Volta Voices July-August 2013 Magazine by Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

VOICES

A l e x a n d e r G r a h a m B e l l A s s o c i at i o n f o r t h e D e a f a n d Ha r d o f H e a r i n g

July/August 2013

Success in the Classroom and Beyond

Volume 20, Issue 4

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July/August 2013

ISSUE 4

VOICES V

VOLU M E 2 0

Departments

Features

Voices from AG Bell 3 Defining Our Future 5 Success in the Classroom and Beyond

12 Advancing CART: Equal Opportunity for

Hear Our Voices 38 Becoming a Bates Bobcat: My College Admissions Process By Sam Mellert Up Front on the Back Page 48 Catherine Luetke By Susan Boswell

In Every Issue 2 Want to Write for Volta Voices?

Communication Access By Anna Karkovska McGlew

Read about two ongoing legal cases seeking CART interpreting in secondary and higher education.

16 Literacy, Boys and Hearing Loss:

What Parents Need to Know By Krystyann Krywko, Ed.D.

Boys learn differently than girls and need more support with developing literacy skills. VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL

Por Krystyann Krywko, Ed.D.

6 voices Contributors

Directory of Services

List of Advertisers

The Common Core Standards: Why They Matter to Teachers and Parents of Children with Hearing Loss By David Dolman, Ph.D.

8 Soundbites 40

Alfabetización, niños y pérdida auditiva: información importante para los padres

High school graduates need to master these standards in order to succeed in college and careers.

Foreign Languages and Hearing Loss: Strategies for the Classroom and Beyond By Anna Karkovska McGlew

Read about considerations and factors for learning a second spoken language.

State Laws for Students Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing By Susan Boswell

Parents of students with hearing loss using listening and spoken language need to understand what these initiatives mean for them.

Alex ander

Graham

Bell

A s s o c i a t i o n f o r t h e D e a f a n d Ha r d o f H e a r i n g

3417 volta pl ace, nw, was hington, dc 20 0 07 • w w w.li s tening and s pokenl anguage.org

VOICES Advocating Independence through Listening and Talking

— Adopted by the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Board of Directors, November 8, 1998

Ale x ander Gr aham Bell As sociation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

3417 Volta Place, NW, 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, CAE Editor Anna Karkovska McGlew Advertising, Exhibit and Sponsorship Sales The Townsend Group Design and Layout EEI Communications 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) Executive Director/CEO Alexander T. Graham (VA) 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) Susan Lenihan, Ph.D., CED (MO) Catharine McNally (VA) Lyn Robertson, Ph.D. (OH)

Want to Write for Volta Voices? Volta Voices? 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 or hard of hearing, parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing and professionals in fields related to hearing loss (audiology, speech-language pathology, psychology, otology, social services, education). Visit the Volta Voices page at ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org for submission guidelines and to submit content. Subjects of Interest n Technology – related to hearing loss, new technology, improvements to or problems with existing technology, or how people are using existing technology, accommodations. n Education – related to public or private schools through post-secondary education, new approaches and teaching methods, legal implications and issues, etc. n Advocacy – information on legislation, hearing health, special or mainstream education, and accessibility. n Health – audiology issues relating to children or adults with hearing loss and/or their families and friends. n 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, NW • Washington, DC 20007 Email: editor@agbell.org Submit online at ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org

VOICES 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.

VOLTA VOICES Volume 20, Issue 4, July/August (ISSN 1074-8016) is published 6 times per year in J/F, M/A, M/J, S/O, and N/D for $50 per year by Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 3417 Volta Pl, NW, 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., NW, 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 ©2013 by the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc., 3417 Volta Pl., NW, 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

On the cover: Parents are instrumental for laying the foundation of their children’s success in the classroom and beyond. Credit: www.shutterstock.com/pirita.

VOICES FROM AG BELL

Defining Our Future

lthough much has changed in our evolving landscape of deafness in the past several years, the mission of AG Bell has never been more relevant. Children are being identified with hearing loss within the first days of life—rather than the first years of life—and the technology that brings them a world of sound has been rapidly improving. There has also been a dramatic shift as more parents across nations are choosing a listening and spoken language outcome for their child and more children are learning in inclusive environments. In the association environment, the past five years have brought significant changes in the ways that associations serve their audiences in regards to increased expectations as well as the reality of increased competition. The AG Bell Association is at a pivotal juncture and its board of directors has embarked on a strategic planning process that will help define the future of the organization and the way that it provides services. The emerging strategic plan will present a refined vision for the association as well as a roadmap that will provide the strategic direction in navigating today’s changing environment. Rather than the traditional approach of establishing a strategic plan that has a start and end date, AG Bell is embracing a new approach for strategy. The association will have an ongoing process for planning strategically. This approach is designed to increase the value of AG Bell to those it serves and to focus the association’s efforts on its desired outcomes. AG Bell’s strategic plan will build on the organization’s strengths and uniquely position us to engage in emerging opportunities as the organization moves forward. The process will facilitate knowledgebased decision-making as AG Bell

VOLTA VOICES • JULY/AUGUST 201 3

examines its core purposes. The planning process also will consider critical factors in scanning the environment for current conditions, trends and assumptions as strategic paradigms are developed.

access quality education in all settings, with services, accommodations and supports for students who are pursuing a listening and spoken language outcome. The need for educational advocacy in the

The emerging strategic plan will present a refined vision for the association as well as a roadmap that will provide the strategic direction in navigating today’s changing environment. The board looked at five areas of change—demographics, economics, legislation and regulation, technology and science, and politics and social values—as it considered current conditions, trends and assumptions about the future. AG Bell members provided input into the planning process through a survey that generated more than 1,300 responses that provided a great deal of insight into key issues of concern to our varied membership. All participants—parents, adults and professionals—are concerned with the education of children who are deaf and hard of hearing and the ability to

process of developing an educational plan and in obtaining supports and accommodations was identified as the number one issue of concern from the survey analysis. Survey participants also identified the cost of hearing technology as a key issue. This includes access to cochlear implant and hearing aid technology as well as the upgrades, adjustments and batteries that are needed for the devices to function. Respondents desired a future in which financial support for hearing technology was provided by health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid or other providers and funders.

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

VOICES FROM AG BELL Although progress has been made in screening for hearing loss at birth, participants noted that children are not always receiving the diagnostic testing to identify hearing loss in a timely manner and they do not always obtain the ongoing early intervention services needed to prevent language and cognitive delays. Access to professionals with a high level of qualification who can provide services and supports to children also was identified as an area of concern, as was access to Listening and Spoken Language Specialists (LSLS®), as well as other qualified professionals who can facilitate spoken language development. Everyone surveyed valued support and community. Parents wanted to be able to network with other parents of children with hearing loss and the opportunity for their children to spend time with others like them, particularly as they become teenagers. Adults who are deaf and hard

of hearing wanted opportunities to socialize with other adults who use listening and spoken language. Participants desired a future in which all parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing would receive access to full, unbiased information as they evaluate options for their child. Those who completed the survey also wished for greater public awareness of people who are deaf and hard of hearing who use listening and spoken language and a much greater public recognition of their skills, capabilities and needs. They envisioned a future in which AG Bell builds even stronger collaborative relationships with other organizations representing professionals and consumers with hearing loss to ensure the best outcomes for people with hearing loss. Just as the environment in which our organization exists is changing, so too will the strategic plan evolve over time

as it is reviewed and continually adjusted to reflect the priorities of the association over time. AG Bell member input is a valued part of this process and I encourage those with comments and feedback to be in contact with me. Sincerely,

Donald M. Goldberg, Ph.D., CCC-SLP/A, FAAA, LSLS Cert. AVT President dgoldberg@wooster.edu QUESTIONS? C O MMEN T S ? C O N C ERN S ? Write to us: AG Bell 3417 Volta Place, NW Washington, DC 20007 Or email us: info@agbell.org Or online: ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org

We Found OurVoice at DePaul! DePaul School for Hearing & Speech, located in Pittsburgh, PA, is the only Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) school in the western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia tri-state area. At DePaul School, we teach children who are deaf or hard of hearing to listen, to speak and to succeed in the hearing and speaking world without using sign language. DePaul students benefit from access to sound provided by digital hearing aids or cochlear implants. DePaul School serves children from birth to age 15, including children who are late-diagnosed and children transferring from sign language or total-communication programs.

Scan the QR code to hear DePaul School students share their experiences in their own voices!

DePaul School for Hearing & Speech 6202 Alder St. • Pittsburgh, PA 15206 • 412-924-1012 • speakmiracles.org

VOLTA VOICES • JULY / AUGUST 201 3

EDITOR’S NOTE

Success in the Classroom and Beyond

reetings! As the new school year approaches, this issue of Volta Voices is focused on providing you—a parent of a child with hearing loss, a student with hearing loss, or a listening and spoken language professional—with information, resources and tips on ensuring success in the mainstream classroom and beyond. Appropriate classroom accommodations are essential for providing students with hearing loss equal access to classroom material and discussion. In “Advancing CART: Equal Opportunity for Communication Access,” we profile two ongoing legal cases, supported by AG Bell, that advocate for the right of students who are deaf and hard of hearing to receive Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) in the classroom under federal disability laws. These cases could have a widespread impact on accessibility for students with hearing loss seeking CART interpreting in secondary and higher education. Next, in “Literacy, Boys and Hearing Loss: What Parents Need to Know,” Krystyann Krywko, Ed.D., writes about the indispensability of literacy for educational and employment success in the 21st century and focuses on gender as an important factor for parents to consider when raising a child with hearing loss. Boys often struggle with reading and writing more than girls, and she suggests ways to support and encourage boys with hearing loss in order to help them keep pace. David Dolman, Ph.D., writes about “The Common Core Standards: Why They Matter to Teachers and Parents of Children with Hearing Loss.” These English language arts and mathematics standards represent a set of expectations for student knowledge and skills that high school graduates need to master to succeed in college and careers. Parents of students with hearing loss need to work proactively with teachers in the class-

VOLTA VOICES • JULY/AUGUST 201 3

room, teachers of the deaf, and listening and spoken language professionals to ensure that children with hearing loss graduate from school ready to succeed in college and in a modern workforce. At least two years of foreign language classes in high school are becoming a standard requirement for entry into competitive colleges and universities. In “Foreign Languages and Hearing Loss: Strategies for the Classroom and Beyond,” individuals with hearing loss, who learned and are fluent in foreign languages, share their experiences as well as tips and strategies for learning. Listening and spoken language professionals provide parents with factors to consider for their child with hearing loss who may desire or be required to learn a second spoken language. In recent years, states have steadily passed legislation designed to focus on the unique communication and educational needs of students who are deaf and hard of hearing. This issue provides an overview of the Deaf Child’s Bill of Rights (DCBR) and other emerging public policy advocacy initiatives. Parents of children who are

deaf and hard of hearing should be aware of these initiatives—and understand what they mean for students who are pursuing a listening and spoken language outcome. Our regular “Hear Our Voices” column features Sam Mellert who shares his story and insight on his college admissions process for readers who may be embarking on that journey. Finally, our “Up Front on the Back Page” column features Catherine Luetke, LSLS Cert. AVT, who shares her journey becoming a teacher and a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist as well as a mentor to other professionals. Thank you, as always, for reading. It is our hope that the following pages will offer you practical and useful information for ensuring success in the classroom—a fundamental prerequisite for success later in life. Please send your comments, suggestions or story ideas to editor@agbell.org. Kind regards,

Anna Karkovska McGlew Editor, Volta Voices

Letter to the Editor The article on Gabriel Brainson in the March/April 2013 issue of Volta Voices was a very welcome sight. I have long been frustrated with the slow advance of captioning progress for television and online. One major hurdle that remains is the ineffective captioning on live programming. It is virtually impossible to follow along with what is being said during sports events, news programs, late-night comedy shows and other live programming. This past summer, I investigated the issue with live broadcasting and realized the issue was far more complicated than it seemed. However, the more I learned, what seemed obvious was the ability for the transcriber to receive the live feed in lieu of the tape-delayed feed. While it would not correct the entire issue, it would certainly represent a large leap forward in syncing live programming with closed-captioning. Unfortunately, time constraints dictated I not pursue the issue, which is why I was thrilled to read about Gabriel’s efforts. I’d like to thank him for advocating for better closed-captioning on behalf of all people who are deaf and hard of hearing and encourage him to keep fighting the good fight. Evan Brunell, President Massachusetts Chapter of AG Bell and AG Bell Board Member

Voices contributors Susan Boswell, CAE, author of “State Laws for Students Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing: What Do They Mean for Families?” is the director of communications and marketing for AG Bell. Boswell is pursuing a master’s degree in management from Notre Dame of Maryland University. She can be contacted at sboswell@agbell.org. David Dolman, Ph.D., author of “The Common Core Standards: Why They Matter to Teachers and Parents of Children with Hearing Loss,” has been coordinator of the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program at Barton College in Wilson, N.C., since 1987. He has spent a semester as a Fulbright Scholar in a teacher preparation program focusing on students who are deaf and hard of hearing at Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia, and has taught for two years in a deaf education teacher preparation program at Mico College in Kingston, Jamaica. Prior to that time, Dolman taught students who are deaf and hard of hearing at Whitney Young High School in Chicago, Ill., the Maryland School for the Deaf in Frederick, Md., and William Rainey Harper College in Palatine, Ill. He is particularly interested in issues of literacy. Krystyann Krywko, Ed.D., author of “Literacy, Boys and Hearing Loss: What Parents Need to Know,” 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. Catherine Luetke, M.Sc.A., LSLS Cert. AVT is a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing who has been teaching babies, toddlers and preschoolers for more than 20 years. She has a passion for educating parents on topics related to hearing loss and mentoring professionals entering the field. She serves on the Minister’s Advisory Council on Special Education as representative for the deaf and hard of hearing in Ontario, Canada. A mother of four, Luetke is active in gardening, playing badminton, swimming and painting landscapes of the Georgian Bay in northern Ontario. Sam Mellert, author of this issue’s “Hear Our Voices” column shares his story on his college admissions process as well as how he is able to succeed in the classroom. Sam just finished up the final season on his high school baseball team and is going to be a freshman at Bates College in the fall as a member of the varsity golf team. He is interested in biology/pre-med as a major because one day he hopes to be a cochlear implant surgeon. Sam wants to share his story to help others figure out how to get the accommodations they need to succeed in the classroom as well as offering his insight on the college admissions process for anyone who may be embarking on that journey.

VOLTA VOICES • JULY / AUGUST 201 3

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SOUND NEWS BITES

InvisibleCAPTIONS Wins Competition as Next Big Idea Students from Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf recently participated in a competition, sponsored by ZVRS video relay service, which aims to find the next big idea and help it come to life. The invisibleCAPTIONS team, represented by students Samantha Braidi, of Vineland, N.J., Cory Behm, of Rochester, N.Y., Daniel Moreno, of Miami, Fla., and Melissa Kielbus, of Fremont, Calif., won first prize. Their plan involves manufacturing unique, light-framed glasses—at a much lower cost than currently available technology—with lenses and a custom filter that would capture ultraviolet light. A movie projector would send out the UV light, but only those with the glasses would see the captions. The team’s business plan includes collaboration with Regal Cinemas in Rochester, N.Y., for testing.

CHAPTERS Massachusetts Chapter Sets up Event Calendar The Massachusetts chapter of the AG Bell Association announced the creation of a Google calendar, which allows parents, educators, professionals and individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing the ability to view all events in the state related to hearing loss to maximize publicity and attendance for events. The calendar is embeddable, can be utilized across a wide range of applications, programs and websites, and can be viewed from virtually any calendar application. You can view the calendar at the chapter’s website massagbell. org. For instructions on how to add the calendar to your calendar application or embed it on your website, please email massagbell@gmail.com. Massachusetts Chapter Hosts Cochlear Implant Champion The Massachusetts chapter of the AG Bell Association recently hosted Jacob Landis, of Annapolis, Md., who is doing a 10,000 mile bike ride as part of a campaign to visit all 30 Major League Baseball stadiums, with the aim of raising $1 million for children who need cochlear implants but can’t afford them. Landis, a cochlear implant user, attended a rollerskating party hosted by the Massachusetts chapter at the Silver Jacob Landis and children from the MassachuCity Sports Complex in Taunton, setts chapter of AG Bell at the roller-skating party. Mass., on his way to Fenway Park for the Boston-Oakland game. Information about Landis’s campaign and his progress can be found at www.jacobsride.com.

Massachusetts Chapter of AG Bell

Volta Voices Receives 2013 Communicator Award The Volta Voices article “Bullying and Hearing Loss: How to Help Your Child Become More Resilient” by Krystyann Krywko, Ed.D., is a 2013 Communicator Award winner! The article, which appeared as part of the “Tips for Parents” column in the July/August 2012 issue, was selected by The International Academy of the Visual Arts for a Silver Communicator Award. The 2013 Communicator Awards featured a pool of over 6,000 entries and is one of the largest and most prestigious awards of its kind.

Save the Date for the AG Bell Pediatric Outreach Conference Save the date for the upcoming AG Bell conference on “Identifying and Managing Pediatric Hearing Loss” on October 18, 2013 in North Charleston, S.C. If you are involved in early intervention, please encourage everyone on your team to attend and pass this

information along to local professionals who work with children and families, including otolaryngologists, physicians, nurses, pediatricians and social workers. This one-day conference held at the Embassy Suites Charleston Area Convention Center is designed to bring together all professional disciplines involved in the early hearing and identification process to strengthen

VOLTA VOICES • JULY / AUGUST 201 3

BITES Maryland County Offers Text-to-911 Frederick County in the state of Maryland is one of the first jurisdictions to offer the option to text 911. The service will be similar to a chat session, with emergency personnel leading callers through a series of questions to dispatch the appropriate resources. In addition, the service could also save lives in the event of home invasion or workplace attack, when a caller may be hiding, and doesn’t want to give him/herself away by talking. FCC Requires “Bounce Back Messages” if Textto-911 Is Unavailable The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently issued a report and order requiring a “bounce back” message to consumers who try to text 911 where text-to-911 is not available as a service. Thus, if the message has not been delivered, consumers will get an immediate response telling them that text-to-

VOLTA VOICES • JULY/AUGUST 201 3

Compiled by: Anna Karkovska McGlew

find the FCC report and order at http://www.fcc.gov/document/text911-bounce-back-message-order.

CHAPTERS Nevada Chapter Annual Picnic The Nevada chapter of AG Bell Annual Picnic in May brought a record crowd of 179 people, who participated in a variety of lawn games such as watermelon eating contests, sack races and water balloon tossing. The event created a friendly environment for children with hearing loss, their parents, siblings, peers and friends to connect, listen and talk. “This is community building, encouragement and ‘children first’ efforts in action,” said Arnie Altman, who coordinated the event. “More than just a picnic took place. This is a wonderful example of purpose-driven results!” Getting ready for the watermelon eating contest at

Rainbow Media

Text-to-911 Updates

911 is not available and advising them to reach emergency personnel by other means. The four major wireless service providers—AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon—have committed to making text-to-911 available by May 15, 2014. Consumers can

the Nevada chapter of AG Bell Annual Picnic.

A Voice for Listening and Spoken Language The AG Bell Florida chapter lost a very significant member of its community. Irene Nardandrea was one of the founding members of the organization over 45 years ago, when it was known as Florida Oral. She and several other families thought that it was important to have an organization that provided support and guidance for families who chose a listening and spoken language outcome for their children with hearing loss. From the very first day, Florida Oral and later AG Bell Florida had found one of its greatest voices in Irene.

Janice Pickron

professional partnerships and support families so infants with hearing loss can develop listening and spoken language right from the start and access the local services that they need. The multidisciplinary conference will feature leading professionals in the areas of otolaryngology, early intervention, audiology and speech-language pathology for an event that will provide the latest information on topics such as behavioral testing for infants and hearing aid fitting, surgical options, and medical evaluation as well as local resources for families. For more information or to register, visit www.listeningandspokenlanguage.com/ pediatric.

Irene Nardandrea

Irene was a dedicated volunteer over the past 45 years. She was an active member of the board, filling every possible role, including president. Irene was a very resourceful and strong advocate as she represented the voice from the past for those who followed in her footsteps. She was always willing and available to share her passion, knowledge and historical perspective on hearing loss and education within the state of Florida. Irene will be missed immensely by the AG Bell community.

SOUND BITES MEMBERS IN THE MEDIA

Sam Bidwell, 13 years old from West Hartford, Conn., who became deaf at age 1 as the result of meningitis and is now a bilateral cochlear implant user, has been an aspiring “Mathlete” for many years, working towards the National MathCounts Competition level since sixth grade. For three years in a row, Sam took 1st place at the Hartford chapter level. In 2012, he succeeded in securing a spot on the Connecticut state team, representing his state at the 2013 national competition in Washington, D.C., where he recently placed 76th and was named a high scorer among the Connecticut

team members. While in Washington, the Mathletes also participated in setting a Guinness world record for arranging 325 students and staff into the first 25 rows of Pascal’s Triangle

in just over six minutes. In addition to Sam’s prowess at math, he enjoys Latin where he has been Gold and Silver medalist on the National Latin Exam.

Suzanne Bidwell

Teen Mathlete Becomes High Scorer for Connecticut at National MathCounts Competition

Sam Bidwell, second from the left holding the number 1 card, at the MathCounts Competition during the Guinness World Records event.

FinAidAd_HALF PG_6-13:Financial Aid Ad_HALF PG 6/10/13 3:42 PM Page 1

Every Child Deserves a Chance ...to Learn...to Grow...

to Hear from the Start

dvances in newborn hearing screening, early hearing detection and intervention are A giving more children with hearing loss the opportunity to learn to listen, talk and thrive along with their hearing peers. That’s why AG Bell offers programs designed to support children and youth with hearing loss who are pursuing spoken language education.

PARENT-INFANT FINANCIAL AID PROGRAM DEADLINE: OCTOBER 7, 2013

More information, including eligibility criteria and an application packet, is available at www.ListeningAndSpokenLanguage.org.

TEL 202.337.5220 • EMAIL financialaid@agbell.org

VOLTA VOICES • JULY / AUGUST 201 3

MEMBERS IN THE MEDIA Lisa Goldstein Writes Editorial on Far From the Tree Lisa Goldstein, a journalist who is deaf, recently wrote an editorial reviewing Andrew Solomon’s Far From the Tree in OpEdNews.com titled “Far from the Truth.” Goldstein writes, “In this book, he writes about children who are different from their parents. The first chapter after the introduction is about deafness, which piqued my interest, as I’m deaf myself. By the end of that chapter, I had amassed 14 pages of troublesome quotes.” Goldstein feels that many of the author’s claims about people who are deaf and hard of hearing are outdated, biased or lack attribution, and cites

her own experience as a successful deaf adult who listens and speaks as well as studies of auditory-verbal outcomes and the stories of others with hearing loss who live independently in the mainstream. To find Goldstein’s editorial, go to OpEdNews.com and type her name in the search box. Jane Croft Honored as National Employee of the Year 2013 Jane “Janey” Croft, who was born with profound hearing loss due to maternal Rubella (German measles) during the worldwide epidemic in the 1960s, was recently honored with National Employee of the Year 2013 from Careers and disABLED

magazine. She works remotely for Wellpoint, Inc., a national healthcare insurance company, as IT Quality Control Analyst. Croft was one of 10 winners out of thousands of submissions from all business industries nationwide and was profiled in the April 2013 edition of the magazine. She has been a keynote speaker at many conferences organized by local emergency management agencies aimed at the community of people who are deaf and hard of hearing. Croft also served as president of the California chapter of AG Bell for four years.

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 VOLTA VOICES • JULY/AUGUST 201 3

ihearlearning.org (636) 532-2672

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

4/4/2012 8:37:08 AM

Advancing CART:

Equal Opportunity for Communication Access

By Anna Karkovska McGlew

wo ongoing legal cases, supporting the right of students who are deaf and hard of hearing to receive Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) interpreting in the classroom under federal disability law, are working their way through the court system. In 2012, AG Bell filed amicus briefs in support of the plaintiffs in both cases in federal courts of appeal, written and submitted by Steven R. Rech, former AG Bell board member, with assistance from Mark Merrell, both of Schwartz, Junell, Greenberg & Oathout LLP in Houston, Texas. These cases could have a widespread impact

on accessibility for students with hearing loss seeking CART interpreting in secondary and higher education. Both K.M. v. Tustin Unified School District and Argenyi v. Creighton University are similar, involving students requesting CART interpreting as a classroom accommodation in a high school and a medical school context respectively. The plaintiffs in the cases have invoked some of the major federal laws governing CART communication access for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. The outcomes of the cases will have farreaching implications for providing equal opportunity for effective communication access in the classroom for students with

hearing loss. AG Bell is closely monitoring the cases, which could be decided in the next few months.

K.M. v. Tustin Unified School District In K.M. v. Tustin Unified School District in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, K.M. is a high-school student who is deaf and uses cochlear implants and speechreading to communicate. K.M. was diagnosed at 13 months with bilateral severe to profound hearing loss. Her parents chose a listening and spoken language outcome for her, which they pursued through extensive auditory-verbal therapy. K.M. received a cochlear implant

VOLTA VOICES â&#x20AC;˘ JULY / AUGUST 201 3

www.shutterstock.com/Andrey Burmakin

in her right ear at 3 years 8 months and wore a hearing aid in her left ear until she was 15, at which time she received her second cochlear implant. Although a sound field system worked well for K.M. in elementary school, her mother Lynn Bright noticed that things began to change in middle school when K.M. used a personal FM system. Teachers would either hold the microphone too close or too far from their mouth. “They banged their hands and jewelry against the cords, which produced static,” Bright said. “K.M. would come home and remove her processor and hearing aid and sit in total silence because the noise had bothered her so much. And she

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began to ‘forget’ to even give the system to her teachers, she was so miserable.” After her seventh grade teacher noted that K.M. was “lost” during class discussions, the family requested that her school district provide her with CART interpreting for her classes. The school refused to do so, noting that K.M. could speechread well and was passing her classes. The family initiated a due process complaint with the school district and lost. “High school was miserable for K.M.” Bright said. “The school district placed K.M. in portable classrooms, the worst acoustic environment on campus. The art room was cavernous and the instructor resisted wearing the FM microphone.” According to the school district, as long as the student with a disability is passing her classes, no accommodation is necessary under precedent interpreting the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA). “K.M. worked hard for her grades, showing up on time and turning in her assignments. Because she is bright, she has been able to earn passing grades despite not having CART. We will never know how much she missed or how much better she could have done if she had been given equal communication access,” Bright said. The major laws affecting CART communication access for a person who is deaf or hard of hearing are Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. K.M. brought suit against the school district in a federal court in California not only under IDEA, but also under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Section 504 requires that entities receiving federal funding, including schools, provide persons with disabilities an opportunity to be fully integrated into the mainstream. The ADA establishes the right of persons with disabilities to participate in mainstream environments with any reasonable accommodation needed to provide full access. The IDEA requires states to provide a free, appropriate, public education to children with disabilities in the least restrictive environment.

While the district court was sympathetic to K.M., the court agreed with the school district that as long as K.M. was passing her classes, no further accommodation was necessary. K.M. appealed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, at which time AG Bell filed an amicus brief with the court in her support. AG Bell argued the ADA’s standard is different from that of IDEA, and that CART interpreting is necessary for students who are deaf to receive full and equal access in the classroom. AG Bell also noted that courts have held that captioning is necessary for access for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing in a variety of contexts, such as for watching movies and participating in courtroom proceedings. AG Bell argued that access for the classroom was no different. The Department of Justice (DOJ) also filed an amicus brief in the case essentially agreeing with AG Bell’s arguments. High school has been a trying experience for K.M. “Our family saved the school district a lot of money by mainstreaming her..., it is shortsighted of them to have not spent the money on CART her last four years,” said her mother. The 1997 amendments stipulate that IDEA funding can be used for providing services to children with disabilities in regular classroom settings even if children without disabilities benefit as well. An example of this would be if the CART transcript in a classroom was projected on a large screen visible to everyone in the room rather than just on the laptop monitor of a student with hearing loss. This can lead to a better learning environment and improved information transfer between the teacher and the students with or without hearing loss, according to Aaron Steinfeld, Ph.D., a researcher at the National Robotics Engineering Consortium at Carnegie Mellon University. K.M. is set to go to a four-year university where she will be provided with CART in all her classes.

K.M. v. Tustin Implications: IDEA ≠ ADA According to David M. Grey, the attorney representing K.M., this case is important because the special education laws under IDEA do not require equality, but only

a low basic floor of opportunity. On the other hand, the ADA requires equality of opportunity and asks public entities, including schools, to ensure that communications with individuals with hearing loss be as effective as communications with individuals with typical hearing. “Through this entire case, the schools have been successful in arguing that by complying with the special education laws [IDEA], they have also complied with the ADA. Success on this case will make clear that the special education laws and the ADA have different standards and that just because a child is receiving educational benefit does not mean that he/she is being provided with an equal opportunity for communication access,” said Grey. Grey added that he hopes this case will make clear that students with hearing loss face barriers to spoken language in the classroom and that they are entitled to an equal opportunity to hear what is said in the classroom. The case is now under submission and the court can take anywhere from 3 months to a year to rule and issue its opinion. There could be a decision on the case by the summer.

Argenyi v. Creighton University The Argenyi v. Creighton University in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is very similar to the K.M. case, but in the medical school context. Michael Argenyi has been deaf since infancy and grew up using listening and spoken language. He received a cochlear implant while in college at Seattle

University where the school provided him with CART and a cued speech interpreter. He excelled academically and had a 3.87 grade-point average to show for it. In 2009, after being accepted at Creighton University Medical School in Omaha, Neb., Argenyi received a second cochlear implant. Once at Creighton University, Argenyi requested CART interpreting so he could understand what was being said in classes and during clinical training. Many medical students who are deaf— as well as students with hearing loss pursuing higher education—have been provided with similar accommodations pursuant to relevant federal disability laws, including the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Despite his use of cochlear implants, Argenyi said that his hearing sounds like “a poorly tuned, crackling radio station,” according to Courthouse News Service. However, Creighton rebuffed Argenyi’s request for CART interpreting. Instead, Creighton told Argenyi to sit in the front row of the classroom and speechread professors. Creighton also offered to provide Argenyi with a notetaker and an FM assistive listening device and informed him that its lectures were available on audio podcast on the school’s website. Argenyi said that these accommodations were not effective given his profound hearing loss and that he needed CART interpreting to fully understand the lectures. Argenyi ended up spending $114,000 of his own money to pay for CART interpreting. Argenyi brought suit against Creighton in federal court in Nebraska alleging violations of the ADA and Section 504. According to FindLaw, a Thomson Reuters

company, an expert testified on behalf of Argenyi that the accommodations provided by the school ended up decreasing Argenyi’s speech perception. However, the district court ruled in the school’s favor, holding that Argenyi had not been denied access to the medical school because he was passing his classes—albeit while paying for his own interpreting. The district court also questioned whether CART interpreting was necessary for Argenyi. Argenyi appealed to the 8th Circuit, and AG Bell filed an amicus brief in his support. In the amicus brief, AG Bell argued that the ADA clearly requires universities to provide accommodations to ensure that students with disabilities have equal access to classroom materials, and that Creighton seriously overestimated how much Argenyi could understand in the classroom lectures using his cochlear implants and speechreading. AG Bell further contended that the district court’s determination that CART was not “necessary” for Argenyi to attend medical school understated the relevant accessibility standard. Other courts had held that students who are deaf and hard of hearing must be provided with accommodations that are “necessary” to ensure equal opportunity as their peers with typical hearing. The DOJ also filed a brief in this case largely agreeing with AG Bell’s arguments. In a unanimous decision, the 8th Circuit agreed with the plaintiff, AG Bell and the DOJ that there was sufficient evidence that a jury could conclude that Creighton had violated federal accessibility statutes by denying CART to Argenyi. The court stated that accommodations are “necessary” if they “ensure that all people have ‘full and equal enjoyment’ of public accommodations [i.e., schools] regardless of disability.” In essence, according to FindLaw, the 8th Circuit ruled that Argenyi had presented enough evidence to file a claim under the ADA by demonstrating three things: he is disabled and academically qualified to attend Creighton; Creighton is a place of public accommodation and receives federal funding; Creighton discriminated against Argenyi based on his disability. Because Argenyi could not fully understand lectures and

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clinical training without CART, he had stated a viable claim under federal accessibility statutes. The 8th Circuit remanded the case to the district court for a trial under the proper standards. Although Creighton has not provided CART to Argenyi and the case is expected to go to trial in the next few months, other students have received this accommodation. The University of California Davis, School of Medicine, provided Amanda Mooneyham, a medical student with profound hearing loss who wears hearing aids, with CART during surgery sessions in the operating room. You can watch a video in which she and her professors from UC Davis share the experience: http://bit.ly/18Qf1c6. Rachel Arfa, an AG Bell board member who is a practicing attorney, used CART in college and law school. “It was an invaluable way to have equal access to my education, and helped to level the playing field. I was fortunate

to have excellent captioners who made sure to do the appropriate prep work by reviewing my course materials so that the vocabulary used in my classes was in their CART dictionaries. Having equal access to my education with the use of CART made all the difference in my education—without it, I would not be as successful as I am.”

Argenyi v. Creighton Implications: Equal Opportunity to Participate With its January 2013 decision to send the case to trial under the proper standards, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that institutions of higher education, including medical schools, must provide accommodations such as captioning when necessary to ensure effective communication with the student who is deaf or hard of hearing, unless doing so would result in undue burden or fundamental alteration.

“Notably, the court did not give any deference to the medical school’s determination about what was ‘appropriate’ for a medical student to use as accommodations—universities may not substitute their own judgments for what the law requires. Merely passing classes does not mean access: the student must have an equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from attending classes and other educational activities,” commented Michael Stein, the attorney representing Argenyi in the case. Both cases may set a precedent for advancing access to CART in the classroom. CART is a needed and reasonable accommodation in the classroom, which significantly improves the ability of students with hearing loss to comprehend the teacher and puts them on equal footing with their fellow classmates for participating in and benefiting from classroom discussion and success beyond the classroom.

PRODUCTS AND WORKSHOP REGISTRATION at cidedu.com or 314.977.0133 dgushleff@cid.edu

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Literacy, Boys and Hearing Loss:

What Parents Need to Know

By Krystyann Krywko, Ed.D.

ith the demands of the information age, where knowledge is created, disseminated and consumed at ever increasing speeds, having well developed literacy skills is more important than ever. “There is a big difference between having basic reading and writing skills and having developed literacy skills that are flexible and creative enough to support educational and employment success,” says Mark Marschark, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Education Research Partnerships at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at RIT, Rochester, N.Y. He adds, “Some experts today suggest that an eleventh to

twelfth grade level of skill is necessary for the demands of the information age.” As any parent of a child with hearing loss knows, children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) can be at risk for less than well developed literacy skills. In addition each child who is deaf or hard of hearing has a unique history that affects literacy acquisition, and the differences in learning are greater amongst children who are DHH than they are with children with typical hearing. Children who are DHH differ from each other in all the ways that children with typical hearing do; in addition, children with hearing loss experience differences in the quality and quantity of their early language environments, their interaction

with people and the world around them, and the underlying causes of their hearing loss, which determine the presence or absence of additional physical, psychological or cognitive issues (Marschark, 2007). However, what parents might not be aware of is that boys with hearing loss might have an additional risk, their gender. Due to the numerous factors involved in how children learn to read and write, there are many theories why boys tend to struggle with developing literacy skills. While there is some disagreement amongst educators and policymakers about the extent of the “literacy gap” between boys and girls, with some questioning that such a gap even exists, it is evident that boys tend to make up the majority of

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Talking to Boys Learning, retaining and using spoken language provide the cognitive foundations that are necessary for reading and writing (Tyre, 2008). “In order to be successful learners children must have detailed, complex and descriptive language skills along with an extensive spoken vocabulary,” says Jennifer Little, Ph.D. Such exposure to rich early language experiences is an important step in building pre-literacy skills that children will need once they begin school.

However, the way we interact with boys might affect their language development. Play time with boys tends to be centered on physical activities like bike rides or a game of catch, rather than the elaborate imaginary play scenarios, or playing a game of Scrabble, that we might engage in with girls. “It wasn’t until my oldest started having trouble reading that I realized that, other than time spent on homework, we never did reading or writing together as a family,” says Kathy, mother of three boys, two of whom have hearing loss.

Engaging Boys in Reading and Writing: How Parents Can Help

Krystyann Krywko

Bring It Home: Spend time with your son immersed in reading and writing opportunities at home. Whether it’s reading the paper together on Sunday mornings, listening to books on CD in the car, or writing letters to family and friends, find time to be engaged.

students who receive extra help for reading and writing. “The reality is that there are a lot of boys with hearing loss and many of them need help with reading and writing,” says Dana Selznick, a hearing education service provider on the Upper West Side in Manhattan. “My caseload tends to be pretty boy-heavy; I am currently working with seven students, and five of them are boys.” While I am unable to address all the theories as to why boys often struggle with reading and writing more than girls, I will discuss three of the most common theories. Parents and educators need to acknowledge these differences and find ways to support and encourage boys with hearing loss in order to help them keep pace.

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Read to Your Child: Parents routinely do this in the preschool years, but read-alouds often cease when a child begins to read for themselves. Children’s listening comprehension is often higher than their reading comprehension. Reading aloud to older children is a great way to help them with concepts and background knowledge they will eventually need to know. The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease is a great resource for parents. Male Role Models: Find male role models who engage in reading and writing and get them involved in the life of your son. It can be Saturday afternoons at the library with Grandpa, father-son book clubs or writing classes geared towards boys. The key is making bonding over literacy a part of your son’s routine. Think Visually: Help your son take advantage of his preference for diagrams and illustrations at any age. With younger children, help them to understand the story sequence by drawing pictures of the beginning, middle and end. Older boys can benefit from using mind-map-

ping techniques to organize their thoughts before they begin to write that persuasive essay. Facts ≠ Understanding: Boys like to collect facts and somewhere around middle school they may begin to confuse being able to recite a lot of facts with understanding the material. Help your son understand the bigger events behind the facts by asking him how the fact fits in with the bigger picture (Norfleet James, 2007). Stop and Jot: Another visual technique suggested by Debbie Schrader is to take time during reading and have your son draw what has happened so far. It’s a great way to get your son involved visually and you are also able to check for understanding. Track and Read: Dana Selznick encourages the use of a reading tracker to help your son focus on words when reading aloud. No fancy equipment necessary: just use a wide bookmark that will cover most of the page and move the tracker down line by line as you are reading to assist your son to visually track each line of text. Turn the Captions On: Using the captions while watching a show on your TV is a great way to help your son with or without hearing loss begin to connect the spoken word to the printed word.

There are many opportunities to engage boys in the rich, extended conversations that help build ideas and vocabulary. “I think that boys have plenty of stories and experiences to share, we just need to take the time to listen to them,” says Kathy. “For example, in our house Ninjago Lego is very popular and there is a huge story line built around each character. Many of our dinner conversations revolve around these characters, and that’s okay because it gets my sons thinking and talking.”

Learning Differently For children with typical hearing, reading and writing are simply a relearning of spoken language (Mayer, 2007). “The strong oral language skills that children with typical hearing have can help them map what they know to print,” says Debbie Schrader, educational liaison at the House Research Institute in Los Angeles, Calif. “Depending on the age of diagnosis, many children with hearing loss have delays and/or gaps in their spoken language which means they don’t have the same experiences or background knowledge that helps with literacy.”

Girls are generally more verbal and tend to start speaking earlier than boys. It is suggested that by the start of first grade girls are approximately one year ahead of boys in language development (Neu & Weinfeld, 2007). Due to their developed verbal skills girls tend to read and write at an earlier age. Boys often do not have these strong oral language skills. Boys tend to need more time to learn how to read and write. They also rely more on diagrams and pictures rather than using words to convey meaning. The more words and fewer diagrams used by a teacher during a lesson, the higher the chances that boys will stop listening and disengage from their classroom environment. The use of texts with illustrations and lesson plans that include plenty of space for visuals can help boys grasp concepts and increase their reading comprehension (Gurain, 2005).

The “Fourth Grade Slump” Early grades focus on helping students learn how to read and write. Then, in third grade, the focus shifts to reading and writ-

ing in order to learn. The “fourth grade slump” is a result of the struggles with reading and writing that many students begin to encounter in the third grade. Boys in particular are at risk for these struggles simply because their reading and writing skills are slower to develop and are often still solidifying when they begin third grade. If the reading readiness of boys is not acknowledged with support and effective instruction, then boys may never catch up (Whitmire, 2010). At this stage, school assignments begin to require background knowledge and familiarity with more abstract, technical and literary words that are found in higher level texts. Students are expected to summarize plots, infer what the author is trying to say, and predict what might happen next. Non-fiction also begins to play a larger role in the classroom with history, science and current event reading becoming part of the curriculum. A corresponding shift also occurs in writing, where writing no longer consists of stories heavily illustrated by pictures, but instead is focused on essays, and persuasive and interpretive pieces.

Make AG Bell your first stop for resources to help children with hearing loss learn to listen and talk. Shop online at www.listeningandspokenlanguage.org for everything you need for your practice or classroom on these topics and more: n

Auditory-Verbal Therapy

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Next Steps As a parent of a child with hearing loss it is essential to become an advocate early on in the schooling process to ensure that educational and therapeutic goals are met. Study after study has shown that parents who are actively engaged with their children greatly influence language learning, social interactions and academic performance (Marschark, 2007). Parental involvement, along with early hearing loss detection and intervention, and greater access to sound through cochlear implants and technologically advanced hearing aids, are all factors that help children who are DHH make strong strides in literacy acquisition. Further, parents of children with hearing loss should remember that hearing loss is only one facet of their child and there are additional factors that may play into their child’s success. When a teacher mentions your son is behind in reading and writing, and also says not to worry because “he’ll catch up,” those words should raise a red flag that your son needs additional support. This additional support can be in conjunction with his classroom teacher, extra time spent in read-

ing and writing activities at home, or with the help of an outside tutor. Whatever you decide on, it needs to be consistent and supportive of the individual needs of your son. Given the opportunity to develop, a learner with a hearing loss should progress in the expected patterns of growth and achievement. “If your son is not progressing adequately with the appropriate supports in place,” says Gerard Shine, a speech-language pathologist in New York State, “then the possibility of a co-occurrence of a learning disability needs to be determined.” Some signs that your son might have an additional learning disability are: visual-perceptual problems; easily distracted in class; severe inability to learn vocabulary and language structures; consistent retention and memory problems; or consistent distractive behaviors (Pollack, 1998). It can be difficult to determine where the hearing loss ends and the learning disability begins so it’s important to find an educational psychologist who has diagnostic experience with children with hearing loss. As a parent of a son with hearing loss I want educators and other professionals to know that my son’s development is much

more complex than the functioning of his hearing aids. There are other parts of his personality, temperament and gender that also need to be taken into account as he continues to learn.

Sources Gurian, M. & Stevens, K. (2005). The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Marschark, M. (2007). Raising and Educating a Deaf Child: A Comprehensive Guide to the Choices, Controversies, and Decisions Faced by Parents and Educators. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Mayer, C. (2007). “What really matters in the early literacy development of deaf children,” Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, retrieved from http://jdsde.oxfordjournals.org. Neu, T. & Weinfeld, R. (2007). Helping Boys Succeed in School: A Practical Guide for Parents and Teachers. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press. Norfleet James, A. (2007). Teaching the Male Brain: How Boys Think, Feel, and Learn in School. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Trelease, J. (2006). The Read-Aloud Handbook. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Tyre, P. (2008). The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School, and What Parents and Educators Must Do. New York, NY: Crown Publishers. Whitmire, R. (2010). Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That’s Leaving Them Behind. New York, NY: AMACOM.

s nd rly e Ea tion 5th a 1 tr st gis gu Re Au

1st Annual Southeast Listening & Spoken Language Conference hosted by the Atlanta Speech School October 11-12, 2013 Presenting “Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder and Management” by world-renowned ANSD expert, Dr. Chuck Berlin The conference will bring together: • Parents and family members • Listening and Spoken with ANSD children Language Specialists • Family Interventionists • Audiologists • Family Care Physicians • Speech Pathologists • Pediatricians • Teachers of the Deaf

• Pediatric Otolaryngologists • Pediatric Neurologists and Psychiatrists • Applied Behavior Analysts (ABA) parent trainers

Earn continuing education units (CEU) from the AG Bell Academy and ASHA (pending approval). A Georgia Professional Learning Unit (PLU) will also be available (pending approval).

3160 Northside Parkway, NW | Atlanta, GA 30327 | 404-233-5332 | atlantaspeechschool.org VOLTA VOICES • JULY/AUGUST 201 3

Alfabetización, niños y pérdida auditiva: información importante para los padres

Por Krystyann Krywko, Ed.D.

ebido a las exigencias de la era de la información, en la que el conocimiento se crea, se difunde y se consume a gran velocidad, contar con unas habilidades de alfabetización bien desarrolladas es lo más importante. “Existe una gran diferencia entre contar con unas capacidades de lectura y de escritura básicas y unas capacidades de alfabetización desarrolladas que sean lo suficientemente flexibles y creativas para apoyar al éxito educativo y del empleo», dice Mark Marschark, Doctor, director del Center of Education Research Partnerships del Instituto Técnico Nacional para los Sordos (NTID, por sus siglas en inglés)

de RIT, en Rochester, Nueva York. «En la actualidad, algunos expertos indican que es necesario contar con un undécimo o un duodécimo grado de la capacidad para cumplir con las exigencias de la era de la información», añade. Como ya saben los padres de niños con pérdida auditiva, los niños que son sordos o que tienen dificultades auditivas (DHH, por sus siglas en inglés) pueden estar en situación de riesgo por contar con menos capacidades de alfabetización bien desarrolladas. Además, cada niño sordo o con dificultades auditivas tiene una historia única que afecta a la adquisición de la alfabetización y las diferencias en el aprendizaje son mayores

en los niños con DHH que en los niños con una audición normal. Los niños con dificultades auditivas se diferencian entre sí en los mismos aspectos que los niños con audición normal, además, los niños con pérdida auditiva experimentan diferencias en la calidad y en la cantidad de los primeros entornos que estimulan el uso del lenguaje, la interacción con las personas y con el mundo que los rodea y las causas subyacentes de su pérdida auditiva, las cuales determinan la presencia o la ausencia de problemas físicos, psicológicos o cognitivos adicionales (Marschark, 2007). Sin embargo, lo que los padres no se dan cuenta es que los niños con

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realidad es que hay muchos niños con pérdida auditiva y la mayoría de ellos necesitan ayuda para aprender a leer y a escribir», dice Dana Selznick, proveedora de Servicios para la Educación Auditiva en el Upper West Side de Manhattan. «Mis casos suelen ser casi siempre niños,

actualmente estoy trabajando con siete estudiantes y cinco de ellos son niños». Aunque no puedo abordar todas las teorías de por qué los niños a menudo tienen más dificultades para leer y escribir que las niñas, analizaremos tres de las teorías más comunes. Los padres y los

Implicar a los niños en la lectura y la escritura: cómo pueden ayudar los padres Tráigalo a casa: Dedique tiempo con su hijo leyendo y escribiendo en casa. Busque momentos para hacerlo participar tanto leyendo juntos el periódico de los domingos por la mañana, como leyendo libros en el CD del coche o escribiendo cartas a la familia y los amigos. Léale a su hijo: Los padres suelen hacerlo durante los años de preescolar, pero con frecuencia ocurre que las lecturas en voz alta no se vuelven a hacer una vez que el niño empieza a leer por sí solo. A menudo la comprensión oral de los niños es mayor que la comprensión escrita. Leer en voz alta a los niños mayores es una buena manera de ayudarles con los conceptos y los conocimientos específicos que finalmente necesitarán saber. The Read-Aloud Handbook de Jim Trelease es un gran recurso para los padres.

pérdida auditiva pueden tener un riesgo añadido, el género. Debido a los numerosos factores que intervienen en cómo aprenden los niños a leer y a escribir, existen muchas teorías de por qué los niños suelen tener problemas para desarrollar sus capacidades de alfabetización. Aunque existen algunos desacuerdos entre los educadores y los responsables de las políticas acerca del alcance de la «brecha de alfabetización» entre los niños y las niñas, aunque algunos cuestionan que aún exista esa brecha, es evidente que los niños tienden a formar parte de la mayoría de estudiantes que reciben ayuda adicional para aprender a escribir y a leer. «La

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Modelos masculinos: Encuentre modelos masculinos que participen en la lectura y la escritura y haga que se impliquen en la vida de su hijo. Puede ser los domingos por la tarde en la biblioteca con el abuelo, en clubs del libro para padres e hijos o creando clases orientadas hacia los niños. La clave está en hacer de la alfabetización una parte de la rutina de su hijo. Piense visualmente: Ayude a su hijo a sacar partido de su preferencia por los diagramas y las ilustraciones en cualquier edad. A los niños más jóvenes, ayúdeles a entender la secuencia de la historia haciendo dibujos del principio, del medio y del final de la historia. Los niños mayores se pueden utilizar técnicas de correlación mental para organizar

sus pensamientos antes de que comiencen a escribir el ensayo persuasivo. Hechos ≠ Entendimiento: A los niños les gusta recopilar hechos y en algún momento de la escuela secundaria empezarán a confundirlos, van a ser capaces de enumerar muchos hechos comprendiendo el material. Ayude a su hijo a entender los eventos más importantes que están detrás de los hechos preguntándole cómo encajan los hechos en el conjunto general (Norfleet James, 2007). Deténgase y anote: Otra técnica visual que sugiere Debbie Schrader es dedicar tiempo durante la lectura para que su hijo dibuje lo que ha ocurrido hasta el momento. Es una buena manera para hacer que su hijo se implique visualmente y para que usted también pueda comprobar si entiende. Rastree y lea: Dana Selznick fomenta el uso de un rastreador de lectura para ayudar a su hijo a centrarse en las palabras cuando lea en voz alta. No es necesario un equipo estrafalario, solamente se trata de un gran marcador que cubrirá la mayor parte de la página y que deberá ir moviendo hacia abajo línea por línea a medida que va leyendo para ayudar a su hijo a rastrear visualmente cada una de las líneas del texto. Active los subtítulos: Utilizar los subtítulos mientras ve un espectáculo en la televisión es una buena manera de ayudar a su hijo con o sin pérdida auditiva a empezar a conectar la palabra hablada con la palabra escrita.

educadores tienen que reconocer estas diferencias y encontrar modos de apoyar y de animar a los niños con pérdida auditiva para ayudarlos a seguir el ritmo.

Hablar con los niños Aprender, retener y utilizar el lenguaje hablado proporciona las bases cognitivas que son necesarias para leer y escribir (Tyre, 2008). “Para ser estudiantes exitosos, los niños deben contar con aptitudes lingüísticas descriptivas, complejas y detalladas junto con un amplio vocabulario oral”, dice la Dra. Jennifer Little. Dicha exposición a las primeras experiencias enriquecedoras del lenguaje es un paso importante para la creación de las capacidades previas a la alfabetización que los niños van a necesitar una vez que empiezan el colegio. Sin embargo, el modo con el que interactuamos con los niños puede afectar al desarrollo de su lenguaje. A la hora del juego, los niños suelen centrarse en actividades físicas como paseos en bicicleta o juegos de atraparse, en lugar de crear escenarios para juegos imaginarios o jugar al Scrabble que es a lo que suelen jugar las niñas. “Hasta que mi hijo mayor empezó a tener problemas para leer no me di cuenta de que, a pesar del tiempo dedicado a los deberes, nunca leímos o escribimos juntos en familia”, dice Kathy, madre de tres niños, dos de ellos con pérdida auditiva. Existen muchas oportunidades para hacer que los niños participen en largas y enriquecedoras conversaciones que los ayuden a crear ideas y vocabulario. “Creo que los niños tienen muchas historias y experiencias para compartir, solo tenemos que tomarnos tiempo para escucharlos”, dice Kathy. “Por ejemplo, en nuestra casa nos gusta mucho Ninjago Lego y creamos una gran historia alrededor de cada personaje. Muchas de nuestras conversaciones de sobremesa giran en torno a estos personajes y está bien porque hacen que mis hijos piensen y hablen”.

Aprender de una manera diferente Para los niños con lectura, escritura y audición normales simplemente se trata de un reaprendizaje del lenguaje hablado (Mayer, 2007). “Las sólidas capacidades

en el lenguaje oral que tienen los niños con audición normal pueden ayudarlos a elaborar lo que ya saben”, dice Debbie Schrader, enlace educativo en el House Research Institute de Los Ángeles, California. “Dependiendo de la edad del diagnóstico, muchos niños con pérdida auditiva tienen retrasos y/o brechas en el lenguaje hablado, lo que quiere decir que no tienen las mismas experiencias o conocimientos específicos que ayudan en la alfabetización”. Las niñas generalmente son más verbales y suelen empezar a hablar antes que los niños. Se cree que al principio del primer grado las niñas van aproximadamente un año por delante de los niños en el desarrollo del lenguaje (Neu y Weinfeld, 2007). Debido a sus capacidades verbales desarrolladas, las niñas suelen leer y escribir en una edad más temprana. A menudo los niños no cuentan con estas capacidades sólidas en el lenguaje oral. Los niños suelen necesitar más tiempo para aprender a leer y a escribir. Ellos también se basan más en los diagramas y en las imágenes que en usar palabras para transmitir el significado. Cuantas más palabras y menos diagramas utilice un profesor en sus clases, habrá más probabilidades de que los niños dejen de escuchar y de participar en el entorno de la clase. El uso de textos con ilustraciones y de planes de lecciones que incluyan muchos espacios para imágenes visuales puede ayudar a los niños a captar nuevos conceptos y a aumentar la comprensión lectora (Gurain, 2005).

La “baja académica repentina del cuarto grado” Los primeros grados se centran en ayudar a los estudiantes a aprender a leer y a escribir. Después, en el tercer grado, el enfoque cambia a leer y a escribir para aprender. La “baja académica repentina del cuarto grado” es el resultado de las luchas con la lectura y la escritura a las que muchos estudiantes empiezan a enfrentarse en el tercer grado. Los niños en especial corren el riesgo de estas luchas simplemente porque sus capacidades de lectura y de escritura tardan más en desarrollarlas y a menudo aún se están

consolidando cuando empiezan el tercer grado. Si la disposición para la lectura de los niños no se reconoce con apoyo y una enseñanza eficaz, entonces los niños nunca llegarán al mismo nivel (Whitmire, 2010). En esta fase, las tareas escolares empiezan a requerir un conocimiento específico y familiaridad con palabras más abstractas, técnicas y literarias que se encuentran en textos de nivel superior. Los estudiantes deben resumir argumentos, deducir qué es lo que el autor está intentando decir y predecir qué es lo que va a ocurrir. La no ficción también empieza a jugar un papel importante en la clase ya que forman parte del programa de estudios la historia, las ciencias y la lectura de acontecimientos actuales. También habrá un cambio en la escritura, ya que no van a consistir tan solo en historias totalmente ilustradas con imágenes sino que en su lugar se va a centrar más en ensayos y en artículos interpretativos y persuasivos.

Los próximos pasos Como padre de un niño con pérdida de la audición, es importante que se convierta en abogado en las primeras fases del proceso de escolarización, para asegurarse de que cumpla con los objetivos educativos y terapéuticos. Un estudio tras otro demuestra que los padres que participan activamente con sus hijos ejercen una gran influencia sobre el aprendizaje del lenguaje, las interacciones sociales y el rendimiento académico (Marschark, 2007). La participación de los padres, junto con la detección temprana de la pérdida auditiva y la intervención y el mayor acceso al sonido mediante implantes cocleares y audífonos avanzados tecnológicamente, son factores que ayudan a los niños con DHH a progresar a pasos agigantados en la adquisición de la alfabetización. Además, los padres de niños con pérdida auditiva deben recordar que la pérdida auditiva es solamente una faceta de sus hijos y que existen más factores que juegan un papel importante para hacer que su hijo consiga alcanzar el éxito. Cuando un profesor dice que su hijo está atrasado en la lectura y en la escritura y también dice que no se preocupe

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porque “ya los alcanzará”, estas palabras deben servirle de advertencia para saber que su hijo necesita apoyo adicional. Este apoyo adicional puede llevarse a cabo en conjunto con el profesor de la clase, con más tiempo dedicado a actividades de lectura y de escritura en casa o con la ayuda de un tutor externo. Sea cual sea su decisión, debe ser lógica y debe comprender las necesidades individuales de su hijo. Proporcionándole la oportunidad para desarrollarse, un estudiante con pérdida auditiva debe progresar en los patrones de crecimiento y debe alcanzar los logros esperados. “Si su hijo no progresa adecuadamente con el apoyo adecuado”, dice Gerard Shine, un patólogo del lenguaje y del habla del estado de Nueva York, “entonces debe pensarse en la co-existencia de problemas de aprendizaje”. Algunas señales de que su hijo pueda tener problemas de

aprendizaje adicionales son: problemas de percepción visual, se distrae con facilidad en clase, grave incapacidad para aprender vocabulario y estructuras del lenguaje, problemas de memoria y de retención constantes o distracciones constantes (Pollack, 1998). Puede ser difícil determinar dónde finaliza la pérdida auditiva y dónde comienzan los problemas de aprendizaje de modo que es importante encontrar un psicólogo especializado en temas educativos que tenga experiencia en el diagnóstico de niños con pérdida auditiva. Como padre de un hijo con pérdida auditiva quiero que los pedagogos y los demás profesionales sepan que el desarrollo de mi hijo es mucho más complejo que el funcionamiento de sus audífonos. Existen otras partes de su personalidad, su temperamento y su género que también se tienen que tener en cuenta para que pueda continuar aprendiendo.

Recursos Gurian, M. & Stevens, K. (2005). The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind in School and Life. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Marschark, M. (2007). Raising and Educating a Deaf Child: A Comprehensive Guide to the Choices, Controversies, and Decisions Faced by Parents and Educators. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Mayer, C. (2007). “What really matters in the early literacy development of deaf children,” Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, sacado de http://jdsde.oxfordjournals.org. Neu, T. & Weinfeld, R. (2007). Helping Boys Succeed in School: A Practical Guide for Parents and Teachers. Waco, TX: Prufrock Press. Norfleet James, A. (2007). Teaching the Male Brain: How Boys Think, Feel, and Learn in School. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Trelease, J. (2006). The Read-Aloud Handbook. New York, NY: Penguin Books. Tyre, P. (2008). The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School, and What Parents and Educators Must Do. New York, NY: Crown Publishers. Whitmire, R. (2010). Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons from an Educational System That’s Leaving Them Behind. New York, NY: AMACOM.

Support where students need it. Clarke Mainstream Services has been a resource for families and schools mainstreaming students with hearing loss for more than 30 years. Through a variety of customizable services, we work with students, parents and school professionals to provide information, support and teaching services to help ensure that every child has the chance to reach their full potential. Itinerant Teacher Services Consulting Services Comprehensive Educational Evaluations Transitional Planning Acoustical Classroom Evaluations

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The Common Core Standards: Why They Matter to Teachers and Parents of Children with Hearing Loss

By David Dolman, Ph.D.

ne can hardly pick up an educational journal or attend a school-related conference today without hearing some reference to the Common Core Standards, an initiative supported by 45 states, the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories, that will define the direction of education for many years to come (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012a). In its annual survey of “hottest” topics for the year, the International Reading Association found that the implementation of Common Core Standards ranks near the top (Cassidy & Grote-Garcia, 2012). These English language arts and mathematics standards represent a set of

expectations for student knowledge and skills that high school graduates need to master to succeed in college and careers (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). The Common Core Standards are redefining expectations for students at every grade level and focus on core conceptual understandings and procedures starting in early grades, thus giving teachers the time to teach core concepts and procedures while allowing students the opportunity to master them (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). Regardless of hearing ability, the Common Core Standards require an adjustment for all

stakeholders involved: students, teachers and parents. Parents of students with hearing loss need to work proactively with teachers in the classroom, teachers of the deaf, and listening and spoken language professionals to ensure that children with hearing loss graduate from school ready to succeed in college and in a modern workforce. The standards increase the rigor of literacy requirements for all students. With adoption of the standards, students are now more likely to be reading directly from the texts in all subject areas instead of relying on the teacher to convey new concepts and introduce new knowledge and information. Students are reading more complex texts than has typically been the case, and writing is based less

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to students with hearing loss (see sidebar on page 26). By looking at three areas— greater emphasis on informational texts, the requirement for close reading of the texts, and the learning of academic vocabulary—we can see how these shifts are affecting children in the classroom.

on personal opinion or personal experience and more on evidence from the pages themselves. Students are reading less fiction and increasing their reading of non-fiction, informational texts. They are answering questions which require a deep rather than a superficial reading of the text and they are learning general, academic vocabulary that will prove useful across many subject areas (Yager, Webb, Noppe, & McCaw, 2012). What do these changes mean for parents and teachers of children who are deaf and hard of hearing? The Common Core Standards set high expectations for literacy and call on teachers to rethink and refine their approach in conveying concepts and information

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Close Reading of the Text

The shift to greater emphasis on informational texts represents a fairly subtle modification of day-to-day teaching. A more dramatic change is the expectation that classroom instruction will become more dependent on the texts themselves and less dependent on the teacher. Traditionally, teachers of students with hearing loss may More Emphasis on have “frontloaded” material by pre-teaching Informational Texts difficult concepts and vocabulary that The Common Core recommendation the child is likely to encounter in readis for teachers to incorporate 50 percent ing. In contrast, under the Common Core non-fiction texts in the elementary years Standards, less time is spent introducing (Neuman & Roskos, 2012) and 80 percent the text and offering scaffolding support by high school (Yager et al., 2012). This during reading, with more expectation that represents a significant departure from the traditional focus on fiction, especially in the the students will read and understand the text on their own. Providing background earlier grades. To successfully meet one of the standards for reading informational text, knowledge and activating existing schema help make text more understandable, but children in kindergarten, with prompting they should not substitute for grappling and support from the teacher, need to be with the written material itself. able to identify reasons an author gives to The new standards require that stusupport points in the text (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012c). The com- dents engage in close reading. This means that students must critically examine a plexity of the standard becomes more difficult with each passing grade. By fifth grade, text—often through repeated readings—to for example, children must explain not only consider such things as how the text is how an author uses reasons and evidence to organized, how precise its vocabulary is, key details, arguments and inferential meansupport particular points but also identify ings (Fisher & Frey, 2012). Figuring out the which reasons and evidence support which points. To enable students to meet this stan- author’s purpose, comparing and contrasting themes, pinpointing main ideas, and dard, teachers need to explicitly model and practice the skill of finding evidence within finding evidence from the text to support a text that supports the author’s conclusion. conclusions are also part of close reading (McLaughlin & Overturf, 2012). One Parents might support this goal at home strategy that teachers might use to foster and in other informal settings by engaging their children and asking them about formal text-dependent questions at the elementary texts read in class and informal texts read at level is the Question-Answer-Relationship home: “What did this author conclude/want (QAR) activity. With this strategy, students answer questions based on four possible sceto say to the reader? How do you know? narios: (1) the needed information is right Where in the book do you see that?” there in the text; (2) students must think As a word of caution, non-fiction books and search to come up with the answer; (3) must be chosen carefully. Students must students must use a combination of their have enough background knowledge own and the author’s ideas; or (4) students to make sense of the new information must base their response on their own expepresented and be able to make personal rience (Raphael, Highfield, & Au, 2006). connections in the material to their own At a more advanced level, teachers can lives (Parsons, 2012). Younger children tend ask three questions that help students read to make more natural connections with the text on a deeper level: (1) How does this fiction texts; however, biographies of sports story or passage remind you of your own life figures or celebrities popular with children and experiences? (2) What have you read as well as non-fiction books with a sense of narrative—the destruction of Pompeii, the before that might connect with this story or passage? (3) How does the content of building of the transcontinental railroad, this story or passage relate to the real world the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath—can help bridge this gap. around you? (“Connecting,” n.d.). Parents

can encourage this closer reading of text by asking similar questions about what the child is reading at home.

Learning Academic Vocabulary A third change in how children with and without hearing loss will be taught under the Common Core Standards is the emphasis on academic vocabulary, also known as Tier 2 words. Tier 1 words represent everyday words, such as “swim,” “horse,” “jump,” and Tier 3 words involve vocabulary encountered only in specialized contexts, such as “carburetor” and “aorta.” Tier 2 words appear in many types of school-based texts. They include words found in a variety of informational texts such as “relative,” “vary,” and “formulate.” They also include technical words, such as “calibrate” or “periphery,” and words like “dignified” or “faltered” that are

usually found in literary texts (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012c). Understanding these kinds of Tier 2 terms is one of the keys to reading comprehension. Under the Common Core Standards, students are expected to reread when they do not understand text, tolerate frustration when engaged with a challenging text, and have a working knowledge of Tier 2 words that they can apply to specific reading materials they encounter (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, 2012). To expand students’ academic vocabulary, teachers might use graphic organizers, the talk-through strategy or academic vocabulary journals (Sibold, 2011). Graphic organizers are visual representations that show arrangements of concepts or vocabulary words. The talk-through strategy occurs during an oral reading period, in which the teacher stops to explain how one might figure out the meaning

of a word in context (for example, the word “atmosphere” in a textbook excerpt dealing with the earth’s water). With an academic vocabulary journal, the teacher asks the students to guess what a new word means and then gives a formal definition. Afterwards, the students use the word in a sentence, draw a pictorial representation of the word, if possible, and then record the word in their vocabulary journals. Parents can support efforts to expand vocabulary by drawing attention to and elaborating on meanings of words that children encounter in everyday conversations and in reading, a common technique employed by auditoryverbal practice. Attention to vocabulary is worthwhile not only for school-age children but also for children in early intervention and preschool programs. By introducing new words and concepts to help young children expand their knowledge of the world, teachers and

Reflections of Itinerant Teachers on the Common Core Standards Denise Nelson, M.Ed., and Donna Klonne, M.Ed., are itinerant teachers of students who are deaf and hard of hearing in the Durham, N.C., school system. Nelson teaches students in middle school and high school and Klonne works with students at the elementary level, using both pushin and pull-out methods of service delivery, depending on student needs, providing service in inclusive settings to facilitate success with the Common Core, but also providing one-on-one or small group instruction for reinforcement, pre-preparation or remediation. Here are their observations about adapting to the Common Core Standards:

Connection with the General Education Curriculum The Common Core Standards have made our jobs easier from a logistics standpoint as far as collaborative instructional planning and development of materials. We can more easily connect our instruction with the general education curriculum because there is greater consistency of instructional content, vocabulary and pacing between and among teachers and schools. Collaborative planning periods mean we can more easily connect

with general education teachers regarding their instruction plans. We are no longer as dependent on communication with individual teachers regarding current units of instruction, important concepts and essential vocabulary that may need pre-teaching or reinforcement. In addition, materials we have developed for one student may be equally useful with another student studying the same content in another school. Students more easily learn and retain instruction when they see connections to what they know or are learning in other parts of their school day. While emphasis is on the individuality of each student and specific IEP goals, the Common Core also allows ‘pairing’ of students in the same grade and in the same part of the curriculum but at different schools to help them build a bond, establish mutual experiences, and perhaps share frustrations or accomplishments.

Increased Demands on Learners The Common Core places higher demands on learners for critical think-

ing and inferential understanding of instructional content. These increased expectations, while laudable, tend to require a higher level of language competence, which may be challenging for some students with hearing loss. In practice, these increased expectations often lead to a need for more pre- and post-teaching through direct instruction in a pull-out setting, as well as more inclusive instructional enrichment in the regular education setting. The increased focus on nonfiction in English language arts in the Common Core Standards exposes the gaps in background knowledge and vocabulary that students with hearing loss often bring to the reading task, requiring increased pre-planning to prepare for roadblocks to comprehension. Some areas of instructional focus remain the same, regardless of specific curricula. The Common Core’s attention to Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary merely provides new labels to a familiar task for teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing—namely, to determine which vocabulary words within a unit or text should be a focus of instruction.

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parents provide a foundation that children can build on as they enter kindergarten. With the widespread adoption of the Common Core Standards throughout the United States, the delivery of instruction is already beginning to look different for most teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing. Teachers are being asked to engage their students with deeper and more meaningful readings of the text, with greater use of academic vocabulary and with non-fiction materials. The bar has been raised for all students, with and without hearing loss. Students who are deaf and hard of hearing should be given appropriate support services, and some will need additional instructional accommodations utilizing Universal Design for Learning principles in which information is presented in multiple ways with a variety of means of response (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2012b). This may mean modifications of how materials are presented—enlarging font size of an informational text, for example, or allowing a child to demonstrate knowledge of academic vocabulary through

playing a game or creating a story—but the standards remain the same. Although educational change is seldom comfortable, the implementation of the Common Core Standards by effective teachers and engaged parents will result in students with hearing loss who are better equipped to take their place in the world of work or further education after graduation from high school.

References Cassidy, J. & Grote-Garcia, S. (2012). Defining the literacy agenda: results of the 2013 What’s Hot, What’s Not literacy survey. Reading Today, 30 (1), 9-12. Common Core State Standards Initiative (2012a). Adoption by state. Retrieved from http://www. corestandards.org/in-the-states.

Fisher, D. & Frey, N. (2012). Close reading in elementary schools. The Reading Teacher, 66 (3), 179-188. McLaughlin, M. & Overturf, B. F. (2012). The common core: insights into the K-5 standards. The Reading Teacher, 66 (2), 153-164. Neuman, S. B. & Roskos, K. (2012). Helping children become more knowledgeable through text. The Reading Teacher 66 (3), 207-210. National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers (2010). Common Core State Standards. Washington D.C.: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers. Retrieved from http:// www.corestandards.org/the-standards and http://www.corestandards.org/assets/ccssiintroduction.pdf. North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (2012). ELA common core state standards self study: NC shifting gears session. Retrieved from http://www.livebinders.com/media/get/ MzAwNzU0NQ==. Parsons, S.C. (2012). Making nonfiction accessible for young readers. Reading Today, 30 (2), 21-23.

Common Core State Standards Initiative (2012b). Application to students with disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.corestandards.org/assets/ application-to-students-with-disabilities.pdf.

Raphael, T. E., Highfield, K., & Au, K. H. (2006). QAR Now: A Powerful and Practical Framework That Develops Comprehension and Higher-Level Thinking in All Students. New York: Scholastic.

Common Core State Standards Initiative (2012c). Common core state standards for English language arts and literacy in history/social sciences, science, and technical subjects, appendix A. Retrieved from http://www. corestandards.org/assets/Appendix_A.pdf.

Sibold, C. (2011). Building English language learners’ academic vocabulary: strategies and tips. Multicultural Education, 18 (11), 24-38.

Connecting the New York Times to Your World. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://graphics8.nytimes. com/images/blogs/learning/pdf/activities/ ConnectWorld_NYTLN.pdf.

Yager, S., Webb, C., Noppe, R., & McCaw, D. (2012). Academic game changer: common core will shift reading across the board. The Illinois School Board Journal, July/August, 1-3.

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Foreign Languages and Hearing Loss Strategies for the Classroom and Beyond

By Anna Karkovska McGlew

cross all grade levels, students with hearing loss elect to learn foreign languages in the classroom and beyond and do so successfully. In today’s globalized and more integrated world, being able to speak more than one language is advantageous on many levels. Practically, it expands horizons and provides an opportunity for deeper social and cultural participation. According to an article in the New York Times (“Why Bilinguals Are Smarter,” March 17, 2012), multi-/bi-linguism seems also to be associated with improving cognitive skills and the brain’s executive functioning, especially for focused and sustained attention during mentally

demanding tasks, and increasing one’s ability to monitor their environment with efficiency and sensitivity. In addition to these broad benefits, at least two years of foreign language classes in high school are becoming a standard requirement for entry into competitive colleges and universities.

Considerations for Learning a Foreign Language with Hearing Loss A positive state of mind can make the greatest difference in how well the student learns a second language, according to Ellen Rhoades, Ed.S., LSLS Cert. AVT. If the student experiences fear, discomfort,

anxiety or a negative attitude towards the endeavor of learning a second language, it is important that their concerns be recognized, discussed and allayed. Jane Madell, Ph.D., CCC-SLP/A, LSLS Cert. AVT, reminds parents that, just like students with typical hearing, some children will have a natural inclination and ability to learn foreign languages while others will have greater difficulty. She advises parents to facilitate a meeting with the foreign language teacher at the beginning of the school year to explain the effects of hearing loss on learning in the classroom and assist the teacher in knowing how to maximize optimal classroom functioning. Open communication between teachers, parents and

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Rachel Chaikof

Factors related to hearing loss should also be considered, such as the age at which the child received the diagnosis of hearing loss and the subsequent ages of amplification, intervention and development of good listening skills. For some children and adolescents, dual or sequential language learning may not be the most optimal choice, Rhoades noted. Parents should consider the complex learning needs of the student, including whether or not there are additional learning challenges, such as difficulties in the core cognitive capacities of attention and working memory, which can significantly compromise a student’s capacities for learning another spoken language. When deciding on which foreign language to study, Rhoades cautions parents and students to be aware that while all languages are equally learnable among babies and toddlers, learning tonal languages at a later age may be a bit more difficult for those with limited acoustic accessibility. For example, intonational patterns in most African or South-East Asian languages carry different lexical meanings such as the varied tones of vowels in Chinese. However, adjustments to digital hearing aids or cochlear implant sound processor programs often can be made to improve each student’s access to the suprasegmental speech cues such as tones in a tonal language. “Students who are aware of these issues and are highly

professionals is instrumental to fostering student success. Parents and professionals need to communicate to teachers of foreign languages that, despite advancements in hearing aids and cochlear implant technology, they do not provide typical hearing to anyone with hearing loss. Before making a decision to learn a second language in school, there are several key considerations for parents and students. Prior to studying another language, parents should consider the student’s level of communicative competency in their native language, advised Ellen Rhoades. “If the student does not yet have a strong linguistic base, it may be difficult to learn a second spoken language successfully,” she said.

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motivated to learn a tonal language should not be discouraged from doing so.” “We know that auditory skill development in both spoken language and music facilitates speech perception,” Rhoades said. “We also know that speakers of tonal languages seem to have better musical pitch perception. So it stands to reason that learning a tonal language, while difficult, might improve both auditory attentional and perceptual skills of children with hearing loss. Indeed, children with typical hearing reportedly improve their critical listening skills as a result of learning a tonal language.” On the other hand, some foreign languages such as Italian and Spanish, may lend themselves to easier learning because spelling and pronunciation are closely linked, according to Madell.

ASL as a Second Language Option Many high schools, colleges and universities now recognize American Sign Language (ASL) as meeting foreign language requirements. If a student struggles with learning a second spoken language, ASL may be an option, as visually based signed languages are neurobiologically and functionally different from auditory-based spoken languages, according to Rhoades. Additional factors to consider when electing to learn ASL are other family

Questions and Considerations for Second Language Learning in the Classroom Ellen Rhoades, Ed.S., LSLS Cert. AVT, lists the following helpful questions for parents to keep in mind when evaluating their child’s acoustic accessibility when learning a second spoken language. • Is the student taking advantage of optimal hearing technology? • Does the foreign language teacher speak clearly and above soft conversational level? • Is acoustic clutter within the classroom minimized? • Can the student be seated so that the teacher is no more than 5-6 feet away, especially when not using an assistive listening system?

• Does the student have access to an effective assistive listening system that consistently works well? • Do both student and teacher know how to appropriately manipulate that listening system? • If the student has an Individualized Education Program (IEP), can classroom accommodations for second language learning be made part of the IEP?

members who are deaf and use ASL and the student’s sense of social inclusion. “When adolescent students are linguistically proficient yet persistently experience social exclusion even after extensive intervention, I may recommend they learn ASL instead of learning a second spoken language; this is because it is important for students to have a sense of belonging,” said Rhoades. However, both Madell and Rhoades do not recommend learning ASL as a second language for younger students who are still in the process of learning to listen and speak in their primary language if the family has chosen a listening and spoken language outcome for their child.

Tips and Strategies for Learning a Foreign Language Learning a second language is an adventure of a lifetime. As attested by the students themselves (see sidebar on this page), a positive attitude towards learning was key to their success in the classroom. Mariela Goett, who has profound hearing loss in both ears, vividly recalls the first day of her college Arabic class in which the instructor refused to speak in English. “It was the most terrifying class I’ve ever had,” she said. “The next day, only 10 of the original 30 students remained in the class and I was among them. It’s not just people who are hard of hearing that get discouraged. Every time I have a difficult class, whether it is a language class or an economics class, I just take a deep breath and remind myself that the most important thing is to learn. When we make mistakes, we are learning.”

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask the Teacher for Assistance Learning to listen in a second language is extremely important as it allows for effective communication, relationship building and a fuller experience. Rachel Chaikof, who has profound hearing loss and has studied French since ninth grade, asked her French teacher to evaluate, correct and give feedback on her pronunciation in French. In order to make sure she heard the sounds correctly, Chaikof regularly asked the teacher to repeat words. Vivie Moraiti, who is Greek and studied English as a foreign

language, wrote English pronunciations down in Greek letters, which helped her with remembering the words and using them in speaking. “Always be gracious if someone corrects you and you know they are right. Accept it, repeat it so it sticks, and move on. Don’t get frustrated—frustration gets you nowhere,” said Moraiti, who has profound hearing loss in both ears.

The listening component of learning a foreign language is often a source of apprehension for students with hearing loss. “My biggest advice is to not let your hearing be an excuse to not make an effort on listening components,” Goett said. “I have had so many difficulties with listening exams, and I have always hated them. But I never gave up trying. Remember that Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

Experiences and Perspectives Volta Voices connected with students with hearing loss—all of them adults now—who are fluent in a number of languages and who generously shared their experiences, strategies and advice about learning a foreign language in a classroom setting as well as on their own. Rachel Chaikof, 26, from Boston, Mass. She has profound hearing loss in both ears and wears bilateral cochlear implants. She received her first implant at age 2 and her second one at age 17. She is a fluent speaker of French, which she has studied since ninth grade.

“When being faced with the challenge of learning a second language, students should remind themselves about what opportunities it could open to them—traveling to the countries where the second language is spoken, building new friendships, participating in cultural exchange programs, studying abroad and working overseas.” Rachel Dubin, 36, from Washington, D.C. She has profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, identified at age 3 with all residual hearing lost at age 5. She has bilateral cochlear implants, which she received as an adult in 2001 and 2010. She has studied Hebrew, French, Russian and Serbian and is most fluent in French and Russian.

“It’s challenging but rewarding to learn a foreign language. Whichever language you choose to learn, remember you can do it as well as, or better than, your classmates with typical hearing.” Mariela Goett, 26, from the Bay Area, Calif. She has profound hearing loss in both ears. She received a cochlear implant at age 11 and her other ear is unaided. She learned Spanish as a teenager, because she wanted to communicate with her Peruvian cousins. She started learning Arabic when she was 18 years old as a freshman in college and spent her junior year in Cairo, Egypt. After graduation, she lived in Damascus, Syria for a year.

“Don’t be afraid of people not making accommodations for you and working with your hearing loss. They will always figure out a way to ‘fit’ you in their lives.” Vivie Moraiti, 30, from Greece. She has profound hearing loss in both ears. She wore hearing aids until age 25 when she received a cochlear implant in her left ear. She started learning English as an 8-9 year old and has never stopped improving it. She loves how English connects her with friends all over the world.

“Language is what keeps us sharp, and the more we learn, the more we love it. Don’t be discouraged by dissident voices, and just follow your instinct.”

VOLTA VOICES • JULY / AUGUST 201 3

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Mariela Goett at Crac de Chevaliers, a Crusader castle located about 25 miles west of Homs, Syria.

If listening to the audio recordings is challenging, Chaikof suggests asking the instructor if the transcript could be read to you. If this is not possible, you should still try to listen to the audio recordings while reading the transcript to practice your listening skills. Rachel Dubin, who has profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and has studied foreign languages all her life, arranged with the instructor and the school for individual tutoring from an upperclassman and extra reading, since her hearing loss did not allow her to understand the tapes. If possible, “arrange to have listening comprehension quizzes and tests given to you one-on-one. Meet with the instructor regularly to go over any questions you may have and to touch base with regards to your progress,” she advised.

Study Strategies “Whatever language you learn, be passionate about it. You must want to learn a particular language or it won’t work. Be prepared to put in the work to learn it— twice the work, if necessary,” said Dubin. To keep up with the pace of learning new vocabulary and grammar, studying outside of class is really important. If you fall behind, you will struggle to communicate effectively and your reading comprehension will suffer. Chaikof made flash cards to review the vocabulary and practice her pronunciation. She also made her own study guides by creating sentences in English, which she then translated in French. Once she got to a more advanced

VOLTA VOICES • JULY/AUGUST 201 3

level, she regularly read online news articles in French to practice her reading skills. “My strategies were these: read, read, read! Keep studying, but also involve the language in your leisure time. I improved by leaps and bounds by reading books in English and that helped my vocabulary grow, too,” recalled Moraiti.

Cultural Immersion Learning a foreign language is more than learning new vocabulary, grammar, syntax and pronunciation. It also means learning about a new culture and a different way of doing things. Immersing yourself in the culture of the language you are trying to learn is a sure way to learn, have fun and build relationships. Chaikof participated in a number of French cultural immersion programs over the years, including hosting a French student at her family home in the States when she was still in high school. For most of her college years, Dubin lived on the Russian language floor of her dorm. “I loved the experience of being immersed in Russian 24/7. It made studying a lot easier, too, since I could just go down the hall or next door if I had a homework question,” she said. Students who have the opportunity and confidence to do so should consider studying abroad. Goett lived in Cairo, Egypt, during her junior year of college, and after graduation, she lived in Damascus, Syria. She formed many lasting friendships and believes that living abroad greatly improved her Arabic. Now, she can iden-

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Vivie Moraiti

Classroom Accommodations

Rachel Dubin visiting the Temple of Zeus in Athens, Greece.

tify words in Arabic songs and is getting good at speechreading Arabic. Moraiti found ways to learn English from native or fluent speakers because she wanted to learn slang, idioms and phrasal verbs that weren’t available in textbooks. “I have a friend—an AG Bell member— who has been a big help in improving and polishing my English,” she said.

As Chaikof noted, the most ideal classroom accommodation for students with hearing loss who are learning a second language is having a foreign language teacher who is extremely supportive and is willing to understand the challenges of teaching a student with hearing loss. Moraiti agreed: “My experience has been very positive, because I had a very positive teacher, and one that thought anything was possible.” Practically, if the student benefits from it, the availability of an assistive listening device, such as an FM or sound field system, will ensure that the student can hear clearly what the teacher and other students are saying. Preferential seating and note takers proved instrumental for Dubin’s

progress in Hebrew, Russian and French. In addition, she was able to have the language lab requirement waived in exchange for tutoring from an upperclassman. Chaikof worked with her French teacher, who read her the transcripts of audio recordings, many of which were on audiocassettes and had background noise which diminished the sound quality. She also met with her teacher after school once a week to review and work on correct pronunciation. “Teachers can facilitate the learning process by systematically ensuring that letter sounds and word pronunciations are made available in the written form, since this may reinforce the listening process for students,” said Rhoades. Regardless of whether learning a foreign language in the classroom leads to fluency or not, the process is challenging, rewarding and beneficial. Bi-/multi-linguism enriches the lives and experiences of everyone involved, encourages a student’s curiosity and desire for self-improvement, and enhances their connection and relationship with the world and its people.

VOLTA VOICES • JULY / AUGUST 201 3

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State Laws for Students Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing What Do They Mean for Families?

By Susan Boswell

n recent years, states have steadily passed legislation designed to focus on the unique communication and educational needs of students who are deaf and hard of hearing. The ideas that form the cornerstone of these laws are now making their way to the federal level as part of a national public policy advocacy campaign as well as proposed federal legislation. Parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing should be aware of these initiatives—and understand what they mean for students who are pursuing a listening and spoken language outcome. Laws for Deaf Child’s Bill of Rights (DCBR) have been sweeping the nation and one may be in the works in your state.

At least 14 states already passed a DCBR and several states—Florida, Massachusetts and Virginia—have had recent legislative activity, while other states have considered, but not passed, this legislation at some point in time. The DCBR is a state law that is designed to foster recognition at the state level of the educational, communication and language needs that are unique to students who are deaf and hard of hearing as well as educational options for these students. These laws are intended to foster dialogue between parents and school districts—and ensure that this discussion occurs—during the process of developing an Individualized Education

Program (IEP) or determining accommodations to support students with hearing loss in the classroom. While DCBR laws may be wellintentioned in their focus on the needs of students who are deaf and hard of hearing, these laws frequently have language that focuses on access and rights to sign language which is not relevant to the majority of students who are deaf and hard of hearing in the public schools. National data show that 52% of students who are deaf and hard of hearing nationwide are educated in environments which focus on listening and spoken language (Gallaudet Research Institute, 2008).

VOLTA VOICES • JULY / AUGUST 201 3

with Disabilities Act (ADA), which provides access to a free and appropriate public education for all students with disabilities, including those who are deaf and hard of hearing, from birth to the postsecondary level. The language in some state laws runs counter to federal

laws which have long promoted access for people with disabilities to the educational mainstream by providing specialized services, instruction and accommodations. Some DCBR laws, for example, suggest that the determination of the least restrictive environment for a child take into

AG Bell Recommendations for Deaf Child’s Bill of Rights

www.shutterstock.com/Mahesh Patil

Many issues included in the language of various statewide Deaf Child’s Bill of Rights (DCBR) laws already are addressed by existing federal laws, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). AG Bell supports the educational needs of all children who are deaf and hard of hearing and advocates for the development of state legislation that specifically supports the needs of children who are deaf and hard of hearing and who are pursuing a listening and spoken language outcome. AG Bell recommends that state legislation should:

Despite the changing demographics of the population of students who are deaf and hard of hearing, many state DCBR laws call for qualified and certified personnel who can communicate directly with children using their mode of communication. DCBR laws also support access to a sufficient number of same-language mode peers who are of the same age and ability level so that a “critical mass” of peers is available with whom children who are deaf and hard of hearing can communicate directly in the same language. These state laws have been passed despite overarching federal legislation, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Americans

VOLTA VOICES • JULY/AUGUST 201 3

• Support the right and responsibility of parents to make informed educational and medical decisions for their child in consultation with professionals. • Provide the right for families to be made aware of all communication options and hearing technology in an unbiased manner.

• Entitle children who are deaf and hard of hearing to the same opportunity to develop gradeand age-appropriate listening, language, literacy and academic achievement commensurate with their peers. • Support access to quality, ongoing early intervention services that are critical to listening and spoken language development. • Recognize the Listening and Spoken Language Specialist (LSLS®) certification as the standard for providers with the highest level of qualifications who serve children pursuing a listening and spoken language outcome. • Offer children who are deaf and hard of hearing equal opportunities to benefit from educational services and programs as well as the extracurricular activities that all students enjoy.

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consideration the unique communication needs of children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

National Advocacy Efforts Many of the ideas and principles in statewide DCBR laws are now included in a national public awareness and legislative campaign called “Child First,” which was launched last fall by the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD). The campaign has similar objectives as DCBR laws— to address the language, communication and educational needs of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. A focal point of the campaign is the proposed “Alice Cogswell Act of 2013,” which is named after a student who led to the founding of one of the first schools for the deaf in the United States in the early 1800s. This stand-alone bill is intended to advance discussion among

congressional representatives, disability organizations and other stakeholders prior to the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Key aspects of the proposed legislation include: ʶʶ Consideration of special factors—the proposed bill discusses specific kinds of learning that may be needed by students who are deaf and hard of hearing. ʶʶ Natural environment—IDEA currently places emphasis on the home as the natural environment; however, this act proposes that for a child who is deaf or hard of hearing, a natural environment can be a specialized setting with other children who are deaf and hard of hearing. ʶʶ Evaluations—the act calls for evaluations of language and communication proficiencies in their primary language or mode of communication. ʶʶ State plans—all states must have a plan in place for the implementation of IDEA; however, the act proposes that

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the state plan have a section that specifically addresses the needs of students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Reauthorization of IDEA is likely to be years away, but advocates are working now to begin discussion around the proposed Alice Cogswell Act of 2013 to build broad-based support among disability organizations and in Congress. At press time, there were no congressional champions for the proposed legislation, which is being discussed by coalitions representing professional and consumer organizations related to hearing loss. In the years leading up to the reauthorization, the time is now to begin a national dialogue about the future of the education of children who are deaf and hard of hearing and the opportunities for children to pursue a listening and spoken language outcome in the mainstream so that they can achieve language, literacy and communication skills commensurate with their peers.

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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.

Hear Our Voices

Becoming a Bates Bobcat: My College Admissions Process By Sam Mellert

Barbara Mellert

entered the college admissions period of my life with one small but important advantage: I knew I wanted to go to a college offering a strong science curriculum. With a natural inclination for sciences, I also wanted to give other individuals the same opportunity to “find” themselves as I was given—I want to be a cochlear implant surgeon. I received my cochlear implants when I was 11 and 12 years old, which changed my life for the better. Pre-implants, I was painfully shy and had almost no self-confidence. Social bluffing was an hourly occurrence. Post-implants, I was able to hear my friends and teachers, I broke out of my shell and now glow with self-confidence. Cochlear implants have done so much for me and since I have lived through two implant surgeries, I will be able to offer insights and answer questions that surgeons with typical hearing may not be able to. So I set off on finding the most optimal college fit with this aspiration in mind. I devoted my junior year of high school to college visits. Other than a school with strong sciences, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted in a school. I looked at schools as big as Tulane and Boston College and as small as Endicott College. That summer, I went to YMCA Camp Coniston in Croydon, N.H., as a camp counselor and had the best summer of my life. Once I got back to school in August, it was a serious step back into reality. Guidance counselors were flagging their students down to talk about applications, SATs, ACTs and letters of recommendation…the frenzy of senior year had begun! Luckily, I had emailed my teachers halfway through the summer to request letters of recommendation, which they truly appreciated, since many students wait until October to ask for recommendations.

Sam Mellert, left, with Carlos, an exchange student from Malaga, Spain, who stayed with Sam’s family in New Hampshire.

Being proactive and working on establishing solid relationships with my teachers throughout high school was important for me. For example, I had the same history teacher for three years in a row; about once a week, we would meet during lunch to discuss world issues. My chemistry teacher’s curiosity about my cochlear implants turned to fascination once I took the time to explain how they work and what they do to give me access to sound. It made perfect sense to ask these two teachers for a college recommendation. Next on the list: test scores! Although my grade point average was high throughout high school, I always felt like my test scores didn’t tell my story. I had no room in my fall semester schedule to accommodate an SAT prep course, so I took matters into my own hands. I bought an SAT prep book and committed to completing 10 pages a night for a month and a half. This did help

my scores a little bit, but I still felt defeated by the concept of standardized testing. As I was setting up admissions meetings as well as campus tours, I called the head of admissions of each school I was touring to let them know that I would need front row seating (particularly for the larger schools with 100+ people attending admissions meetings) as well as small tour groups with a tour guide who had a loud voice. I also contacted the head of disabilities at each school to set up a meeting to talk about accommodations. During these meetings I would outline exactly what I needed from the school in order for me to succeed as a student with hearing loss. In terms of accommodations, I asked each disabilities coordinator if they could help provide the following: a smart pen, preferential seating, closed captioning and a strobe light in my room as well as the shower in case of a fire. To my surprise, almost every college I

VOLTA VOICES • JULY / AUGUST 201 3

to attend that institution the following year and not apply to any other schools. With the golf coach’s recommendation on my application, I thought I had it made; there was no way I could get rejected, right? So on a frosty mid-December morning, I was shocked to see a regular-sized letter from Bates College. I had gotten deferred, which meant that they had put me into the regular decision pool for reconsideration. My holiday break was no longer relaxing, as I now had a January 1 deadline for nine more college applications. I spent many hours and late nights writing supplements and requesting that my transcripts and letters of recommendation be sent to these other schools. With my parents’ help, I got all of my applications in on time. Recommendations and test scores aside, I believe the personal essay is an applicant’s opportunity to tell admissions counselors his or her story and differentiate him/herself from other applicants. In my essay, I made sure to reach out to the admissions counselors and make it very clear that I’ve done very well for a high school student with the added challenge of having hearing loss. I wanted them to walk away from my application realizing that even though my scores and grade point average were comparable to those of a typical college applicant, I had achieved those numbers with hearing loss, which sets me apart from the rest of the applicant pool. Once my applications were in, the next two and a half months were a waiting game. My letter of deferral did not weaken my passion for Bates; if anything, I wanted to go there even more than I did before. I wanted to let Bates know that

YMCA Camp Coniston

visited said that they could easily provide these accommodations for me. I was greatly relieved. Now that my accommodation needs were taken care of, I could choose a school purely based on academics. At first I thought Boston College was the place for me, but I kept visiting more colleges. In one “New York” weekend I found myself enjoying Union College a great deal. A few weeks later, my mom told me she had signed me up for a tour and info session at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine. I immediately protested. “Mom, there is zero chance I’m going to school in Maine…I’ve lived through 18 snowy winters in New Hampshire, I don’t want four more winters with more snow!” Fortunately, I didn’t win this argument, and I went to visit Bates. My family decided to take back roads through the White Mountains instead of the interstate, and after following bogus directions, we managed to turn a threehour car ride into five and a half hours. I was in a horrendous mood from all of the unexpected driving, but the moment we pulled into the beautiful Bates campus, my frustration evaporated. The college had everything I wanted in a school, including being test-optional, so I didn’t have to submit any test scores. After discovering that Bates is a division III school for athletics, I was in contact with the golf coach to talk about the possibility of playing at Bates the next fall. After a week of emailing with the coach, he had convinced me to apply early decision to Bates, with him strongly recommending my application to the admissions office. Early decision is binding, which means that, if accepted, the applicant is expected

Sam Mellert, far right, at YMCA Camp Coniston in front of the Grand Canyon.

VOLTA VOICES • JULY/AUGUST 201 3

they were still my top choice, so I asked my golf coach to send in an additional letter of recommendation, and I checked in periodically with the Bates golf coach as well as the New Hampshire representative for Bates admissions. I began receiving acceptance letters in early March, mostly from my “safety schools.” As the end of March arrived, I would drive home right after school to look in my mailbox for large envelopes. One late March evening, after a long day, I got home to open the mailbox… In it, there was a single large envelope from Bates with “Congratulations!” on its front. Hugs, cheers and tears followed for the next hour. I was beyond excited and relieved. I still had to make a decision. My top three schools were very different from each other, and coincidentally, all three were testoptional. At Clark University, I was thoroughly impressed by how knowledgeable and proactive the disabilities coordinator was. Union College also was very interesting to me. I was impressed with their premed program and with the students. I had visited Bates twice already, so I knew that the disabilities coordinator was superb; she even had a list of which buildings on campus had good and bad acoustics! She also promised to work with me to try to get small class sizes for my freshman classes. I had no doubt I would be accommodated well at Bates. I decided on one last overnight stay on the Bates campus in order to get a taste of college life there. That night, I was eating dinner with the student I was shadowing and half dozen of his friends. They all noticed another student at the next table eating alone, and invited him to come eat with us. After dinner, I learned that this student was a complete stranger to the students I was with. I immediately texted my mom to tell her that I was going to Bates in the fall, end of discussion. The students at Bates College really display qualities that I value—being inclusive, down to earth and humble. The next morning I met with the golf coach to finalize plans for being on the team next fall, stocked up on Bates merchandise, and walked down to the admissions building with my parents to sign up for the fall of 2013. My college process was complete—no more visits, emails or phone calls. I am officially a Bates Bobcat!

Directory of Services

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Emerson Bend, Tustin, CA 92782. 714-573-2143 (voice) - KarenatAVS@aol.com (email). Karen Rothwell-Vivian, M.S.Ed., M.A., CCC-A, LSLS Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist (LSLS Cert. AVT). Auditory-Verbal Therapy and audiological consultation for children with hearing loss from infancy. Expertise with hearing aids, cochlear implants, FM systems, and mainstreaming support. Auditory Rehabilitation both pre-lingual and post-lingual hearing loss for children and adults.

Children’s Choice for Hearing and Talking, CCHAT Center – Sacramento, 11100 Coloma Road, Rancho Cordova, Ca 95670 • 916-361-7290 (voice). Laura Turner, Principal. An auditory/oral day school educating children and their families from birth through early elementary grades. Other programs include adult cochlear implant support, parent-infant program, on-site audiological services and mainstreaming support services. The school is staffed with credentialed teachers, licensed speech-language pathologists and a licensed audiologist. 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 • 408-3454949 • 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 Performing Arts Academy and Educational Center, 9801 Washington Boulevard, 2nd Fl, Culver City, CA 90232 – 310.280.0878, 800.948.7712 • www. kidswithnolimits.org. • Provides free speech, language, literacy and support services to dhh children and their families between the ages of 3 and 18 through its No Limits Educational Center. Additionally, No Limits offers a national performing arts program for schools and the community that builds the self confidence and communication skills of children with a hearing loss.

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.

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 preemployment 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.

n Colorado Bill Daniels Center for Children’s Hearing, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Department of Audiology, Speech Pathology and Learning Services, 13123 East 16th Avenue, B030 Aurora, CO 80045 • www.childrenscolorado.org (website) • 720-777-6531 (voice) • 720-777-6886 (TTY) • BillDanielsCenter@childrenscolorado.org (email). We provide comprehensive audiology, speechlanguage and pediatric otolaryngology services for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (ages birth through 21 years). Our pediatric team specializes in family-centered care and includes pediatric otolaryngologists, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and a deaf educator, family consultant and clinical social worker. Therapy services include individual, group and parent support designed to meet each family’s goals for their child’s development. We also provide advanced technology hearing aid fitting and cochlear implant services.

Rosie’s Ranch: Ride! Listen! Speak! 303-257-5943 or 720-851-0927 • www.rosiesranch.com • RosiesRanch@comcast. net • Our mission: To provide a family centered atmosphere where children with deafness or oral language challenges will expand their listening, verbal and reading skills by engaging in activities with horses, under the guidance of a highly trained and qualified staff. Our programs: Mom and Tot: A 90-minute parent and tot group pony activity; ages 1-5. Pony Camp: Daily riding and camp activities; age 6-13. Saturday Riding Club: For riders of all skill levels; ages 6-16. Out of state families welcome to experience ranch life; accommodations will be arranged!

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Directory of Services n 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 cuttingedge 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 • 860-455-1404 (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 post-rehabilitation, 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.

n Florida Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/Jacksonville, 9803 Old St.

Augustine Road, Suite 7, Jacksonville, FL 32257 • 904-880-9001(voice/relay). 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 Options School 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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University of Miami Debbie School, Auditory Oral Education Program, 1601 Northwest 12th Avenue, Miami, Florida 33136 • 305-243-6961 (voice) • Kathleen C. Vergara, Director, Debbie Institute (kvergara@ med.miami.edu) and Lynn W. Miskiel, Director of Ancillary Services (lmiskiel@med.miami. edu). Our auditory-oral education program provides early intervention and primary education services in a nurturing, inclusive listening and spoken language environment. Classrooms include early preschool, preschool, kindergarten and primary. Services include early intervention, family education, individualized small group instruction, audiology and speechlanguage pathology. Staff consists of credentialed teachers, a credentialed service coordinator, licensed therapists and a licensed audiologist.

n 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, 1901 Century Blvd. Suite 20, Atlanta Georgia 30345 • (voice) 404-633-8911 • (fax) 404-633-6403 • (email) listen@avchears.org • (website) www. avchears.org. Auditory-Verbal Center – Macon, 2720 Sheraton Drive, Suite D-140, Macon, Georgia 31204 • (voice) 478-741-0019 • (fax) 478-742-1308 • (email) listen@avchears.org • (website) www.avchears.org. A comprehensive auditory-verbal program for children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families. Also provide audiological services for birth to geriatric. Provide adult cochlear implant rehabilitation.

n 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!505493 (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) 595-8200 (voice) • (630) 595-8282 (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 parentinfant and toddler classes and home based services offered in Wood Dale and Chicago areas. Parent Support/Education classes provided. Child’s Voice is a Certified Moog Program. The University of Chicago, Comer Children’s Hospital Pediatric Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implant Center, 5841 S. Maryland Avenue, DCAM 4H, Chicago, IL 60637 • 773-702-8182. Program Director, Sally Tannenbaum, M.Ed., CED, LSLS Cert. AVT, stannenbaum@surgery.bsd.uchicago. edu. Dr. Dana Suskind, dsuskind@surgery.bsd. uchicago.edu. Website: www.uchicagokidshospital. org/cochlear. The center provides full medical and audiological services for infants, children and adults. Comprehensive services for children with hearing loss and their families are provided from time of diagnosis through schools years. Services include otolaryngology, audiology services including cochlear implants and loaner hearing aids, and listen and spoken language therapy. Mentoring in Listening and Spoken Language, Auditory-Verbal therapy is available for professionals. In addition, the Center is actively involved in research projects including developing an evidenced-based, listening and spoken language curriculum called Project ASPIRE.

Directory of Services n Indiana St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf – Indianapolis. 9192 Waldemar Road,

Indianapolis, IN 46268 • (317) 471-8560 (voice) • (317) 471-8627 (fax) • www.sjid.org; touellette@ sjid.org (email) • Teri Ouellette, M.S. Ed., LSLS Cert AVEd, Director. St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf – Indianapolis, a campus of the St. Joseph Institute system, serves children with hearing loss, birth to age six. Listening and Spoken Language programs include early intervention, toddler and preschool classes, cochlear implant rehabilitation, mainstream therapy and consultation and daily speech therapy. Challenging speech, academic programs and personal development are offered in a nurturing environment. (See Missouri for other campus information)

n 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) 410-318-6759 • 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.

n Massachusetts Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/Boston, 1 Whitman Road, Canton,

MA 02021 • 781-821-3499 (voice) • 781-821-3904 (tty) • 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, 47 Round Hill Road, Northampton, MA 01060 • 413-5843450 (voice/tty). 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.

n 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.

n Mississippi DuBard School for Language Disorders, The University of Southern

Mississippi, 118 College Drive #5215, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001 • 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 nongraded, 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 – 601-9225530 (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.

n 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, co-principals. 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.

The Moog Center for Deaf Education, 12300 South Forty Drive, St. Louis, MO 63141 • 314-692-7172 (voice) • 314-692-8544 (fax) • www. moogcenter.org (website) • Betsy Moog Brooks, Executive Director, bbrooks@moogcenter.org. Services provided to children who are deaf and hardof-hearing from birth to 9 years of age. Programs include the Family School (birth to 3), School (3-9 years), Audiology (including cochlear implant programming), mainstream services, educational evaluations, parent education and support groups, professional workshops, teacher education, and student teacher placements. The Moog Center for Deaf Education is a Certified Moog Program. St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf – St. Louis, 1809 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield, MO 63017 • (636) 532-3211 (voice/TYY) • www.sjid.org • An independent, Catholic school serving children with hearing loss birth through the eighth grade. Listening and Spoken Language programs include early intervention, toddler and preschool classes, K-8th grade, ihear internet therapy, audiology clinic, evaluations, mainstream consultancy, and summer school. Challenging speech, academic programs and personal development are offered in a supportive environment. ISACS accredited. Approved private agency of Missouri Department of Education and Illinois Department of Education. (See Indiana for other campus information)

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Directory of Services n New Jersey Summit Speech School for the Hearing-Impaired Child, F.M. Kirby Center is an 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) • 908-5080012 (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.

Auditory/Oral School of New York, 3321 Avenue “M”, Brooklyn, NY 11234 • 718531-1800 (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 (center-based 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.

n 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 auditory-verbal speech therapy for infants, children and adults with any level of hearing loss.

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) • 954-6011938 (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.

JOHN TRACY CLINIC JTCPARENTCONNECT offers live online Parent Education Classes A set of online presentations for parents on: Encouraging Listening Beginning Language Developing Speech “In the four years that I’ve been at John Tracy, I feel like I could have earned a degree on how to be a proactive parent, a confident parent.” – JTC Parent Class Alumna

Parents are the key to children’s learning! Enrich a family’s tele-therapy or preschool program. Interactive classes and parent materials! Available in English or Spanish. Group or individual enrollments at low cost. Sept–Dec 2013 and Jan–Apr 2014. Contact pals@jtc.org by August 15th 2013 for September enrollment.

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Directory of Services Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/New York, 80 East End Avenue, New York, NY 10028 • 212-585-3500 (voice/tty). 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 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 • 631588-0530 (voice) • www.clearyschool.org Kenneth Morseon, Superintendent. Offers Parent Infant/ Toddler Program with services of Teacher of the Deaf, Speech Therapy & AV therapy. Transition Program into our Preschool Auditory-Oral Program. 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, this program offers intensive speech therapy services with a goal to mainstream students when they become school age. Additional services offered include: 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). Mark R. Prowatzke Ph.D., Executive Director. State-supported school maintains Infant Toddler Program with focus on parent education and family support that includes listening and spoken language training by a speech therapist and TOD. Audiological services onsite. Auditory-verbal preschool and kindergarten (ages 3-6) program serves students who are deaf or hard of hearing alongside peers with typical hearing. Curriculum addresses NYS standards as it promotes language development through listening in a less restrictive setting. Full time TOD, along with music, art, library, audiological services and therapies that include individual and group speech, occupational, physical and family supports are available onsite. Certified Auditory Verbal Educators are on staff.

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. The Children’s Hearing Institute, 380 Second Avenue at 22nd Street, 9th floor, New York, NY 10010 • 646-438-7819 (voice). Educational Outreach Program – provides continuing education courses for professionals to maintain certification, with accreditation by American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), American Academy of Audiology (AAA), and The AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language. Free parent and family programs for children with hearing loss. CHI’s mission is to achieve the best possible outcome for children with hearing loss by caring for their clinical needs, educating the professionals that work with them, and providing their parents with the pertinent information needed for in-home success.

n North Carolina BEGINNINGS For Parents of Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Inc., 302 Jefferson Street, Suite 110, PO Box 17646, Raleigh, NC 27605, 919-715-4092 (voice) – 919-715-4093 (fax) – Raleigh@ncbegin.org (email). Joni Alberg, Executive Director. BEGINNINGS provides emotional support, unbiased information, and technical assistance to parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, deaf parents with hearing children, and professionals serving those families. BEGINNINGS assists parents of children from birth through age 21 by providing information and support that will empower them as informed decision makers, helping them access the services they need for their child, and promoting the importance of early intervention and other educational programs. BEGINNINGS believes that given accurate, objective information about hearing loss, parents can make sound decisions for their child about educational placement, communication methodology, and related service needs.

CASTLE – Center for Acquisition of Spoken Language Through Listening Enrichment, 5501 Fortunes Ridge Drive, Suite A, Chapel Hill, NC 27713 • 919-419-1428 (voice) • 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. A hands-on training program for hearing-related professionals/university students is also available.

n Oklahoma Hearts for Hearing, 3525 NW 56th Street,

Suite A-150, Oklahoma City, OK 73112 • 405548-4300 • 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 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 auditoryoral preschool, parent-toddler group and a summer enrichment program. Continuing education and consulting available. www.heartsforhearing.org.

n Pennsylvania Center for Childhood Communication at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, 3405 Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia 19104 • (800) 551-5480 (voice) • (215) 590-5641 (fax) • www.chop.edu/ccc (website). The CCC provides Audiology, SpeechLanguage and Cochlear Implant services and offers support through CATIPIHLER, an interdisciplinary program including mental health and educational services for children with hearing loss and their families from time of diagnosis through transition into school-aged services. In addition to serving families at our main campus in Philadelphia, satellite offices are located in Bucks County, Exton, King of Prussia, and Springfield, PA and in Voorhees, Mays Landing, and Princeton, NJ. Professional Preparation in Cochlear Implants (PPCI), a continuing education training program for teachers and speech-language pathologists, is also headquartered at the CCC.

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/Pennsylvania, 455 South Roberts Road, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 • 610-525-9600 (voice/ tty). 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, 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.

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Directory of Services Delaware County Intermediate Unit # 25, Hearing and Language Programs, 200 Yale Avenue, Morton, PA 19070 • 610-9389000, 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.speakmiracles.org (website) • ll@depaulinst. com (email) • Lillian Rountree Lippencott, Director of Outreach & Development. As western Pennsylvania’s only auditory-oral school for children who are deaf or hard of hearing, DePaul School provides Listening and Spoken Language (LSL) education to 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 skills needed to succeed and transition to their neighborhood schools by first grade.

n South Carolina The University of South Carolina Speech and Hearing Research Center, 1601 St. Julian Place, Columbia, SC, 29204 • (803) 777-2614 (voice) • (803) 253-4143 (fax) • Center Director: Danielle Varnedoe, daniell@mailbox. sc.edu. The center provides audiology services, speech-language 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 (803-777-1698), Nikki Herrod-Burrows (803-777-2669), Gina Crosby-Quinatoa (803) 777-2671, and Jamy Claire Archer (803-777-1734).

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n Tennessee 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 • 615-936-5000 (voice) • 615-9361225 (fax) • nccdfc@vanderbilt.edu (email) • www. mc.vanderbilt.edu/VanderbiltBillWilkersonCenter (web). Tamala Bradham, Ph.D., Associate Director in Clinical Services. The NCCDFC Service Division is an auditory learning program serving children with hearing loss from birth through 21 years. Services include educational services at the Mama Lere Hearing School at Vanderbilt as well as audiological and speechlanguage pathology services. Specifically, services includes audiological evaluations, hearing aid services, cochlear implant evaluations and programming, speech, language, and listening therapy, educational assessments, parent-infant program, toddler program, all day preschool through kindergarten educational program, itinerant/academic tutoring services, parent support groups, and summer enrichment programs.

n Texas Callier Center for Communication Disorders/UT Dallas - Callier-Dallas Facility 1966 Inwood Road, Dallas, TX, 75235

• 214-905-3000 (voice) • 214-905-3012 (TDD) • Callier-Richardson Facility: 811 Synergy Park Blvd., Richardson, TX, 75080 • 972-883-3630 (voice) • 972-883-3605 (TDD) • cpiloto@utdallas. edu (e-mail) • www.callier.utdallas.edu (website). Nonprofit Organization, hearing evaluations, hearing aid dispensing, assistive devices, cochlear implant evaluations, psychology services, speechlanguage pathology services, child development program for children ages six weeks to five years.

The Center for Hearing and Speech, 3636 West Dallas, Houston, TX 77019 • 713523-3633 (voice) • 713-874-1173 (TTY) • 713523-8399 (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, AuditoryVerbal therapy, aural(re) habilitation; family support services. All services offered on sliding fee scale and many services offered in Spanish.

Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children, 603 E. Hildebrand Ave., San Antonio, TX 78212; 210/824-0579; fax 210/826-0436. Founded in 1947, Sunshine Cottage, a listening and spoken language school promoting early identification of hearing loss and subsequent intervention teaching children with hearing impairment (infants through high school.) Stateof-the-art pediatric audiological services include hearing aid fitting, cochlear implant programming, assessment of children maintenance of campus soundfield and FM equipment. Programs include the Newborn Hearing Evaluation Center, Parent-Infant Program, Hearing Aid Loaner and Scholarship Programs, Educational Programs (pre-school through fifth grade on campus and in mainstream settings), Habilitative Services, Speech Language Pathology, Counseling, and Assessment Services. Pre- and post-cochlear implant assessments and habilitation. Accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement, OPTIONschools International, and is a Texas Education Agency approved non-public school. For more information visit www.sunshinecottage.org

n Utah Sound Beginnings at Utah State University, 1000 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT

84322-1000 • 435-797-9235 (voice) • 435-7977519 (fax) • www.soundbeginnings.usu.edu • stacy. wentz@usu.edu (email) • Stacy Wentz, MS, Sound Beginnings Program Coordinator • Kristina. blasier@usu.edu (email) • Kristina Blaiser, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Listening and Spoken Language Graduate Program. A comprehensive listening and spoken language educational program serving children with hearing loss and their families from birth through age five; early intervention services include home- and center-based services, parent training, toddler group, pediatric audiology, teleintervention and individual therapy for children in mainstream settings. The preschool, housed in an innovative lab school, provides classes and research opportunities focused on the development of listening and spoken language for deaf/hard-ofhearing children aged three through five, parent training, and mainstreaming opportunities. The Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education offers the interdisciplinary Listening and Spoken Language graduate training program in Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Deaf Education that emphasizes listening and spoken language for young children with hearing loss. Sound Beginnings is a partner program of the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind.

Directory of Services Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB), 742 Harrison Boulevard, Ogden UT 84404 - 801-629-4712 (voice) 801-629-4701 (TTY) - www.udsb.org (website). USDB is a state funded program for children with hearing loss (birth through high school) serving students in various settings including local district classes and direct educational and consulting services throughout the state. USDB language and communication options include Listening and Spoken Language. USDB has a comprehensive hearing healthcare program which includes an emphasis on hearing technology for optimal auditory access, pediatric audiological evaluations, and cochlear implant management. Services also include Early Intervention, fullday preschool and Kindergarten, intensive day programs, and related services including speech/ language pathology and aural habilitation.

n Wisconsin Center for Communication, Hearing & Deafness, 10243 W. National Avenue,

West Allis, WI 53227 • 414-604-2200(Voice) • 414-604-7200 (Fax) • www.cdhh.org (Website). Amy Peters Lalios, M.A., CCC-A, LSLS Cert. AVT as well as five LSLS Cert. AVEds. Nonprofit agency located in the Milwaukee area provides comprehensive auditory programming to individuals with hearing loss, from infants to the elderly. The Birth to Three program serves children from throughout Southeastern Wisconsin, including education in the home, toddler communication groups, and individual speech therapy. AV Therapy is also provided to school-age children locally as well as through ConnectHear, an interactive teletherapy program. Pre- and post-cochlear implant training is provided for adults and communication strategies and speechreading is offered to individuals as well as in small groups.

INTERNATIONAL n Canada Children’s Hearing and Speech Centre of British Columbia ( formerly

The Vancouver Oral Centre for Deaf Children), 3575 Kaslo Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5M 3H4, Canada • 604-437-0255 (voice) • 604-437-1251 (tty) • 604-437-0260 (fax) • www. childrenshearing.ca (website) • Janet Weil, Principal and Executive Director, jweil@childrenshearing. ca. Our auditory-oral program includes: onsite audiology, cochlear implant mapping, parent guidance, auditory-verbal education, preschool, pre-kindergarten and K, Primary 1-3; 1:1 therapy sessions, itinerant services and teletherapy.

Montreal Oral School for the Deaf, 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). Parent-infant 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.

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Directory of Services n England 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.

List of Advertisers Advanced Bionics Corporation............................................... Inside Back Cover Atlanta Speech School/Southeast Listening & Spoken Language Conference........................................................................................19 Auditory-Verbal Center, Inc................................................................................35 CapTel...................................................................................................................7

Luetke continued from page 48

I serve on the Ontario Minister’s Advisory Council on Special Education as a representative for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. I serve as a liaison for stakeholders and share their successful practices, convey their concerns, and respond to ministry policy proposals or positions. I hear about concerns with the education system. Some school boards are reducing services for students who are deaf and hard of hearing or requiring teaching staff to carry a larger caseload. There is a need for consistency in service delivery for students who are deaf and hard of hearing across Ontario. Five months after the birth of my second child, I suddenly lost a significant amount of hearing. The etiology of the hearing loss is unknown. Some say it was because I had worn powerful analog hearing aids for so long. When my daughter was a year old, I received a cochlear implant. Words alone are not enough to describe the life-changing effects of my newfound hearing. I was able to learn how to hear with the implant quickly and return to teaching in the fall of 1998. I am blessed to be a mother of four children. This has enabled me to hear typical speech and language development which is important when working with babies and preschoolers who are deaf and hard of hearing.

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Central Institute for the Deaf..............................................................................15 Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech...........................................................23 Cochlear Americas.............................................................................................37 DePaul School for Hearing and Speech..............................................................4 Dubard School for Language Disorders............................................................27 Ear Technology Corp. (Dry & Store).................................................................. 36 Harris Communications.......................................................................................6 Jean Weingarten Peninsula Oral School for the Deaf.........................................3 John Tracy Clinic .............................................................................................. 43 MED-EL Corporation.......................................................................... Back Cover National Technical Institute for the Deaf - RIT...................................................32 Oticon...................................................................................... Inside Front Cover Phonak............................................................................................................... 33 St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf.................................................................. 11, 31 Tucker-Maxon School for the Deaf....................................................................46 AG Bell Bookstore..............................................................................................18 AG Bell Financial Aid..........................................................................................10

Up Front

on the Back Page

Catherine Luetke On Becoming a Teacher, Mentor and Mother of Four Interview by Susan Boswell

urprisingly, I did not meet anyone with a hearing loss until I was attending university in Canada. A professor asked if I could provide support to a student with hearing loss who was entering the university and had never been away from home. We ended up being good friends. My true mentors when growing up were my parents, three siblings, grandparents, coaches, several high school teachers and university professors. Today there are far more opportunities for those with a hearing loss to meet others with hearing losses. Schools and organizations serving families are making a concerted effort to offer more opportunities for students who are deaf and hard of hearing to mingle and meet others like themselves. Students today seem to have better self-advocacy skills and greater self-confidence. I was aided with body hearing aids at age 2 in the early 1960s, which were then considered high-tech. My family was fortunate in that there was a Hard of Hearing and Deaf Preschool Clinic in nearby Hamilton, Ontario, which offered a yearround program. Grace Harris Lassman, author of Language for the Preschool Deaf Child (Grune & Stratton, 1950), directed this program. I am proud to have a copy of this book. My speechreading talents came in handy during a Badminton tournament when the coach asked me to speechread the scores from the scorekeeper. I excelled in fine arts in high school and decided to enter Mount Allison

Catherine Luetke and her students. Inset: An acrylic painting by Luetke of Mowat Island, near Parry Sound, north of Ontario.

The practical experiences in my master’s degree program gave me the opportunity to develop strategies that became part of my repertoire when working with my students and families. University in New Brunswick. The course of my career changed during my third year of school as the result of a volunteer experience at the Atlantic Resource Hearing Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, a provincial boarding school in nearby Nova Scotia. I was touched by what I saw and experienced while working with young children who were deaf and hard of hearing and the director of the program urged me to consider teaching. I met Dr. Daniel Ling at the University of Western Ontario. He believed that I could contribute much to the field of auditory-verbal practice. If I hadn’t met Dr. Ling, I would never have entered the field because I didn’t know anyone who taught students who were deaf and hard of hearing. The practical experiences in my master’s degree program gave me the opportunity to develop strategies that became part

of my repertoire when working with my students and families. In the home visits I tell the parents about my hearing loss and explain to them that they must be the real listeners and reporters. I am their coach who provides them with guidance and effective strategies to assist their child to listen and talk. I have mentored many professionals, including those wanting to earn the Listening and Spoken Language Specialist certification, parents and students. In Ontario, parents with children who are in an elementary public or Catholic school have a choice in deciding whether to take French or not. More students with hearing loss are trying it out. My colleagues in deaf education have found that students with hearing loss who have a strong language base in English are the ones capable of learning French in school. Continued on page 47

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.

VOLTA VOICES • JULY / AUGUST 201 3

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