help try to figure out the best way for Stanton to get the most out of the classroom and she oversaw much of his schoolwork. Stanton succeeded in the classroom with minimal accommodations. “I sat in the front of the class and tried my best to speechread. By junior high, I’d ask a friend if I could copy the notes that he took in class to try to see what I missed,” recalled Stanton. In high school, Stanton had an illuminating experience which planted a seed for future advocacy. His biology teacher took the time to find a video with captions, which he used in class to explain a lesson. Stanton vividly remembered this experience: “I thought ‘Hey, wow! I can actually understand what’s being said!’ Two weeks later, we had a test and Dr. Peet asked four or five questions about material that was in the video. I got them all correct. Without the captions, I’m sure I would have missed the test questions (as I usually did).”

Decision to Become a Lawyer

Stanton with his wife Cindy at their wedding in 2009. credit : joe ciarcia

“Only eight? You’ve got to be kidding me!” This was Stanton’s reaction upon learning from a college disability coordinator about the approximate number of lawyers who are deaf in the late 1980s in the United States. “I knew that many civil rights laws and advances benefiting African Americans were the result of the hard work of African American lawyers. And I knew the same was true for women lawyers. I knew that if we were going to see real progress for individuals with hearing loss, it was imperative that more people who are deaf and hard of hearing join the legal profession. I was determined to become a lawyer after that.” Stanton is currently senior counsel at the Washington, D.C. law office of Holland & Knight, LLP, where he specializes in appellate advocacy litigation and has worked on numerous cases involving civil rights laws.

He also has written extensively about the history of people with disabilities and has extensive pro bono experience in the field of disability advocacy, which he has put to full use in his tireless commitment to AG Bell’s advocacy and regulatory efforts.

Higher Education and the Magic of CART Stanton entered Dartmouth College in 1989 and Georgetown Law School in 1993. At both schools, he was the first student who is deaf since the 1970s. The disabilities coordinator at Dartmouth was helpful and worked with Stanton to provide him with accommodations he requested such as installing cable television in his dorm room, so that he could set up his captioning decoder there rather than in the common lounge area. Socially, Stanton was active and formed lasting friendships. In the classroom, Stanton sat in the front, worked with friends to copy their class notes, and asked the professors to wear FM microphones. “That helped some for lectures, but didn’t work for discussion groups. As was the case in high school, my grades were decent but not impressive,” recalled Stanton. After meeting a student with hearing loss who was using CART at Stanford Law School, Stanton requested CART at Georgetown Law School. “Simple words cannot describe how much of an impact CART had on my classroom experiences. Like that biology video from high school, I could now understand everything that was said in the class and was on equal footing with my classmates. Going to classes in law school became my favorite part of the day. I was like a kid in a candy store. I was taking my own notes in class for the first time since elementary school,” said Stanton. Stanton immediately realized the dramatic difference that CART could make for students with hearing loss in the classroom. Beyond providing access to information, it had tremendous and favorable implications for the ability of students who are deaf and hard of hearing to participate in classroom discussion. “When I received CART interpreting, my own professors called upon me as often as any other student. I participated more in class at Georgetown Law in any given week than I did in four years combined at Dartmouth,” he said. Classmates wanted Stanton on

Stanton, second from left, with his parents and sister at his graduation from Georgetown Law in 1997.

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their team for group projects because they had heard his participation in class and were impressed. “This never would have happened if I did not have CART interpreting throughout law school,” added Stanton. With CART interpreting Stanton graduated from Georgetown Law School with honors. He recalls, “My grades at Georgetown with CART were a lot higher than they were at Dartmouth without CART.”

Legislation, Technology and Attitudes One of Stanton’s most recent publications is a law review article on the history of lawyers who are deaf and hard of hearing. “Breaking the Sound Barriers: How the Americans With Disabilities Act and Technology Have Enabled Deaf Lawyers to Succeed” published in the Valparaiso Law Review recounts the history of lawyers who are deaf in the 19th century and discusses the obstacles that aspiring lawyers and law students who are deaf have encountered throughout most of the 20th century until the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed. “In simplest terms, for individuals with hearing loss to succeed, the two most important things are legal protections and technology,” stated Stanton. Further, the evolution of societal attitudes on what

constitutes “reasonable accommodations,” namely, affirmatively providing accommodations to ensure equal access, helps to move progress further along. “I’ve seen so much progress in my lifetime that sometimes it’s difficult to remember that there are still a lot of areas for improvement,” noted Stanton. Two of the biggest issues received by Stanton and his fellow volunteers at the AG Bell Public Affairs Council that are facing individuals with hearing loss and their families are lack of insurance coverage for hearing aids and lack of captioning accessibility on the internet. The council has been working with other deaf and disability advocacy groups to support laws that can address these issues. “Many times when I was doing research for my article and found a deaf lawyer from decades past, I thought ‘Geez, how did this person do it?’ and could only shake my head with amazement. Individuals with hearing loss and the advocates who came before us have laid a lot of the groundwork that enabled us to have the opportunities and accessibility that we enjoy today. People like this started the progress. And we’ve got to keep it going.”

U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe receives the 2012 AG Bell Award of Distinction. From left to right: Alexander T. Graham, Sen. Olympia Snowe, Kathleen Treni and John Stanton. credit: ag bell

Stanton with wife Cindy and daughter Charlotte in 2010. credit : catharine mcnally

BUTTERFLY

Celebrating 100 years.

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TIPS FOR PARENTS

On Being a Deaf Mom At 3 a.m., I’m violently awakened from a deep sleep by my bed shaking and lamp flashing. Am I in a disco during an earthquake? No, I realize, as I slowly regain consciousness, the baby is crying again. Like a glutton for punishment, I’m using this technology to alert me to her needs because I’m profoundly deaf. As a first-time mom, it took a while to realize that I should be taking advantage of my slumbering husband’s hearing. Given the choice to be jarred awake or feel the gentle touch of his hand, the answer to our happily ever after was clear. Eleven years later, my daughter is the “beneficiary” of this constantly changing territory I’m exploring: what it means to be a deaf mom. Her brother—who is three years younger—adds to the challenges. But there are infinite rewards, too.

Baby/Toddler Stage Once I figured out the best way to deal with middle-of-the-night feedings, along came another challenge: naps. During the day, I used a baby monitor—this version no longer exists—with lights that ramped up in accordance to the sound. It also

by lisa a. goldstein, m.j.

vibrated and had a volume knob. In short, it was perfect—until my toddler started vocalizing. Then I had to listen carefully to determine whether she was vocalizing, crying, or on her way to la-la-land. The solution was a video monitor, which allowed me to see when she actually fell asleep, and then upon waking up, whether she was happily playing or needed attention. As my kids navigated out of the baby phase, I was able to control whether I could understand their words faceto-face. That meant teaching my kids to communicate with me. From the beginning, we told them that to get my attention, they had to physically come over and tap me on the arm. When they talked to me, they had to look at my eyes so I could see their lips. Many times, I heard them calling for me, but pretended I couldn’t hear so they would learn. Many kids are difficult for me to lip read, but I have no problem with my own. They learned to be excellent communicators who enunciate very clearly. That they don’t do this just with me but with others, as well, shows that this is a great lifelong

social skill to have. Of course, my deafness prevents me from understanding whining and crying—they just have to calm down and try again! Another thing I learned was that lip reading is difficult when my eyes are still adjusting to light. We told the kids to always go to Daddy if they needed something during the night. In the morning, I’m always surprised to discover what I missed and thankful for my uninterrupted sleep.

Childhood Now that my kids are in elementary school, I’m exploring a new world. Being out of the loop with the school was a concern, but in this age of technology, it’s more of an equal playing field. The staff all has email, and the school sends electronic newsletters. If anyone calls the house, I have a captioned phone. My daughter will be starting middle school next year, which is when many of the area kids get cell phones. She recently inherited my old smart phone—with no phone service—so now we’re able to text one another. I envision relying on text and video chat when we activate her phone

Hanging out in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada. credit: lisa goldstein

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At Kentuck Knob in Fayette County, Pa. credit : lisa goldstein

service. Now, if only I can get my kids to practice touch typing instead of the hunting and pecking that drives me insane… When we’re in the car, they’ve learned that when I’m driving, we can’t hold a normal conversation. I confess that at stops, I use the rear view mirror to check in with them. They, however, have yet to grasp the concept of prioritizing. “Mommy! Mommy! Mommmmmyyy!!” I’ll hear, as they absolutely must tell me something trivial right that minute as I’m turning into a lane of traffic. There is a downside to needing a clear view of my kids. I’ve learned from my husband and relatives that they’ve become talented at using my blind spots. They know how to push each other’s buttons in that manipulative sibling way when I’m not looking! My fear is that when they’re teenagers and my husband is out of town on a business trip, they’ll take advantage of my deafness and do something sneaky like have a party while I’m asleep. We’ve tried to drill into them that doing this will be a big mistake. To keep them on their toes, I started busting them at random times. My engineer husband has also become increasingly interested in motion sensors.

With the Rubber Duck in Pittsburgh, Pa. credit: lisa goldstein

I also had two extra helpers when I received a cochlear implant; they were excited to assist with my rehab. My oldest will voluntarily oral interpret for me, especially when her brother is getting in trouble with my husband. The kids and I also get to have secret conversations. Both kids are more self-reliant, more aware of others’ differences and quick to adapt. And just like being deaf is all I know, having a deaf mom is all they know. When I asked how they felt about having a deaf mom, my oldest said, “I don’t think it

feels any different than having a different mom, because I’m used to you. It just feels regular. I do get frustrated sometimes when you can’t read my lips easily, but everyone gets frustrated with their moms.” Par for the course, my youngest added, “Yeah, what she said.” This article originally appeared on the website Hearing Like Me, developed by Phonak, at www.hearinglikeme.com/ living/relationships/being-deaf-mom.

Perks One benefit to being deaf is that I’m immune to annoying music. The kids have freedom to play whatever music and instruments they want, as often as they want. For all I know, my violawailing and guitar-screeching kids are musical virtuosos.

VO LTA VO I CE S M AY/J U N 2014

• Family Support Services • Pediatric Audiology On-site • Certified Moog Curriculum

• Early Intervention Program (Birth to 3) • Academic Program (Pre-K to 2nd Grade) • Ohio Dept. of Education Accredited

Ohio Valley Voices  6642 Branch Hill-Guinea Pike  Cincinnati, OH 45140 For more info: See directory, call 513.791.1458 or visit ohiovalleyvoices.org

HEAR OUR VOICES

Doing Hard Things I was born with a profound sensorineural hearing loss, which was undetected until I was about 8 months old. The doctors told my mother that I would never be able to hear, speak or go to a mainstream school. They also said that a cochlear implant would only give me access to environmental sounds. They advised her that a school for the deaf, where my family would only see me on weekends, might be the best option for me. My mom’s heart was shattered into pieces as she thought I would never be able to hear her say the words, “I love you.” But my mom was unwilling to accept this as a resolution and my family embarked on a search for a different option. They found hope in Children’s Memorial Hospital of Chicago, where a doctor by the name of Nancy Young explained that cochlear implants would in fact enable me to hear, speak and do all the things a child with typical hearing could do. At first, I was fitted with hearing aids. After six months of wearing them, it became clear that since hearing

by skye serena carter

aids amplify sound, they weren’t of much use as I had no aidable hearing that could be amplified. A cochlear implant seemed the only way for me to access sound. A visit to the audiologist confirmed that I was indeed a candidate for a cochlear implant. However, our insurance considered a cochlear implant purely “cosmetic” and the pre-approval request was denied. My mom did not give up even after three unsuccessful appeals—she started a letterwriting campaign, urged congressmen to write letters on my behalf, and asked family members, doctors, therapists and friends to write letters as well. On the day of the fourth appeal, a voice mail message was waiting for her, “This is Rochelle at Advanced Bionics. I am calling to tell you that I am holding the approval—yes, the approval—in my hand for Skye’s cochlear implant.” My mom fell to her knees and cried. I was going to hear! I received my first cochlear implant at age 2, just a month after the approval.

Skye, center, with Al and Claude Mann at the Al Mann Foundation’s annual Gala to raise money for cochlear implants for children in need. credit: cheryl carter

When it was activated, all my mom could say to me was “Hi Skye!” I just looked at her and laughed. After some years of exploring the world and the sounds it had to offer, I received a second cochlear implant in my right ear at 7 years old. Going bilateral helped me tremendously—I was no longer exhausted after school, and my audiograms had much better results! Over the years I have progressed by leaps and bounds! In the summer of 2010, before I was about to begin seventh grade, I found a new passion—dancing—and learned about risks and rewards. I was what you’d call shy and perhaps introverted, afraid to take chances or stand out. One day, while my mom and I were shopping, she received a call and walked off to talk business. When we got back in the car, she was quiet, and then asked, “How would you like to dance at a red carpet gala in Hollywood?” At first I thought she must be joking because I was not a dancer, but I saw the seriousness in her eyes. I carefully pondered this, as the gala was being held to raise money for cochlear implants for those who cannot afford them, and said yes. I had just finished reading the book Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris, and was inspired to try new things, even if they were hard. I felt like this was a sign, and I had to take this opportunity, even though I had never danced before, let alone in front of hundreds of Hollywood elite! After all, I was the type of person to dread class presentations at school because I didn’t like everyone looking at me and being the center of attention! For the following few months I took rigorous dance lessons that pushed me physically, and prepared myself mentally for what I was about to do—perform on a huge stage in front of hundreds of people.

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ihear

online therapy

Skye, center, at “Kickin’ It For The Kids,” a kickball tournament to raise money to benefit Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago.

When the day of the performance arrived, a rush of nerves and excitement came over me as I stepped out on stage. Even though I was nervous, I looked back on all the hard work I had done and gave it my best. The gala raised enough money for four cochlear implants, and I received an invitation to perform the following year. It felt great. Reflecting upon that experience, I am so thankful that I chose to say yes that day at the shopping mall. If I hadn’t, I would have missed out on other wonderful opportunities that followed. I received two scholarships to the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, was asked to speak at the Chicago Dance Marathons and the DePaul DemonTHON dance marathons, appeared

Helping the Achilles Veteran Team at the Chicago Marathon get to the starting line and giving them special medals. credit : cheryl carter

VO LTA VO I CE S M AY/J U N 2014

on Fox News, and did a documentary for the Al Mann Foundation as well as for Health and Body Awareness for TV. Since that first life-changing experience, I have become an athlete. I play basketball, cross country and track, and still take dance lessons. I also have discovered a passion for art/drawing and participate on the mock trial team. I am in the top of my grade and my goal is to become a disability rights attorney. This summer, I am going on my first mission trip to Indiana to help underprivileged children. Most recently, I have been a representative for Speedway to raise money for Children’s Miracle Network, which raises funds for children’s hospitals across North America, which, in turn, use the money where it is needed the most. My face is on Speedway gas stations across Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. The goal is to raise much needed funds for the hospitals, help children and raise disability awareness. People come up to me all the time and tell me what an inspiration I am for doing what I do, and that is exactly why I do it. I am inspired by the people who are touched by my story and their lives are changed by it, because I want to keep changing lives. At one event, I met a little girl named Olivia, who has a glass eye from cancer. She ran up to me, gave me her favorite Cinderella bracelet, and said, “I want to grow up to be like you, Skye!” Those moments warm my heart and are the reason why I love to help and serve others who are in need. I strive to live by Gandhi’s words, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Yes, you can do hard things. Let’s do this!

family centered, convenient, outcomes oriented, HIPAA compliant online therapy using a computer, webcam and high speed internet connection.

ihear is changing livesare you ready?

ihearlearning.org 636.532.2672 A program by St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf

Special Section: Recognizing the Generosity of Our Donors The Honor Roll of Donors (January 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013) AG Bell greatly appreciates our donors who generously support our association. This honor list includes the individuals, corporations and foundations that have made financial contributions during fiscal year 2013 (January 1 – December 31) in support of AG Bell programs and services. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this list, including spelling of names and placement of donors within respective categories. However, omissions or errors may still have occurred. We apologize for any inaccuracies and ask that you please notify Gary Yates, AG Bell manager of association and donor relations, at gyates@agbell.org if you find an incorrect listing. Thank you. CIRCLE ALLIANCE ($100,000 and Above) Anonymous Estate of Daniel Barkan PRESIDENT’S CIRCLE ($50,000 - $99,999) Children’s Hearing Foundation Helen Beebe Speech and Hearing Center Richard Zellerbach The UPS Foundation VOLTA BUREAU CIRCLE ($10,000 - $49,999) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Estate of Mary Elizabeth Stockstill Joyce Jackson National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders Oticon Incorporated Philip L. Graham Fund Rothman Family Foundation Arlene and Jay M. Tenenbaum The Wasily Family Foundation BENEFACTORS ($5,000 - $9,999) AG Bell Rhode Island Chapter Anonymous PATRONS ($1,000 - $4,999)

Nancy Bellew LaFawn Biddle Robert Bush

Sigrid Cerf Nan Ellen East Kristen & James Filla Kevin Franck Donald M. Goldberg Handfinger Press, LLC Judith Harrison and Tim Campos Sam Jadallah The Leigh Foundation Ken Levinson Local IND Charity The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation The MAXIMUS Foundation Rochester Institute of Technology, National Technical Institute for the Deaf Joseph Rosenstein Alex and Susan Roush Steve and Carolyn Vonderfecht Jay and Kristine Wyant Karen and Bob Youdelman Dale Young YourCause, LLC Trustee for Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP SUPPORTERS ($500 - $999) America’s Charities Christine Anthony June and John Bechtel Thomas Biron Cochlear Americas Mark and Leslie DeNino Edward Deroche Glassman Family Charitable Fund Hamilton Relay CapTel Andrea Hill IBM Employee Services Center LENA Foundation

Susan T Lenihan Mary and Gina Lucchesi Keith Mallonee Donald McGee Mike and Lee Ann Novak Lyn Robertson Mark and Kim Sandridge United Way of Central Maryland United Way of Hunterdon County Carol Wyant CHAMPIONS ($250 - $499) Joni Alberg Hugh Babowal Laura Baker Tamala Bradham Steven Browne Harrison Bubb Mary Ann Costin ESCO/Ear Service Corporation Exxon Mobil Corporation Christine Flint Michael Gilroy Alexander T. Graham Ralph Guertin Pamela Hinson Jeff and Barbara Katzman Michael Kay Anne Kearney Diana Lee Lilly Endowment, Inc. Robert Matje Marie and Edwin McKeown Metro Chicago United Way Ted Meyer Multi-Part Supply George Nofer David Pisoni Scott Purcel Ramesh Ramanathan Leana Rech Cindy Sharkey Joseph Slotnick David Smith

Eileen Solla-Diaz Gwendolyn Sommer Todd Stewart and Family Esther Tecklenburg Joanne Travers Kathleen Treni Robert Uschold Melissa Willis Lynda Wilson Denise Wray

Anne Herrington Janet Higby Gregory Hubert Michael Hunter Diane Jacobson David James Edmond Jarret Janet Kahn Ian and Julie Katz Rebecca Keuter Margaret Klarman Meredith Knueve ASSOCIATES Sugar ($100 - $249) Sidney Kraizman Joseph Kulakowski Amazon.Com Ilena Lea Rachel Arfa Christopher Lehfeldt Jonathan Berger Cynthia Leigh Teresa Bhe Irene Leigh Christine Betty Lim Bognar-Peters Jean Magarian Emo Bonaminio Catherine McEnroe Susan Boswell Catharine McNally Sharon Brady Microsoft Matching Lynn Bright Gifts Program Lisa Cantwell Kevin J. Miller Central and Foy Mitchell Northern New Maureen and Peter Mexico CFC Murphy Peggy Cooley Andrew Ober D. K. Kent Couch Allen and Jenni Olsen Antonia Cusumano Lylis E. Olsen Daniel Boone Kathleen O’Neill Elementary Terry Palmer James Davis Donald Paterson Patricia Demoff Renee Patton Remmel Dickinson Sherra Payne Christine Dunbar Pepper Hamilton LLP D L Ensor Jonathan Petromelis Joan Esposito Jacqueline Rizik Dennis Filloon James Rodgers Theresa and John Samuel Rosenfeld Fink Cynthia Runstrom Carol Flexer Steven Sack John Fread Natalie Sanchez Amy Gardner Charles Shallbetter Robert Glassman Kathleen Shifflett Pamela Goode Heather Smith Sylvia Greenberg Robert Snyder Barry and Sue Luiz Soares Griebler Songs for Sound, Inc. Donna Grossman Frederick Spahr Marsha Haines Virginia and Robert Inge Hards Stern Connie and Ed Lyle Stern Heintzman LI S TE N I N GA N DS P O K E N L A N G UAG E .O RG Erin Stoehr

Christen Stotts Valerie Strickland Mary Sylvester Tin Tai Sally Tannenbaum Michael Tecklenburg Scott Telesz Michael Traynor United Way of the National Capital Area UnitedHealth Group Employee Giving Campaign Anil Vohra Jenna Voss Frederick Waldschmidt Robert Whipple Wendy Will Garrett Yates Jacqueline Yoacham Nancy Young Eric Zizza

Nancy CaleffeSchenck Zuzana Capar Renee Cartright April Case Joseph Catanese Erika Catanese Harvey Cavagnaro Melissa Chaikof Andrea Champagne Constance Chapdelaine Chattanooga Area CFC Barbara Chertok Susan Chorost Coachella Valley and Twentynine Palms Area Francis Coyle Sherie Coyner Michelle Crawley Hector Cuevas David Current Robyn Czepiel FRIENDS To Dam ($1 - 99) Marilee Day Rosemary DeMasi Chad Adelhardt Wendy Deters Henry Adler Jonathan Diamond AG Bell Nevada Russell Dieterich Chapter Joyce Distefano Carol Aguirre Michael Dortch Susan Allen Teresa Dozier Jane Allen Pamela Dunne Allstate Giving Florence Dupont Campaign Exelon Corporation Corrine and Arnie DeAnn Feltz Altman Tammy Ferguson Andrea Amestoy Sherri Fickenscher Jean Ammerall Dolores Fidishun Kathleen Anderson Rebecca Fischer Akio Arai Sheila Fishman Paul Arenberg David and Brigitte Stacey Ashlund Frank Tina Atkins Dorothea French Laura Baker Jane Freutel Teresa Ball Lenore Furman Theresa Ballard Marilyn Geffeney Andrew Ban Thomas Giannantonio Mary Bartholomew Dawn and Dustin Danielle Basile Girty Margaret Bates Laura Gold Faith Beaupre Emilie Goldberg Rosa Benaburger Juan Gonzalez Zinta Biernis-Mateus Good St. Pamela Billet GoodSearch Claire Blatchford Dinah Gottschalk Barbara Blosser Paula Graf Kimberley Boyle Jonathan and Janet Bradley Jenny Graham Patricia Brock Catherine Graham Martin and Marilyn Bakkensen Brown Karen Graves James H. and Marjorie Gurnik Cheryl Brown Lucinda Hackett Evan Brunell Michele Hackman Anitta Burg Ellen Hansen John Burke Marilyn Hayda and Jennifer Burns VO LTA VO I CE S M AY/J U N 2014 Family Liliana Buza

Brett and Krista Heavner Lill Hockema Heather Hodgin Ellen Hoffman Rita Howe Carol Hulick Indiana State Employees’ Community Campaign Laurie Jalenak Inez Janger Jacqueline Jankoff-Ershow Janet Jennings Norma Kalkhoff Jennifer Kearns Shana Keilson Marie Kelliher Dominique Kendrick Virginia Keville Kimberly Clark Foundation T. Keith Kiser John Klawiter Kevin J. Knabe Rebecca Kooper Caitlyn Kozelj Gina Kramer Alan Kraus Linda Krevda Pat Kricos Stephen Kwechin Tiffany Lai Arthur Laramee Matthew Larrabee Linda Larson Terry Leaga Louis and Annie Lederfeind Sharon Leiderman Jonathan Leigh Mark and Megan Lenihan Harry Levitt Stacey Lim Cynthia Llewellyn Michael Macione Mary Maley Bridget Malley Sharon Manco Peter Marone Maryland Combined Federal Campaign Christine Matsui Dana Mauro-Adlam Joseph Maytal Karen McCloskey Amy McConkey Robbins Christopher McCoy Betty McMurray Minta A. McNally Gayla McSwain Mark Mindlin Susan Mochinski Kathy Moran Suzanne Mozayeni Anthony Munoz

Sue and Larry Murdock Alicia Newman Pauline Newton Sherri Nighbert Steve Noyce Stephanie Otis Patricia Ott Teri Ouellette Fredric Parsons Caitlin Parton Wendy Pearlman Raymond Persia Peter Masuzzo and Tim Rector Pamela Pflueger Flor Pinga Catherine Pinto Ann Powers Darcy Pratt Lori Pucci Edith Ratshin Ricky and Patricia Reagan Mark Reeve Dorothy Rennie Stephen Rexrode Mary Ricker Marsy Robben Margaret Roberts Justine Roberts Nancy and Ray Ruzicka Andrea and Matt Samuel Joseph Sannino Robert Saperstein Jane Savino Janet Scheeline Holly Scheppegrell Carla Schumacher Katherine Seaman Robert E. Segil Diane and Rich Seils Becky Selenko Sriram Sethuraman Farah Shaikh Andrew J Shine Jessica Silvestri Edward Smith Joanna Smith Bertha Smith-Clark Paul Sonier Tracie and Mark Steider Boyce and Linda Steiner Amie A Stelmack Leslie Stone Louise Sussman Andrew Svetly Jeffrey Taylor Karen Tesser Janet Tinkel Susan Torrey United Way Metro Chicago United Way of ANCFC United Way of

Lake County United Way of New York City Susan Vanhoven Paul Varley Kathleen Vergara Catherine Wadekamper Martina Ware Kathleen Mary Waschak Julie Weinzapfel Chantal Wilkes Jamie Wilson George Witte Rose Wolitzer Frances Wylie Nicole Yoacham Andrea Zagarola Carla Zimmerman TRIBUTES 2013 LOFT Ability Awareness Week fundraiser A. Sidney Arfa Jennifer Katzman Arfaa Rachel Arfa Anthony Altman Taylor Billet Jamie Binienda Micah Alexander Brock Brendan Browne Gabriel Deters Walter Earshow Danny Farrell Ann Fletcher Caleb Filla For All The Children David Frangiosa Dr. Donald M. Goldberg Astrida Greco Erin Smith Hackett Trish Hagge Pepper Hamilton LLP Denim Day Andrew Hood Jordan Jadallah Mr. and Mrs. L.R. Jalenak Natalie Janik JTKS Benjamin Katz Jonah Knueve Gina Kramer Jake Krevda Shika Krishnan Joey Kulakowski Jan Larky Tova Leah Lederfeind Ken Levinson LOFT Class of 2000 Catharine McNally Jean Moog James McDermott Miranda Meyers

Austin Payne Daphne Peacock Laura Peshek Nicholas Petromelis Catherine Pinto Bill and Susan Rattarittee Dr. Lyn Robertson Gittel Rochel Jordan Sack Susan & Alvin Schonfeld Family Katia Soares Paul & Sarah Sommer St. Joseph Institute – Indianapolis Staff Kathleen Vermilyea Tyson Vonderfecht Jacqueline Ware Matthew Washuta G. Whipple Helen Bluemel Witte Aidan Zagarola MEMORIAL GIFTS Tom Allio Sr. A. Sidney Arfa Helen H. Beebe Jack Bechtel Martina Bechtel Melanie Bierman Donna Dickman Dr. Geroge Fleendorf Ann Fletcher Florence and Dave Goodman Melissa Johnson Audrey Austin King Martin A. Manco Rita Martin Janice Moe Gabe Nardella Paul Oberkotter James J. O’Brien (Grandpa) Doreen Pollack Dr. Steven L. Rattner’s mother Dave and Libby Steinberg Karen Rothwell Vivian Dorothy Zander

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2014 AG Bell Convention June 26-30, 2014 Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Orlando, Florida

ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org/2014Convention

More value for everyone in 2014 • Back by popular demand! Up to two badges for just one registration fee (applies to families of children with hearing loss and adults with hearing loss) • 10 pre-convention workshops and 48 concurrent sessions for families, individuals with hearing loss and professionals • Over 70 exhibitors in the areas of hearing technology, education and materials • Magical venue: Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin resort— stay where the magic is happening! • Onsite Children’s Program • Keynote presentation by Rosalind Wiseman, best-selling author and an internationally recognized expert on children, teens, parenting, bullying and social justice • Research Symposium featuring the latest research on maximizing brain adaptability and enhancing listening for language development, speech perception and music appreciation VO LTA VO I CE S M AY/J U N 2014 • Earn up to 22.5 hours of continuing education

DIRECTORY OF SERVICES

Directory of Services

The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is not responsible for verifying the credentials of the service providers below. Listings do not constitute endorsements of establishments or individuals, nor do they guarantee quality.

California

Echo Center/Echo Horizon School, 3430 McManus Avenue, Culver City, CA 90232 • 310-838-2442 (voice) • 310-838-0479 (fax) • 310-202-7201 (tty) • vishida@echohorizon. org (email) • www. echohorizon.org (website) • Vicki Ishida, Echo Center Director. Private elementary school incorporating an auditory/ oral mainstream program for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Daily support provided by credentialed DHH teachers in speech, language, auditory skills and academic follow-up.

HEAR Center, 301 East Del Mar Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101 • 626-796-2016 (voice) • 626-796-2320 (fax) • Specializing in audiological services for all ages. AuditoryVerbal individual therapy, birth to 21 years. HEAR to Talk, 547 North June Street, Los Angeles, CA 90004 • 323-464-3040 (voice) • Sylvia@hear2talk.com (e-mail) • www.hear2talk. com • Sylvia Rotfleisch, M.Sc.A., CED, CCC, Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist®, LSLS Cert. AVT, Licensed Audiologist, California NPA Certified. Trained by Dr. Ling. Extensive expertise with cochlear implants and hearing aids. Jean Weingarten Peninsula Oral School for the Deaf, 3518 Jefferson Ave. Redwood City, Ca. 94062 • jwposd@jwposd.org (email) • www.deafkidstalk.org (website) • Kathleen Daniel Sussman–Executive Director–Pamela Hefner Musladin–Director of School A listening and spoken language program where deaf and hard of hearing children listen, think and talk! Cognitive based program from birth through Kindergarten. Students develop excellent language, listening and social skills with superior academic competencies. Services include educational programs, parent/infant, speech/language/auditory therapy, mainstream support, educational/clinical audiology, occupational therapy and Tele-therapy.

John Tracy Clinic, 806 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007 • 213-748-5481 (voice) • 800-522-4582 · PALS@JTC.org • www.jtc. org & www.youtube.com/johntracyclinic. Early detection, school readiness and parent empowerment since 1942. Worldwide Parent Distance Education and onsite comprehensive audiological, counseling and educational services for families with children ages birth-5 years old. Intensive Summer Sessions (children ages 2-5 and parents), with sibling program. Online and on-campus options for an accredited Master’s and Credential in Deaf Education.

Listen and Learn, 4340 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 107, San Jose, CA 95129 • 408-345-4949 • Marsha A. Haines, M.A., CED, Cert. AVT, and Sandra Hamaguchi Hocker, M.A., CED • Auditory-verbal therapy for the child and family from infancy. Services also include aural habilitation for older students and adults with cochlear implants. Extensive experience and expertise with cochlear implants, single and bilateral. Mainstream support services, school consultation and assessment for children in their neighborhood school. California NPA certified.

No Limits Speech and Language Educational Center and Theatre Program, 9801 Washington Blvd., 2nd Floor, Culver City, CA 90232 310/ 280-0878, 800/ 948-7712 www.nolimitsspeaksout.org. Free individual auditory, speech and language therapy for dhh children between the ages of fiveand-eighteen as well as a biweekly literacy program, computer training, weekly parent classes and a nationwide theatrical program.

Training and Advocacy Group (TAG) for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children and Teens, Leah Ilan, Executive Director • 11693 San Vicente Blvd. #559, Los Angeles, CA 90049 • 310-339-7678 • tagkids@aol.com • www.tagkids. org. TAG provides exciting social opportunities through community service, field trips, weekly meetings, college prep and pre-employment workshops, guest speakers and parent-only workshops. site in the community. Group meetings and events offered to oral D/HoH children in 5th grade through high school seniors.

Colorado

Rosie’s Ranch: Ride! Listen! Speak! 720-851-0927 • www.rosiesranch.com • Director: Mary Mosher-Stathes, Cert. AVT, LSLS cert.avt • Our mission: To provide a FUN ranch experience, where children with deafness and oral language challenges expand their skills by engaging in activities with horses. Our programs: Parent/ Tot: 2-5 yrs, 90 minute language experience with ponies. Pony/Horse Camp: 6-10 yrs, Day Camp 9:00 - 3:00 Wranglers Round-Up: 11-13 yrs, Day Camp 9:00 - 3:00 Riding Club: Private riding lessons for all ages. Annual Family Event: Free day on the Ranch for families.

Connecticut

CREC Soundbridge, 123 Progress Drive, Wethersfield, CT 06109 • 860- 529-4260 (voice/ TTY) • 860-257-8500 (fax) • www.crec.org/ soundbridge (website). Dr. Elizabeth B. Cole, Program Director. Comprehensive audiological and instructional services, birth through post-

secondary, public school settings. Focus on providing cutting-edge technology for optimal auditory access and listening in educational settings and at home, development of spoken language, development of self advocacy–all to support each individual’s realization of social, academic and vocational potential. Birth to Three, auditory-verbal therapy, integrated preschool, intensive day program, direct educational and consulting services in schools, educational audiology support services in all settings, cochlear implant mapping and habilitation, diagnostic assessments, and summer programs.

New England Center for Hearing Rehabilitation (NECHEAR), 354 Hartford Turnpike, Hampton, CT 06247 • 860-4551404 (voice) • 860-455-1396 (fax) • Diane Brackett. Serving infants, children and adults with all degrees of hearing loss. Speech, language, listening evaluation for children using hearing aids and cochlear implants. Auditory-Verbal therapy; Cochlear implant candidacy evaluation, pre- and postrehabilitation, and creative individualized mapping. Post-implant rehabilitation for adults with cochlear implants, specializing in prelingual onset. Mainstream school support, including onsite consultation with educational team, rehabilitation planning and classroom observation. Comprehensive audiological evaluation, amplification validation and classroom listening system assessment.

Florida

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/ Jacksonville, 9803 Old St. Augustine Road, Suite 7, Jacksonville, FL 32257 • 904-880-9001 • info@clarkeschools.org • www.clarkeschools. org. Alisa Demico, MS, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert AVT, and Cynthia Robinson, M.Ed., CED, LSLS Cert. AVEd, Co-Directors. A member of the Option Schools network, Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech provides children who are deaf and hard of hearing with the listening, learning and spoken language skills they need to succeed. Comprehensive listening and spoken language programs prepare students for success in mainstream schools. Services include early intervention, toddler, preschool, pre-K, kindergarten, parent support, cochlear implant habilitation, and mainstream support. Summer Listening and Spoken language Program provides additional spoken language therapy for toddler and preschool-aged children. Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech has locations in Boston, Bryn Mawr, Jacksonville, New York City, Northampton and Philadelphia.

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DIRECTORY OF SERVICES Georgia

Atlanta Speech School—Katherine Hamm Center, 3160 Northside Parkway, NW Atlanta, GA 30327 • 404-233-5332 ext. 3119 (voice/ TTY) • 404-266-2175 (fax) • scarr@atlspsch. org (email) • www.atlantaspeechschool.org (website). A Listening and Spoken Language program serving children who are deaf or hard of hearing from infancy to early elementary school age. Children receive language-rich lessons and highly individualized literacy instruction in a nurturing environment. Teachers and staff work closely with parents to instill the knowledge and confidence children need to reach their full potential. Early intervention programs, audiological support services, auditory-verbal therapy, mainstreaming opportunities and independent education evaluations. Established in 1938.

Auditory-Verbal Center, Inc.—Atlanta, Macon, Teletherapy—1901 Century Boulevard, Suite 20, Atlanta, GA 30345 • OFFICE: 404-6338911 • EMAIL: Listen@avchears.org • WEBSITE: www.avchears.org AVC provides Auditory-Verbal Therapy that teaches children who are deaf and

hard of hearing to listen and speak WITHOUT the use of sign language or lip reading. AVC provides AV therapy expertly by their Listening & Spoken Language Specialists (LSLSTM) through their two main locations in Atlanta and Macon but also virtually through teletherapy. Together, the LSLS and the parents work together to maximize each child’s listening and spoken language skills. AVC also has a full Audiology & Hearing Aid Clinic that provides diagnostic testing, dispensing and repair of hearing aids and cochlear implant mapping for adults. Additional offices: 2720 Sheraton Drive, Suite D-240, Macon, GA 31204, 478-471-0019 (voice)

Illinois

Alexander Graham Bell Montessori School (AGBMS) and Alternatives In Education for the Hearing Impaired (AEHI), www. agbms.org (website) • info@agbms.org (email) • 847-850-5490 (phone) • 847-1!50-5493 (fax) • 9300 Capitol Drive Wheeling, IL 60090 • AGBMS is a Montessori school educating children ages 15 months-12 who are deaf or hard of hearing or have other communicative challenges in a mainstream environment with hearing peers. Teachers of Deaf/Speech/Language Pathologist

/Reading Specialist/Classroom Teachers emphasize language development and literacy utilizing Cued Speech. Early Intervention Services available to children under 3. AEHI, a training center for Cued Speech, assists parents, educators, or advocates in verbal language development for children with language delays or who do not yet substantially benefit from auditory technology.

Child’s Voice School, 180 Hansen Court, Wood Dale, IL 60191 • (630) 565-8200 (voice) • (630) 565-8282 (fax) • info@childsvoice.org (email) • www.childsvoice.org (website). Michele Wilkins, Ed.D., LSLS Cert. AVEd., Executive Director. A Listening and Spoken Language program for children birth to age 8. Cochlear implant (re) habilitation, audiology services and mainstream support services provided. Early intervention for birth to age three with parent-infant and toddler classes and home based services offered in Wood Dale and Chicago. (Chicago– phone (773) 516-5720; fax (773) 516-5721) Parent Support/Education classes provided. Child’s Voice is a Certified Moog Program.

Reconnect. Captions for your phone calls. Sprint CapTel® 840i Captioned Telephone Service from Sprint offers the ability for anyone* with hearing loss to communicate on the telephone independently. Listen, read and respond to your callers with the ease of a CapTel phone from Sprint! n

Large 7” screen with easy-to-read captions.

90-day money back manufacturer guarantee.

Phone service and high-speed Internet or WiFi service required.

CapTel 840i

Retail value $595

To purchase, go to sprintcaptel.com 877-805-5845 Code for free shipping: AGB14 Limited time offer.

* CapTel callers must register to use this service. Although CapTel can be used for emergency calling, such emergency calling may not function the same as traditional 911/E911 services. By using CapTel for emergency calling you agree that Sprint is not responsible for any damages resulting from errors, defects, malfunctions, interruptions or failures in accessing or attempting to access emergency services through CapTel whether caused by the negligence of Sprint or otherwise. Sprint CapTel Phone Offer: While supplies last. The CapTel telephone is intended for use by people with hearing loss. Other restrictions apply. Sprint reserves the right to modify, extend or cancel offers at any time. See www.sprintcaptel.com for details. ©2014 Sprint. Sprint and the logo are trademarks of Sprint. CapTel is a registered trademark of Ultratec, Inc. Other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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DIRECTORY OF SERVICES Maryland

The Hearing and Speech Agency’s Auditory/Oral Program: Little Ears, Big Voices, 5900 Metro Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215 • (voice) 410-318-6780 • (relay) 711 • (fax) 410318-6759 • Email: hasa@hasa.org • Website: www.hasa.org • Jill Berie, Educational Director; Olga Polites, Clinical Director; Erin Medley, Teacher of the Deaf. Auditory/Oral education and therapy program for infants and young children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Early intervention services are available for children birth to age 3 and a preschool program for children ages 3 through 5. Cheerful, spacious, state-of-the-art classrooms located in Gateway School are approved by the Maryland State Department of Education. Services include onsite audiology, speech-language therapy, family education and support. Applications are accepted year-round. Financial aid available.

Massachusetts

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/ Boston, 1 Whitman Road, Canton, MA 02021 • 781-821-3499 (voice) • 781-821-3904 • info@ clarkeschools.org • www.clarkeschools.org. Barbara Hecht, Ph.D., Director. A member of the Option Schools network, Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech provides children who are deaf and hard of hearing with the listening, learning and spoken language skills they need to succeed. Comprehensive listening and spoken language programs prepare students for success in mainstream schools. Services include early intervention, preschool, kindergarten, speech and language services, parent support, cochlear implant habilitation, and an extensive mainstream services program (itinerant and consulting). Children and families come to our campus from throughout Eastern and Central Massachusetts, Cape Cod, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire for services. Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech has locations in Boston, Bryn Mawr, Jacksonville, New York City, Northampton and Philadelphia.

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/ Northampton, 45 Round Hill Road, Northampton, MA 01060 • 413-584-3450 • info@ clarkeschools.org • www.clarkeschools.org. Bill Corwin, President. A member of the Option Schools network, Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech provides children who are deaf and hard of hearing with the listening, learning and spoken language skills they need to succeed. Comprehensive listening and spoken language programs prepare students for success in mainstream schools. Services include early intervention, preschool, day school through 8th grade, cochlear implant assessment, summer programs, mainstream services (itinerant and consulting), evaluations for infants through high school students, audiological services, and a graduate degree program in teacher education.

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech has locations in Boston, Bryn Mawr, Jacksonville, New York City, Northampton and Philadelphia.

Minnesota

Northeast Metro #916 Auditory/Oral Program, 1111 S. Holcombe Street, Stillwater MN 55082 • 651-351-4036 • auditory.oral@nemetro. k12.mn.us (email). The purpose of Northeast Metro 916’s Auditory/Oral Program is to provide a listening and spoken language education to children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Services strive to instill and develop receptive (listening) and expressive (speaking) English language skills within each student. Well-trained specialists carry the principles of this program forward using supportive, necessary and recognized curriculum. The program’s philosophy is that children who are deaf or hard of hearing can learn successfully within a typical classroom environment with peers who have typical hearing. This can be achieved when they are identified at an early age, receive appropriate amplification, and participate in an spoken language-specific early intervention program. Referrals are through the local school district in which the family lives.

SoundWorks for Children, 18 South Main Street, Topsfield, MA 01983 • 978-887-8674 (voice) • soundworksforchildren@verizon.net (e-mail) • Jane E. Driscoll, MED, Director. A comprehensive, non-profit program dedicated to the development of auditory-verbal skills in children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. Specializing in cochlear implant habilitation and offering a full continuum of inclusionary support models from preschool through high school. Early Intervention services and social/selfadvocacy groups for mainstreamed students are offered at our Family Center. Summer programs, in-service training, and consultation available.

Mississippi

DuBard School for Language Disorders, The University of Southern Mississippi, 118 College Drive #5215, Hattiesburg, MS 394060001 • 601-266-5223 (voice) • dubard@usm.edu (email) • www.usm.edu/dubard • Maureen K. Martin, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, CED, CALT, QI, Director. The DuBard School for Language Disorders is a clinical division of the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at The University of Southern Mississippi. The school serves children from birth to age 13 in its state-of-the-art facility. Working collaboratively with 20 public school districts, the school specializes in coexisting language disorders, learning disabilities/ dyslexia and speech disorders, such as apraxia, through its non-graded, 11-month program. The DuBard Association Method®, an expanded and refined version of The Association Method, is the basis of the curriculum. Comprehensive evaluations, individual therapy, audiological services and professional development programs also are available. AA/EOE/ADAI.

Magnolia Speech School, Inc., 733 Flag Chapel Road, Jackson, MS 39209 – 601-922-5530 (voice), 601-922-5534 (fax)– anne.sullivan@ magnoliaspeechschool.org–Anne Sullivan, M.Ed. Executive Director. Magnolia Speech School serves children with hearing loss and/or severe speech and language disorders. Listening and Spoken Language instruction/therapy is offered to students 0 to 12 in a home-based early intervention program (free of charge), in classroom settings and in the Hackett Bower Clinic (full educational audiological services, speech pathology and occupational therapy). Assessments and outpatient therapy are also offered to the community through the Clinic.

Missouri

CID–Central Institute for the Deaf, 825 S. Taylor Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110 314-977-0132 (voice) • 314-977-0037 (tty) • lberkowitz@cid.edu (email) • www.cid.edu (website) Lynda Berkowitz/Barb Lanfer, coprincipals. Child- and family-friendly learning environment for children birth-12; exciting adapted curriculum incorporating mainstream content; Family Center for infants and toddlers; expert mainstream preparation in the CID pre-k and primary programs; workshops and educational tools for professionals; close affiliation with Washington University deaf education and audiology graduate programs.

New Jersey

HIP of Bergen County Special Services, Midland Park School District, 41 E. Center Street, Midland Park, NJ 07432. • Contact Kathleen Treni, Principal (201) 343-8982, kattre@bergen.org. An integrated, comprehensive pre-K through 6th grade auditory oral program. Services include AV Therapy, Cochlear Implant Habilitation, Parent Education and Audiology services. STARS Early Intervention for babies, 0 to 3, with Toddler and Baby and Me groups available. SOUND SOLUTIONS consulting teacher services for mainstream students in North Jersey public schools. Contact Lisa Stewart, Supervisor at 201-343-6000 ext 6511 for information about teacher of the deaf, speech and audiology services to public schools. SHIP is the state’s only 7 through 12th grade auditory oral program. CART (Computer Realtime Captioning) is provided in a supportive small high school environment and trained Social Worker is onsite to work with social skills and advocacy issues.

Stephanie Shaeffer, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT • 908-879-0404 • Chester, NJ • srshaeffer@comcast.net. Speech and Language Therapy and Communication Evaluations. Auditory-Verbal Therapy, Aural Rehabilitation, Facilitating the Auditory Building Blocks Necessary for Reading. Fluency and Comprehension.

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DIRECTORY OF SERVICES Summit Speech School for the HearingImpaired Child, F.M. Kirby Center is an

Auditory/Oral School of New York, 3321

exclusively auditory-oral/auditory-verbal school for deaf and hard of hearing children located at 705 Central Ave., New Providence, NJ 07974 • 908-508-0011 (voice/TTY) • 908508-0012 (fax) • info@summitspeech.org (email) • www.summitspeech.org (website) • Pamela Paskowitz, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Executive Director. Programs include Early Intervention/ Parent Infant (0-3 years), Preschool (3-5 years) and Itinerant Mainstream Support Services for children in their home districts. Speech and language, OT and PT and family support/ family education services available. Pediatric audiological services are available for children birth-21 and educational audiology and consultation is available for school districts.

New York

Anne Kearney, M.S., LSLS Cert. AVT, CCC-SLP, 401 Littleworth Lane • Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY 11579 • 516-671-9057 (Voice) • Kearney@ optonline.net. Family-centered auditoryverbal speech therapy for infants, children and adults with any level of hearing loss.

Avenue “M”, Brooklyn, NY 11234 • 718-5311800 (voice) • 718-421-5395 (fax) • info@ auditoryoral.org (email). Pnina Bravmann, Program Director. An Auditory/Oral Early Intervention and Preschool Program serving children with hearing loss and their families. Programs include: Early Intervention (centerbased and home-based), preschool, integrated preschool classes with children with normal hearing, multidisciplinary evaluations, parent support, auditory-verbal therapy (individual speech, language and listening therapy), complete audiological services, cochlear implant (re)habilitation, mainstreaming, ongoing support services following mainstreaming.

Center for Hearing and Communication, 50 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10004 • 917 305-7700 (voice) • 917-305-7888 (TTY) • 917-305-7999 (fax) • www.CHChearing.org (website). Florida Office: 2900 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite 3, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309 • 954-601-1930 (Voice) • 954-601-1938 (TTY) • 954-601-1399 (Fax). A leading center for hearing and communication services for people of all ages who have a hearing loss as well as children with listening and learning challenges.

Our acclaimed services for children include pediatric hearing evaluation and hearing aid fitting; auditory-oral therapy; and the evaluation and treatment of auditory processing disorder (APD). Comprehensive services for all ages include hearing evaluation; hearing aid evaluation, fitting and sales; cochlear implant training; communication therapy; assistive technology consultation; tinnitus treatment, emotional health and wellness; and Mobile Hearing Test Unit. Visit www.CHChearing. org to access our vast library of information about hearing loss and hearing conservation.

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/ New York, 80 East End Avenue, New York, NY 10028 • 212-585-3500 • info@clarkeschools. org • www.clarkeschools.org. Meredith Berger, Director. A member of the Option Schools network, Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech provides children who are deaf and hard of hearing with the listening, learning and spoken language skills they need to succeed. Comprehensive listening and spoken language programs prepare students for success in mainstream schools. Clarke’s New York campus is located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and serves

St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf

At St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf (SJI), we believe that children with hearing loss deserve the opportunity to listen, speak and read. As international leaders in listening and spoken language (LSL) based education, our highly trained staff of certified deaf educators, speech therapists and audiologists help children develop oral language without the use of sign language. SJI is the only school for the deaf to be fully accredited by the prestigious Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS). Visit us at sjid.org & ihearlearning.org for more information on our locations and services

Indianapolis Campus ihear- Internet Therapy St. Louis Campus 9192 Waldemar Rd. Indianpolis, IN 46268 (317) 471-8560

AGBELLAD.indd 1

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ihearlearning.org (636) 532-2672

1809 Clarkson Rd St. Louis, MO 63017 (636) 532-3211

4/4/2012 8:37:08 AM

DIRECTORY OF SERVICES children age birth-5 years old from New York City and Westchester County. Clarke is an approved provider of early intervention evaluations and services, service coordination, and pre-school classes (self-contained and integrated). There are typically little or no out of pocket expenses for families attending Clarke New York. Our expert staff includes teachers of the deaf/ hard of hearing, speech language pathologists, audiologists, social workers/service coordinators and occupational and physical therapists. Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech has locations in Boston, Bryn Mawr, Jacksonville, New York City, Northampton and Philadelphia.

Cleary School for the Deaf, 301 Smithtown Boulevard, Nesconset, NY 11767 • 631-588-0530 (voice) • www.clearyschool.org • Jacqueline Simms, Executive Director. Auditory Oral Programs include Parent-Infant (birth-3years) and Preschool (3-5 years). Offers Teacher of the Deaf, Speech Therapy & AV therapy. The primary focus of the Auditory-Oral Program is to develop students’ ability to “listen to learn” along with developing age appropriate speech, language, and academic skills. These programs offer intensive speech therapy services with a goal to prepare students for life long learning. Additional services: Autism Resource, Audiological, Music, Art, Library, OT, PT and Parent Support.

Mill Neck Manor School for the Deaf, 40 Frost Mill Road, Mill Neck, NY 11765 • (516) 922-4100 (voice). Francine Atlas Bogdanoff, Superintendent. State-supported school: Infant Toddler Program focusing on parent education and support including listening and spoken language training by a speech therapist and TOD. Certified AVEd and Audiological services onsite, integrated auditory-verbal preschool and kindergarten programs; comprehensive curriculum utilizes play, music, literacy and hands on experiences to promote listening and spoken language skills and academic standards. Speech, occupational and physical therapies, as well as counseling and Cochlear Implant MAPpings, are available onsite.

Rochester School for the Deaf, 1545 St. Paul Street, Rochester, NY 14621 • 585-544-1240 (voice/TTY) • 866-283-8810 (videophone) • info@RSDeaf.org • www.RSDeaf.org • Harold Mowl, Jr., Ph.D., Superintendent/CEO. Serving Western and Central New York State, Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD) is an inclusive, bilingual school where children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their families thrive. Established in 1876, RSD goes above and beyond all expectations to provide quality Pre-K through 12th grade academic programs, services and resources to ensure a satisfying and successful school experience for children with hearing loss.

North Carolina

CASTLE- Center for Acquisition of Spoken Language Through Listening Enrichment, 5501 Fortunes Ridge Drive, Suite A, Chapel Hill, NC 27713 • 919-419-1428 (voice) • http:// www.med.unc.edu/earandhearing/castle (website) • CASTLE is a part of the UNC Ear & Hearing Center and the UNC Pediatric Cochlear Implant Team, Our mission is to provide a quality listening & spoken language program for children with hearing loss; empower parents as primary teachers and advocates; and train and coach specialists in listening and spoken language. We offer toddler classes, preschool language groups, Auditory-Verbal parent sessions, and distance therapy through UNC REACH. Hands-on training program for hearingrelated professionals/university students.

Oklahoma

Hearts for Hearing, 3525 NW 56th Street, Suite A-150, Oklahoma City, OK 73112 • 405-5484300 • 405-548-4350(Fax) • Comprehensive hearing health care for children and adults with an emphasis on listening and spoken language outcomes. Our family-centered team includes audiologists, LSLS Cert. AVTs, speech-language pathologists, physicians and educators working closely with families for optimal listening and spoken language outcomes. Services include newborn hearing testing, pediatric and adult

Our Programs *Pony Camp: M-TH; Daily riding and camp activities; ages 6-10; eight sessions this summer; special needs inclusion *Parent and Tot: A 90 minute “play-date” includes a ride and barn activities *Riding Club: For beginner or advanced beginner riders *NEW program: Wranglers Round-Up! Day Camp M-TH: Daily riding and camp activities for kids ages 11-13; two sessions this summer!

NOW ENROLLING!! MAKE IT A SUMMER TO REMEMBER!! SUMMER RIDING ACTIVITIES FOR ALL CHILDREN WHO LOVE HORSES VOLUNTEERS WANTED AND NEEDED Visit our website to register. All programs mix kids with and without special needs together. We all have fun!

www.rosiesranch.com * 303-257-5943 * 720-851-0927 Our Mission: Assist children with hearing loss and oral language challenges to listen and speak through engaging in activities with horses and their peers. We are a 501(c)(3) corporation.

Four miles east of Parker at 10556 East Parker Road Parker, CO 80138

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DIRECTORY OF SERVICES audiological evaluations, hearing aid fittings, cochlear implant evaluations and mapping. Auditory-verbal therapy as well as cochlear implant habilitation is offered by Listening and Spoken Language Specialists (LSLS®), as well as an auditory-oral preschool, parenttoddler group and a summer enrichment program. Continuing education and consulting available. www.heartsforhearing.org.

and mainstream services including itinerant teaching and consulting. Specially trained staff includes LSLS Cert. AVEd and LSL Cert. AVT professionals, teachers of the deaf, special educators, speech language pathologists and a staff audiologist. Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech has locations in Boston, Bryn Mawr, Jacksonville, New York City, Northampton and Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania

Delaware County Intermediate Unit # 25, Hearing and Language Programs, 200 Yale

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/ Pennsylvania, 455 South Roberts Road, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 • 610-525-9600 • info@ clarkeschools.org • www.clarkeschools.org. Judith Sexton, MS, CED, LSLS Cert AVEd, Director. A member of the Option Schools network, Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech provides children who are deaf and hard of hearing with the listening, learning and spoken language skills they need to succeed. Comprehensive listening and spoken language programs prepare students for success in mainstream schools. Locations in Bryn Mawr and Philadelphia. Services include early intervention, preschool, parent education, individual auditory speech and language services, cochlear implant habilitation for children and adults, audiological services,

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Avenue, Morton, PA 19070 • 610-938-9000, ext. 2277, 610-938-9886 (fax) • sdoyle@dciu.org • Program Highlights: A publicly funded program for children with hearing loss in local schools. Serving children from birth through 21 years of age. Teachers of the deaf provide resource room support and itinerant hearing therapy throughout Delaware County, PA. Services also include audiology, speech therapy, cochlear implant habilitation (which includes LSLS Cert. AVT and LSLS Cert. AVEd), psychology and social work.

DePaul School for Hearing and Speech, 6202 Alder Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15206 • 412-924-1012 (voice) • 412-924-1036 (fax) • www.depaulhearingandspeech.org (website) • nl@depaulhearingandspeech.org (email) •

Mimi Loughead, Early Childhood Coordinator. DePaul School is the only school in the western Pennsylvania tri-state region that provides Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) education to children who are deaf or hard of hearing. DePaul School serves children in Pennsylvania and from Ohio and West Virginia. A State Approved Private School, most programs are tuition-free to approved students. DePaul School provides early intervention services for children (birth to age 5); a center-based toddler program (ages 18–36 months); a preschool program (ages 3–5) and a comprehensive academic program grades K-8. DePaul School provides clinical services including audiology, Auditory-Verbal and speech therapy, cochlear implant MAPping and habilitation, physical and occupational therapy, mainstreaming support and parent education and support programs. Most children who participate in DePaul School’s early intervention programs gain the Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) skills needed to succeed and transition to their neighborhood schools by first grade.

South Carolina

The University of South Carolina Speech and Hearing Research Center, 1601 St. Julian Place, Columbia, SC, 29204 • (803) 777-2614

DIRECTORY OF SERVICES (voice) • (803) 253-4143 (fax) • Center Director: Danielle Varnedoe, daniell@mailbox.sc.edu. The center provides audiology services, speechlanguage therapy, adult aural (re)habilitation therapy, and Auditory-Verbal Therapy. Our audiology services include comprehensive diagnostic evaluations, hearing aid evaluations and services, and cochlear implant evaluations and programming. The University also provides a training program for AV therapy and cochlear implant management for professional/university students. Additional contacts for the AVT or CI programs include Wendy Potts, CI Program Coordinator (803-777-2642), Melissa Hall (803777-1698), Nikki Herrod-Burrows (803-7772669), Gina Crosby-Quinatoa (803) 777-2671, and Jamy Claire Archer (803-777-1734).

Tennessee

Child Hearing Services (CHS) - University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 578 South Stadium Hall • Knoxville, TN 37996 • 865-974-5451 (voice) • 865-974-1793 (fax) • http://www.uthsc.edu/allied/asp/hsc/chs.php (website) • Eclark1@uthsc.edu (email) • Emily Noss, M.A. CCC-SLP • CHS provides aural re/ habilitation services for children who are deaf or hard of hearing ranging in age from birth-21. Group and individual treatment as well as aural/

oral communication assessments, pre and post cochlear implant assessments, auditory training, adult cochlear implant training, and parent guidance are offered. The objectives of CHS are for each child to develop listening and spoken language skills commensurate with their peers. CHS is also a training program for audiology and speech-language pathology students.

Memphis Oral School for the Deaf, 7901 Poplar Avenue, Germantown, TN 38138 • 901-758-2228 (voice) • 901-531-6735 (fax) • www.mosdkids.org (website) • tschwarz@ mosdkids.org (email). Teresa Schwartz, Executive Director. Services: Family Training Program (birth-age 3), Auditory/Oral Day School (ages 2-6), Audiological Testing, Hearing Aid Programming, Cochlear Implant Mapping and Therapy, Aural (Re)Habilitation, SpeechLanguage Therapy, Mainstream Service.

Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center - National Center for Childhood Deafness and Family Communication, Medical Center East South Tower, 1215 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37232-8718 • www.mc.vanderbilt. edu/VanderbiltBillWilkersonCenter (web). Fred Bess, Ph.D., Director NCCDFC fred.h.bess@ vanderbilt.edu; Michael Douglas, M.S., Principal,

Mama Lere Hearing School William.m.douglas@ vanderbilt.edu; Lynn Hayes, Ed.D., Director, Master’s in Education of the Deaf Program lynn. hayes@vanderbilt.edu; Anne Marie Tharpe, Ph.D., Associate Director of Education, NCCDFC anne.m.tharpe@vanderbilt.edu. The National Center for Childhood Deafness and Family Communication (NCCDFC) at the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center houses a comprehensive program of research, education, and service for infants and children (birth through 18 years) with hearing loss and their families. Early intervention services include newborn hearing screening, full range of pediatric audiology services (diagnostic services, hearing aid fittings, and cochlear implant program), infant-family training, and toddler group. The Mama Lere Hearing School provides preschool educational services for listening and spoken language development. Telepractice services, including deaf education, speech-language intervention, audiology services, and professional coaching are available. The Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences offers an innovative, highlyranked, interdisciplinary graduate program for audiology, speech-language pathology, and deaf education students. The NCCDFC is engaged in cutting-edge, basic and applied research in the area of childhood hearing loss.

Chapter News: We will share a booth with Rosie’s Ranch and Listen Foundation at the Orlando AG Bell Conference. Come Visit Us!

Come join the fun!

2014 Events to Look For: Family Zoo Event, Spring Walk 4 Hearing with the CO AG Bell Team, June Fundraising at Cherry Creek Arts Festival, July

Visit us at: www.coloradoagbell.org

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DIRECTORY OF SERVICES Texas

Callier Center for Communication Disorders/UT Dallas, Callier - Dallas Facility: 1966 Inwood Road, Dallas, TX 75235 • Main number: 214-905-3000 • Appointments: 214-905-3030. Callier-Richardson Facility: 811 Synergy Park Blvd., Richardson, TX 75080 • Main number: 972-883-3630 • Appointments: 972-883-3630 • calliercenter@utdallas.edu (email) • www.utdallas.edu/calliercenter. For half a century, the Callier Center has been dedicated to helping children and adults with speech, language and hearing disorders connect with the world. We transform lives by providing leading-edge clinical services, conducting innovative research into new treatments and technologies, and training the next generation of caring clinical providers. Callier provides hearing services, Auditory-Verbal therapy, and speech-language pathology services for all ages. Audiology services include hearing evaluations, hearing aid dispensing, assistive devices, protective devices and tinnitus therapy. We are a partner of the Dallas Cochlear Implant Program, a joint enterprise among the Callier Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center and Children’s Medical Center. Callier specializes in cochlear implant evaluations

and post-surgical treatment for children from birth to 18 years. Our nationally accredited Child Development Program serves children developing typically and allows for the inclusive education of children with hearing impairments.

The Center for Hearing and Speech, 3636 West Dallas, Houston, TX 77019 • 713-523-3633 (voice) • 713-874-1173 (TTY) • 713-523-8399 (fax) - info@centerhearingandspeech.org (email) www.centerhearingandspeech.org (website) CHS serves children with hearing impairments from birth to 18 years. Services include: auditory/ oral preschool; Audiology Clinic providing comprehensive hearing evaluations, diagnostic ABR, hearing aid and FM evaluations and fittings, cochlear implant evaluations and follow-up mapping; Speech-Language Pathology Clinic providing Parent-Infant therapy, Auditory-Verbal therapy, aural(re) habilitation; family support services. All services offered on sliding fee scale and many services offered in Spanish.

Utah

Sound Beginnings at Utah State University, 2620 Old Main Hill • Logan, UT • 84322-2620 • 435-797-9235 (voice) • 435-797-7519 (fax) • www.soundbeginnings.usu.edu • Ali Devey,

MA, Sound Beginnings Program Coordinator, ali.devey@usu.edu • Kristina Blaiser, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, kristina.blaiser@usu.edu • Listening and Spoken Language Graduate Program. A comprehensive listening and spoken language program serving children with hearing loss and their families. Services include early intervention, parent training, toddler and preschool classrooms, pediatric audiology, tele-intervention and individual therapy. The Department of Communicated Disorders offers an interdisciplinary Listening and Spoken Language graduate training program in Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Deaf Education. Sound Beginnings partners with the Utah School for the Deaf.

Wisconsin

Center for Communication Hearing & Deafness, 10243 W. National Avenue • West Allis, WI 53227 • 414-604-2200 •414-6047200(Fax) • www.cchdwi.org • Amy Peters Lalios, M.A,. CCC-A, LSLS Cert. AVT , Director, Therapy Services. Private non-profit agency, near Milwaukee, providing quality, state-of-the-art comprehensive therapy services to individuals, of all ages, who have hearing loss. Highly qualified professionals at CCHD include: LSLS certified

2014 Clarke Summer Programs Summer Adventure • July 13 – 25 Ages 9 – 14

Learn, grow, and make lifelong friends at this twoweek overnight camp based in Easthampton, MA. Campers will participate in daily camp activities that include swimming, hiking and field trips.

Explore the Outdoors • August 3 – 6

Teens entering grades 9 – 12

Spend time around the campfire making new friends at this four-day overnight camp based in Massachusetts. Campers engage in outdoor activities such as tenting, hiking and outdoor rock climbing.

clarkeschools.org/summerprograms

“This was my son’s first time away from home. He grew so much from this experience, became more independent and has an increased sense of self-worth, self-esteem and confidence. Thank you for providing this invaluable opportunity for him. We look forward to next summer!” —Summer Adventure Parent

Boston | Jacksonville | New York | Northampton | Philadelphia

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Clarke’s Summer Programs are designed for children with hearing loss who use listening and spoken language. Activities are led by experienced teachers of the deaf and encourage leadership and independence, while enhancing listening, communication and social skills.

DIRECTORY OF SERVICES practitioners; speech-language pathologists (including bilingual-Spanish); audiologists; teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing; and social worker. Services include family-focused, culturally responsive individualized early intervention; parent education; auditoryverbal therapy; tele-therapy via ConnectHear Program; speech-language therapy; toddler communication groups with typically hearing peers; pre- post cochlear implant therapy for all ages; specialized instruction; consultations; professional mentoring as well as agency related programs, resources, ongoing educational and parent-to-parent events.

I NTERNATIONAL Canada

Children’s Hearing and Speech Centre of British Columbia , 3575 Kaslo Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5M 3H4, Canada • 604-437-0255 (voice) • 604437-0260 (fax) • www.childrenshearing. ca (website) • Janet Weil, Principal and Executive Director, jweil@childrenshearing. ca. Celebrating our 50th year, our listening and spoken language clinical educational centre serves children and families from birth through Grade 12 including audiology, SLP, OT, First Words family guidance, preschool and primary classes, itinerant services and video-conferencing/tele-therapy.

Montreal Oral School for the Deaf,

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4670 St. Catherine Street, West, Westmount, QC, Canada H3Z 1S5 • 514-488-4946 (voice/ tty) • 514-488-0802 (fax) • info@ montrealoralschool.com (email) • www. montrealoralschool.com (website). Parentinfant program (0-3 years old). Full-time educational program (3-12 years old). Mainstreaming program in regular schools (elementary and secondary). Audiology, cochlear implant and other support services.

LIST OF ADVERTISERS

England

Colorado AG Bell........................................................................................48

The Speech, Language and Hearing Centre–Christopher Place, 1-5 Christopher Place, Chalton Street, Euston, London NW1 1JF, England • 0114-207-383-3834 (voice) • 0114-207-383-3099 (fax) • info@speechlang. org.uk (email) • www.speech-lang.org.uk (website) • Assessment, nursery school and therapeutic centre for children under 5 with hearing impairment, speech/language or communication difficulties, including autism. • We have a Child Psychologist and a Child Psychotherapist. • Auditory-Verbal Therapy is also provided by a LSLS Cert. AVT.

Advanced Bionics Corporation..........................Inside Front Cover Auditory-Verbal Center, Inc..................................................................50 Boys Town National Research Hospital...........................................15 CapTel.................................................................................................................3 Central Institute for the Deaf................................................................33 Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech.......................................... 49 Cochlear Americas....................................................Inside Back Cover Ear Technology Corp. (Dry & Store)....................................................9 Jean Weingarten Peninsula Oral School for the Deaf..............19 UT Health Science Center San Antonio..............................................6 MED-EL Corporation............................................................. Back Cover National Technical Institute for the Deaf—RIT............................. 47 Ohio Valley Voices.....................................................................................35 Oticon.................................................................................................................4 Rosie’s Ranch...............................................................................................46 Rule the School........................................................................................... 27 Sprint CapTel................................................................................................43 St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf..................................................37, 45 Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf......................................8 AG Bell Convention................................................................................... 41

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SMALDINO CONTINUED FROM PAGE 52 American National Standard for desirable acoustics in classrooms. The standard was revised and expanded in 2010 and includes specifications for background noise levels and reverberation time for permanent structures and relocatable classrooms. The intent is to incorporate these standards into universal building codes, and while they are now included in the Green Building Code, universal compliance is currently voluntary. By the way, Carl Crandell and I published a monograph through The Volta Review which covers the rationale for improvement in classroom acoustics. AG Bell has been and continues to be a strong advocate for acoustic accessibility. Carl Crandell was an amazing friend and colleague. I miss him every day since his untimely death. While we never were employed at the same university, we had a synergy that allowed us to collaborate very effectively. Carl and I first met at a meeting held by Frederick Berg—the father of Educational Audiology—at Utah State University, which was held to encourage professors to develop and infuse educational audiology courses into their curricula. Carl and I first met Carol Flexer at this same meeting. The chemistry was very good among the

Joseph Smaldino giving an acceptance speech after receiving the 2011 Larry Maudlin Award given annually by Beltone Electronics for commitment to education and unselfishly giving back to the profession, the community and individuals with hearing loss.

three of us and before the end of the meeting we had outlined a textbook in the area, which was published in 1995. It was revised in 2005, and Carol and I just revised it again in 2012. For years after this meeting, Carl and I designed and carried out research projects, promoted desirable classroom acoustics and advocated for good classroom acoustic environments. We published and appeared together so often that one of our students crowned us Dr. Crandino. I often muse to my students about the role chance and opportunity play in defining our life’s direction. I use my meeting of Carl as an example. The main challenge of conducting research, especially field research, is having the time to develop a meaningful research question, plan a substantive research design, locate and collect data, analyze the results, write a manuscript, and, of course, take the time to submit it to a premier journal like The Volta Review. So time is an important factor.

conducive to gathering the highest levels of evidence and therefore supporting the effectiveness of auditory-verbal practices. Our challenge is to continually strive to improve the strength of the evidence we generate and use it to document the effectiveness of auditory-verbal practices. Many have inspired me to contribute in the area of hearing and hearing science over the years: some were other professionals, some were my students and some were my patients. I cannot thank them enough. But the one recurring inspiration came from a well-known quote of Helen Keller when she was asked which was worse: being blind or being deaf to which she replied, in part, “The problems of deafness are deeper and more complex, if not more important, than those of blindness. Deafness is a much worse misfortune. For it means the loss of the most vital stimulus— the sound of the voice that brings language, sets thoughts astir and keeps us in the intellectual company of man."

A second challenge is to design research that will provide the highest level of inquiry as the basis of evidence-based practice. The field environment in which auditory-verbal practice takes place is not

VO LTA VO I CE S M AY/J U N 2014

UP FRONT ON THE BACK PAGE Joseph Smaldino, Ph.D. On being the outgoing Editor of The Volta Review, preferring academia, researching classroom acoustics, and having time interview by anna karkovska mcglew, m.a.

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, The Volta Review was one of the few journals that published articles about hearing and hearing aids. It published some of the most germinal research of the time. I used information from the journal for much of my early research, as did many of the most prominent scholars in the field. Becoming the Editor of The Volta Review was really a form of payback for me. I had learned so much from AG Bell publications, I really wanted others to experience the same. Along with Katie Schmitz (the former Senior Associate Editor and the new Editor) and Melody Felzien (the former managing editor), we were full of exciting ideas and new directions for the journal. We quickly assembled a great group of associate editors in key areas of the profession. Since manuscript submissions had fallen off, we engaged in a campaign to recruit quality manuscript submissions. In addition, we streamlined the review process so that notification to the authors was done in a timely manner. I was near the end of my college degree program, when in horror I realized that I was short three credit hours in order to graduate. I frantically looked for an interesting course and one named the

Joseph Smaldino, center, with a group of Audiology students from Illinois State University. Inset: Joseph Smaldino with his wife Dr. Sharon Smaldino, the L. D. and Ruth Morgridge Endowed Chair for Teacher Education at Northern Illinois University.

“Biological Foundations of Language” caught my eye. The course was so fascinating that I obtained a master’s degree in speech and hearing science at the University of Connecticut and ended up completing a Ph.D. in clinical audiology at the University of Florida. My persona is that of a professor, although I have worked in both academic and clinical settings. I guess I started thinking that the old proverb about teaching a person to fish rather than providing a fish to the person, applied to me as a clinician and academic. I could provide direct clinical services to a few people, or, I could become involved with students who would serve hundreds, even thousands, of people with hearing loss. I adore working with students and enjoy the research and creative expectations in academia. I have never had prouder moments than when a former student is

recognized for his/her clinical skills or amazing contributions to the field. The study of acoustic accessibility stems from my interest in factors that affect communication. The brain needs a clear and accurate signal in order for typical auditory-linguistic development to occur. Speech reception is a prerequisite to listening and learning as well as communication in the classroom. Acoustic elements (background noise and reverberation) can limit accurate speech reception. My research over the last 20 years has tried to meld these factors in order to recommend environments where clear speech is available and accessible for every student in an educational setting. That journey involved me with the development of guidelines for acceptable classroom acoustics for children with hearing loss and the first CONTINUED ON PAGE 51

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WE WANT YOU ON THE BACK PAGE! Read the entire interview online on the Listening and Spoken Language Knowledge Center at ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org/BackPage. If you have stories to tell, experiences to share and a perspective on hearing loss for this column, please send an email to editor@agbell.org and tell us a bit about yourself.

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THEY SAID NOTHING COULD BE DONE ABOUT HEARING LOSS. GOOD THING HE DIDN’T LISTEN. What drove Dr. Graeme Clark to invent the first multi-channel cochlear implant over 30 years ago? What kept him going when others called him crazy and sometimes worse? His father was profoundly deaf and growing up, all he wanted was to find some way to help. His invention came too late for his dad, but for the hundreds of thousands of people whose lives he helped change, it’s been nothing short of a miracle. Let there be sound. Today they can hear because one man chose not to listen. Read their stories at Cochlear.com/US/Hear. Or to connect with a Cochlear Concierge call 800-483-3123 or email Concierge@Cochlear.com.

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