AG Bell VV

Understanding a Child’s aided hearing CharaCteristiCs50 Years of experienCe at YoUr fingertipsCollaborative efforts

VOICESVOICES

W W W . A G B E L L . O R G • V O L 1 7 , I S S U E 6

Alex Ander GrAhAm Bell AssociAtion for the DeAf AnD hArD of heAring

November/December 2010

Winner of The C

ommUniCator award

and The apex award

V O L T A

Amigo Arc is the latest addition to the Oticon Amigo FM family. Arc offers the highest speech bandwidth of any neckloop receiver, for better clarity.

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noVeMBer/DeceMBer 2010

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VOICESV O L T A

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DepartmentsvoiCes from ag bell 3 Opportunities and Resources for the Taking 30 Conversations With Alex Graham

arithmetiC and langUage development 32 Learning the Language of Elementary

Arithmetic

tips for parents 34 10 Ideas for Parenting a Child with Hearing

Loss

VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL

36 10 ideas para criar un niño con pérdida de audición

hear oUr voiCes 38 Two Tales of Language and Arts Creativity

In Every Issue 2 Want to Write for VV?

5 editor’s note

6 Voices Contributors

8 soundbites

40 direCtory of serviCes

48 List of advertisers

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 A t i o n f o r t h e D e A f A n D h A r D o f h e A r i n g

3417 volta place, nw, washington, dc 20007 • www.agbell.org

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Features14 understanding a Child’s aided Hearing

Characteristics and How the desired sensation Level (dsL) approach Can Help (Part 1)By Pamela D. Millett, Ph.D.In the first part of a two-part series, parents and professionals will learn how to use their child’s hearing test data to better advocate for technology and classroom modifications to ensure optimal listening and spoken language opportunities.

18 early Childhood deafness: a 50-year Perspective By David Luterman, D.Ed.Long-time AG Bell member David Luterman shares some of the key strategies he’s learned for working with children who are deaf and hard of hearing and their families.

22 Collaborative efforts: How aG bell Promotes its Mission on a national scaleBy Catherine MurphyLearn more about AG Bell’s advocacy efforts and its participation in various coalitions that work to influence public policy to the benefit of the deaf and hard of hearing community.

26 endless Possibilities for aG bell familiesBy Melody FelzienRead about how the experience of attending an AG Bell convention impacted the lives of three families who received the family scholarship to be able to attend the AG Bell 2010 Biennial Convention in Orlando, Fla.

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V O l T A

VOICESAdvocating 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

AlexAnder GrAhAm BellAssociAtion for the DeAf

AnD hArD of heAring

3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007www.agbell.org | voice 202.337.5220tty 202.337.5221 | fax 202.337.8314

Volta Voices Staff

Production and Editing ManagerMelody Felzien

Director of Communications and Public Affairs

Catherine Murphy

Manager of Advertising and Exhibit SalesGarrett W. Yates, CEM

Design and LayoutSheila Gagen and Jason Watkins

EEI Communications

AG Bell Board of Directors

PresidentKathleen S. Treni (NJ)

President-ElectDonald M. Goldberg, Ph.D.,

LSLS Cert. AVT (OH)

Secretary-TreasurerMeredith K. Knueve, Esq. (OH)

Immediate Past PresidentJohn R. “Jay” Wyant (MN)

Executive Director/CEOAlexander T. Graham (VA)

Corrine Altman (NV)Christine Anthony, M.B.A. (IL)

Rachel Arfa, Esq. (WI) Holly Clark (DC)

Cheryl Dickson, M.Ed., LSLS Cert. AVT (Australia)

Catharine McNally (VA)

Volta Voices (ISSN 1074-8016) is published six times a year. Periodicals postage is paid at Washington, DC, and other additional offices. Copyright ©2010 by the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc., 3417 Volta Pl., NW, Washington, DC 20007. 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 $95 domestic and $118 international (postage included in both prices). Back issues, when available, are $7.50 plus shipping and handling.

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

V O l T A

VOICESLetters 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 KitVisit www.agbell.org and select “About AG Bell”

for advertising information.

Want to Write for 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 www.agbell.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 20007Email: [email protected] online at www.agbell.org

Want to Write for Volta Voices?

On the cover: Use your child’s hearing test data to better advocate for technology and classroom modifications. Cover Photo Credit: Fotolia; iStockphoto.

volta voices • noveMber/deceMber 2010 3

As 2010 draws to a close, I’d like to dedicate this issue’s column to all the offerings we now have available to

our members as well as new initiatives we are diligently working on to make available to you in the near future. As you may recall, AG Bell’s four goal areas are Advocacy, Community Building, Capacity Building, and Leadership and Management, and in 2010 we made great strides in each of these areas. Although the work isn’t over yet and continues on, it’s always a good idea to remind everyone what’s currently available to you as members and how you can get more involved in AG Bell and our mis-sion, “Advocating Independence through Listening and Talking.”

AdvocacyAG Bell works to promote issues relevant to children and adults with hearing loss to legislators, regulators, health care systems, the media, and the educational and legal systems. AG Bell participates in a variety of coalitions that address issues of concern to the larger community of individuals who are deaf or hard of hear-ing, such as the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Alliance, the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH), and the Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology, among others. See this edition’s article entitled “Collaborative Efforts” for more information about how we’re serving our community in an advocacy role.

Community BuildingAG Bell’s vibrant community of 15,000 provides information and opportuni-ties to network for families of children who are deaf; professionals, including teachers of the deaf, speech-language pathologists, audiologists, and listening and spoken language specialists; and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Community Building programs include:Listening and Spoken Language yKnowledge Center. Now under development, the Listening and Spoken Language Knowledge Center will provide ongoing support and education throughout the ages and stages of raising a child who is deaf or hard of hearing. Currently, AG Bell offers extensive information on all areas related to hearing loss and lis-tening and spoken language develop-ment through our existing website, www.agbell.org.Parent Advocacy Training (P.A.T.) y . P.A.T. is an online course that enables parents to successfully advocate for their child and make sure his or her educational needs are met. P.A.T. is offered free of charge and can be accessed through the AG Bell website.Financial Aid and Scholarship yPrograms. AG Bell offers financial aid and scholarships to help sup-port a listening and spoken language outcome for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. Programs are classified by age and educational level, and range from infancy through post-graduate school. Information about all of AG Bell’s financial aid and scholarship programs is available through the AG Bell website.Leadership Opportunities for yTeens (LOFT). AG Bell’s acclaimed LOFT program is offered annually and designed for participants to develop skills in individual leadership, team-work and self-advocacy. The next LOFT program will be held in Washington, D.C., from July 24-28, 2011.Volta Voices y . A bimonthly magazine that includes features as well as regu-lar columns that focus on the latest in hearing technology, communications access, educational approaches and professional development.

Chapters y . AG Bell has 32 state chap-ters that offer local area information and resources, special events and net-working opportunities. To see a list of state chapters, visit the AG Bell website.AG Bell Update y . AG Bell’s weekly e-newsletter is available for free to any-one who signs-up for it. Topics include the latest news and announcements in hearing research, communications access, professional development initiatives and advocacy efforts. Free Parent Membership y . Parents of newly identified children with hearing loss are encouraged to sign up for a free six-month parent member-ship through the AG Bell website. Parents will receive AG Bell Update, Volta Voices and discounts on registra-tion fees for the convention and other programs as well as for materials sold through the AG Bell Bookstore.

Capacity BuildingAG Bell works to increase the number of highly trained professionals available for families and individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to achieve a listening and spoken language outcome.

LSLS Certification y . The AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language credentials Listening and Spoken Language Specialists (LSLSs). The LSLS certification distinguishes a professional who has demonstrated the knowledge, skills and abilities to work with children who are deaf or hard of hearing to achieve an outcome of listening, spoken language and literacy. For more information, visit www.agbellacademy.org.Biennial Convention y . AG Bell hosts approximately 1,500 attendees at its biennial convention, which features concurrent sessions, a research sym-posium, an exhibition hall, a child and teen program, and social networking

VOICES FROM AG BELL

Opportunities and Resources for the Taking

On the cover: Use your child’s hearing test data to better advocate for technology and classroom modifications. Cover Photo Credit: Fotolia; iStockphoto.

4 volta voices • noveMber/deceMber 2010

VOICES FROM AG BELLopportunities for professionals, fami-lies and adults who are deaf and hard of hearing. The next biennial conven-tion will be held in Scottsdale, Ariz., June 29-July 2, 2012.Listening and Spoken Language ySymposium. On the off-years of the biennial convention, AG Bell hosts a Listening and Spoken Language Symposium that focuses on profes-sional development for teachers, therapists and early interventionists. The next LSL Symposium will be held in Washington, D.C., July 21-23, 2011.The Volta Review y . AG Bell’s scholarly peer-reviewed journal offers the latest research in the field of listening and spoken language development. Recent topics include literacy skills acquisition, longitudinal cochlear implant research and professional development.AG Bell Bookstore y . AG Bell’s book-store features a variety of books, tools and DVDs on topics such as early inter-vention, educational management, and

therapeutic approaches to developing listening and spoken language in chil-dren with hearing loss.

Association leadership and managementAG Bell is governed by a volunteer board representative of its community of families, professionals and adults living with hearing loss. In addition, AG Bell has a professional staff of 12 who are based at the organization’s historic headquar-ters, the Volta Bureau, in Washington, D.C. If you are interested in becoming more involved as a volunteer, email me at [email protected].

Our FundingOn a final note, it’s also important to remember that AG Bell is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation that receives funding from the generous support of individuals, corporations, foundations and government grants. All financial support is dedicated to the fulfillment of AG Bell’s mission by

supporting individuals with hearing loss of any age, their families and the profes-sionals that work with them. If you are interested in providing a tax-deductible donation to AG Bell, please visit the AG Bell website at www.agbell.org to submit your contribution online. Any and all support is greatly appreciated!

Have a happy and healthy holiday season and I look forward to greeting you in the New Year!

Sincerely,

Kathleen TreniPresident

QUeSTIOnS? COmmenTS? COnCernS?

Write to us: Ag Bell 3417 Volta Place, nWWashington, Dc20007

Or email us: [email protected]


This issue of Volta Voices begins with “Understanding a Child’s Aided Hearing Characteristics,” the first part

of a two-part series examining how parents and teachers can utilize a child’s hearing test data to ensure optimal listening and spoken language oppor-tunities at home and in the classroom. Next, in “Early Childhood Deafness: A 50-Year Perspective,” a long-time AG Bell member reflects on his experience as a professor and a teacher of the deaf, and passes along strategies and tips he’s learned to the next generation of hear-ing health professionals.

In “Collaborative Efforts,” AG Bell Director of Communications and Public Affairs Catherine Murphy shares what AG Bell is doing to advocate for listening and spoken language, and for the larger deaf and hard of hearing community, through its participation in a variety of coalitions that work to influence public policy. We also intro-duce you to three families who share their experiences and information learned from the 2010 AG Bell Biennial Convention in “Endless Possibilities for AG Bell Families.”

This issue also marks the start of a new column, “Arithmetic and Language Development.” In the first article, the authors explain how simple arithmetic word problems can open up a wide world of language under-standing and instruction for children with hearing loss. We also continue our “Conversations” series as AG Bell Executive Director Alex Graham who introduces you to Michelle Nemetz, a long time AG Bell member and advocate in California. Our “Tips for Parents” column provides 10 ideas for developing emotionally healthy kids as well as children who can listen and talk.

Finally, “Hear Our Voices” features two stories of teens with hearing loss as they seek to learn multiple languages and develop diverse art skills. We encourage and welcome all submissions from children, teens and young adults for this special space dedicated just to them. If you have something to say, please email us at [email protected].

Volta Voices now Accepting Submissions for 2011If you have a story idea or would like to submit an article, consider writing some-thing for any of our regular columns (Tips for Parents and Hear Our Voices) or submitting an article for any of the following issues and themes:

Networking and Careers (March/April y2011)Community Involvement, Public yPolicy and Advocacy (May/June 2011)International Perspectives (July/ yAugust 2011)New Parent Guide (September/ yOctober 2011)AG Bell’s Children, Teens and Young yAdults (an entire issue written by

authors who are deaf or hard of hear-ing) (November/December 2011)

Articles can vary in length, from 1,000 to 1,500 words, and are subject to editing if accepted for publication. AG Bell does not guarantee publica-tion until after a submission has been completed and reviewed. If you have questions, or would like additional information about deadlines and content ideas, please contact me at [email protected].

Thank you for reading. As always, please contact AG Bell with your com-ments and suggestions. Have a safe holiday season!

Best regards,

Melody FelzienEditor, Volta Voices

EDITOR’S NOTE

Tips, Strategies and Advice


Alexander T. Graham, author of “Conversations,” is the executive director of AG Bell. He has a bachelor’s degree from Lynchburg College in

Lynchburg, Va., and masters’ degrees in organizational effectiveness and busi-ness administration from Marymount University in Arlington, Va. His late mother had a hearing loss as a result of a childhood illness. He can be contacted at [email protected].

David Luterman, D.Ed., author of “Early Childhood Deafness: A 50-Year Perspective” and “Tips for Parents,” is professor emeritus at Emerson College

in Boston, Mass., and director of the Thayer Lindsley Family-Centered Nursery at Emerson College. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Jane Madell, Ph.D., CCC A/SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT, co-author of “Learning the Language of Elementary Arithmetic,” is a certified

audiologist, speech-language patholo-gist, and Listening and Spoken Language Specialist in auditory-verbal therapy. Dr. Madell’s clinical and research interests are in hearing evaluation of infants and young children, management of hearing loss in children with severe and profound hearing losses, selec-tion and management of amplification, including cochlear implants and FM systems, and assessment of auditory function. Dr. Madell has published four books, numerous book chapters and journal articles. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Rob Madell, Ph.D., co-author of “Learning the Language of Elementary Arithmetic,” earned his Ph.D. in mathemat-ics at the University of Wisconsin in 1968. He

has taught mathematics at all levels, from kindergarten through graduate school. He taught in an elementary school in New York City for 10 years before beginning a 20-year career at Sesame Street. He has authored several elementary mathematics textbooks and writes about arithmetic for parents and teachers. He can be contacted at [email protected].

Pamela D. Millett, Ph.D., author of “Understanding a Child’s Aided Hearing Characteristics,” is an educational audiologist and assistant professor

in the Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education Program at York University in Toronto, Canada. She has over 20 years experience working with students and teachers in schools, and is currently conducting research proj-ects in literacy outcomes for students with cochlear implants and the impact of sound field systems on development of phonological awareness skills for young children. She can be contacted at [email protected].

Catherine Murphy, author of “Collaborative Efforts” and co-author of “SoundBites,” is director of communica-tions and public affairs at AG Bell. Murphy

received her bachelor’s in communica-tions from Ohio State University. Her brother, Michael, was born pro-foundly deaf. She can be contacted at [email protected].

VOICES cONTriBuTOrs

UPCOMING COURSES/EVENTSThe University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg, Miss.)

15th Annual DuBard Symposium: Dyslexia and Related Disorders February 3-4, 2011

Missing Links in Academics April 7-8, 2011

We offer customized programs at your site.

ASHA CEUs available IMSLEC accredited601.266.5223www.usm.edu/dubardE-mail: [email protected] us on Facebook.

AA/EOE/ADAI UC 63122.5215 8.10

A phonetic, multisensory approach to teaching language and speech to children with hearing loss, language disorders, severe speech disorders and dyslexia


Writers in 10th and 11th grade can enter their best work. Awards ceremony takes place at RIT in the summer. Deadline to enter: March 15, 2011For details, visit: www.rit.edu/NTID/WritingContestAB

Rochester Institute of Technology • National Technical Institute for the Deaf • Rochester, New York

Students in 6th – 12th grade can compete individually or with a team. The fair takes place at RIT March 25—27, 2011

Deadline to enter: December 15, 2010 For details, visit: www.rit.edu/NTID/ScienceFairAB

Questions? Call 585-475-7695 (voice/TTY) Enter today!

Competitions for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing StudentsWin cash and prizes valued at up to $650!

High school students can enter graphic media, Web design, 3-D animation, film, interactive media and photo imaging categories. Awards ceremony takes place at RIT in the spring.

Deadline to enter: January 15, 2011For details, visit: www.rit.edu/NTID/ArtsAB


AG Bell Unveils Online Version of Parent Advocacy Training AG Bell now offers an online version of its acclaimed Parent Advocacy Training (P.A.T.) program. P.A.T. is designed to help parents build the knowledge and confidence they need to negotiate and advocate on behalf of their child when creating an Individualized Education Program (IEP) plan with their school district. P.A.T. also provides parents an understanding of the legal framework of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). AG Bell’s P.A.T. program is available to anyone at no cost due to the generous support of the Oticon Foundation. Visit www.agbell.org to access the P.A.T. online presentation.

delaware Governor Signs “deaf Child’s Bill of rights” into lawIn September, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed the “Deaf Child’s Bill of Rights” into law. The law seeks to address the communications needs of children who are deaf and hard of hearing in Delaware and provide a comprehensive state-wide program to serve this population. The bill of rights states, among other things, that “it is essential that deaf or hard of hearing

children[sic], like all children, have an education in which the child’s commu-nication mode, as chosen and defined by the child and his/her parents, is respected, utilized, and developed to an optimal level of proficiency.” Visit http://choices-delaware.org for more informa-tion about the law.

Better hearing Institute launches new discussion ForumThe Better Hearing Institute has launched a discussion forum to help

individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing and their families cope with hearing loss. The forum is designed as the go-to place for individuals with mild-to-severe hearing loss who are looking for a peer support community where they can chat and exchange information on hearing loss, treat-ments, tinnitus, hearing loss preven-tion and other related topics. To participate in the discussion forum, visit www.betterhearing.org, click on “Discussion Forum,” and go to “Welcome!” to register.

SOUND BITESN E W s B i T E s cALENdAr Of EVENTs

12/13-14, 2010AG Bell is pleased to announce its first listening and Spoken language Workshop Series will take place December 13-14, 2010, at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago-Oak Brook in Oak Brook, Ill. This workshop series is for anyone who plays a role in supporting the education and develop-ment of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Designed for profession-als to build their foundational knowledge about hearing loss and to help them develop strategies that will support an infant or child who listens, learns and talks with the help of hearing aids, FM systems and/or cochlear implants, the workshop series features four 3-hour sessions with leading experts in the field of listening and spoken language development for children with hear-ing loss. Continuing education credit is available from the AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language, the Illinois State Board of Education, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the American Academy of Audiology. Visit www.agbell.org today to learn more or register.

7/19-23, 2011The AG Bell 2011 Listening & Spoken Language Symposium will be held July 19-23, 2011, at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. Stay tuned to www.agbell.org as more details are announced.

7/24-28, 2011The AG Bell 2011 Leadership Opportunities for Teens program will be held July 24-28, 2011, at the Omni Shoreham in Washington, D.C. More infor-mation and an application will be available on the AG Bell website after December 1, 2010.


U.S. department of health and human Services Awards $4.9 million to Support Families of Children with Special needs The Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius recently announced $4.9 million in grants to continue support for 51 Family-to-Family Health Information Centers in each state and the District of Columbia. Created in 2005, the centers are state-wide, family-run organiza-tions that provide information, educa-tion, training, outreach and peer support to families of children and youth with special health care needs and the professionals who serve them. Funding for the centers was extended through 2012 by the Affordable Health Care Act. The Family-to-Family Health Information Centers are staffed by family leaders who have children with special health care needs and who have expertise in federal and state public and private health care systems. Since its inception, the centers have served hundreds of thousands of families and health care providers. For more information on the program, and other maternal and child health programs, visit www.mchb.hrsa.gov.

Pediatrics Publishes Supplement on System of Care for Infants and Children with hearing loss A supplement to the August 2010 issue of Pediatrics, titled “Improving the System of Care for Infants and Children with Early Hearing Loss,” features a series of articles highlighting the remaining challenges to ensure early diagnosis and intervention for all children diagnosed with hearing loss. To access the articles, visit http://

pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/vol126/Supplement_1.

Former President Clinton Appears at Fundraiser for the lexington hearing and Speech Center In August, former President Bill Clinton helped mark the 50th anniversary of the Lexington Hearing and Speech Center (LHSC) in Lexington, Ky., at a fundraiser launching a $3 million capital campaign to build a new facility for the center. The LHSC teaches children with hearing loss and other language difficulties to listen and talk, and offers education, therapy and family support. Clinton, who has a hearing loss and uses hearing aids, said, “[places like LHSC] are doing something that the government’s not doing or the private sector can’t do...50 years ago, this center broke a mold...but because they did, ironically, the need for what they do grows and grows.”

new research Suggests rate of hearing loss among Teens is OverestimatedResearchers at the University of Minnesota recently concluded that the

conventional hearing tests audiolo-gists use to identify hearing losses are subject to measurement error and that as many as 10 percent or more of children are falsely identified as having a noise-induced hearing loss. The study, published in September by the Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, notes, “the conventional ‘raise-your-hand-when-you-hear-the-beep’ test can now be distorted by many things, including how tightly the headphones are placed on people’s heads.”

Applying this reasoning to recent studies that suggest noise-induced hearing loss among teens is on the rise, the researchers conclude that the results could be false positives and the numbers an exaggeration of true noise-induced hearing loss. The researchers recommend follow-up testing to confirm the hearing loss before moving forward with possible treatments. However, researchers were careful to state that “our findings do not mean that people should not be concerned about exposure to loud sounds, such as those from personal stereo devices, live music concerts or gun fire. For all sounds, the risk increases the more intense the sound and the longer the exposure, particularly from sustained or continuous sounds.”

national leadership Consortium in Sensory disabilities Accepting Applications for Fellowships Applications for the second and final cohort of the National Leadership Consortium in Sensory Disabilities

SOUND BITESCOMPILED BY:

MELOdy fELziEN ANd cAThEriNE Murphy

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Former President Bill Clinton poses with children from the Lexington Hearing and Speech Center.


SOUND BITES(NLCSD) are now being accepted. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, the consor-tium consists of 25 universities with doctoral programs that have an emphasis in one or more of the three sensory impairment areas: blind/visually impaired, deaf/hard of hearing and deaf blindness. Visit www.salus.edu/nlcsd/index.html for information about the applica-tion process and the application. Applications will be accepted until December 31, 2010.

FCC Strengthens rules on hearing Aid/Cochlear Implant-Cell Phone CompatibilityThe Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently announced rules that will tighten regulations for cell phone manufacturers, requiring them to offer at least one device that is compatible for individuals who use hearing aids or cochlear implants. The agency expanded rules to include phones sold at all retail locations, not just through service providers. The FCC also adopted a policy statement that encourages new technology developers to include hearing aid and cochlear implant considerations early in the design process rather than later. A roundtable of industry and disability group leaders will be convened to ensure compliance to the new regu-lations. Visit www.fcc.gov for more information.

researchers discover Way to Identify Sensory Organ Formation Inside the earResearchers have tracked a cell-to-cell signaling pathway that desig-nates the future location of the ear’s sensory organs in embryonic mice. The scientists succeeded in activating this signal more widely across the

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From December 11-16, 2010, the AG Bell north Carolina Chapter will hold an online book fair through Barnes & Noble. Money raised will help fund scholarship programs to support North Carolina families and profes-sionals seeking listening and spoken language opportunities. During this week, supporters can visit www.bn.com/bookfairs and enter the bookfair ID 10266294 at checkout. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the AG Bell North Carolina Chapter. Going to be in the Raleigh area on Saturday, December 11? Come by the Triangle Town Center Barnes & Noble and show your support in person. This is a great opportunity to spread the word about literacy and listening and spoken language options. For more information, visit www.ncagbell.org.

On August 20, 2010, the AG Bell Texas Chapter partnered with the Hearing Loss Association of Texas and the Hearing Industries Association (HIA) to host an event honoring Rep. Pete Olson (R-Texas) for his support of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit (H. 1646/S. 1019). In addition, on September 3, 2010, the AG Bell michigan Chapter partnered with the Hearing Loss Association of Michigan and HIA to host an event thank-ing U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) for her support of the Hearing Aid Tax Credit. Both events were part of a series of grass-roots efforts promoting this important piece of legislation, which is currently being considered by Congress. To date, more than 1,500 members of AG Bell, the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) and HIA have attended similar events with Congressional representatives nationwide. AG Bell has long been a partner with HLAA and HIA to support passage of this bill.

The AG Bell Ohio Chapter held a series of state-wide picnics on September 19th in Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. It was a great opportunity for families with children with hearing loss to connect and talk. The kids enjoyed playing on the playground and eating a variety of desserts, and the beautiful weather was enjoyed by all. The Ohio Chapter will be holding more family-centered events in the near future. For current updates and happenings with the chapter, please follow us on Twitter @OhioAGBell and on Facebook under “The Ohio Chapter of AG Bell.”

chApTErs

Senator Stabenow with children from the AG Bell Michigan Chapter.

volta voices • noveMber/deceMber 2010 1 1

embryonic tissue that becomes the inner ear. Patches of sensory structures began growing in spots where they don’t normally appear. The structures contained hair cells, which respond to sound waves and other sensations, and additional nerve cells that amplify or code sounds for the brain to inter-pret. The results suggest an avenue for further investigation in restoring hearing loss from nerve damage. The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Center for hearing and Communication Celebrates new Auditory Processing CenterOn October 7, the Center for Hearing and Communication in New York City, N.Y., celebrated the grand opening of its new Auditory Processing Center, which will serve as a resource for children with listening, learning and auditory challenges. The grand opening was hosted by center Director Lois Heymann and Rosie O’Donnell, who worked with Heymann after her son was diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder. Heymann is a noted speech-language pathologist who recently authored a book, “The Sound of Hope: Recognizing, Coping with and Treating Your Child’s Auditory Processing Disorder.” For more information about the center, visit www.chchearing.org.

The learning Tower Toted as a Great Find by AblePlayThe Learning Tower, a counter-level stool that can help with everything from parental bonding to increasing self-esteem, motor skills and knowl-edge through participation and practice, was recently recognized as a “Great Find” by AblePlay, a consumer resource organization that evaluates play products for children with special needs. The Learning Tower received top marks in four categories: physical,

sensory, communicative and cogni-tive disabilities. For more informa-tion about The Learning Tower, visit www.littlepartners.com. To view other AblePlay-approved products and learn more about their rating system, visit www.ableplay.org.

new marketing Program launched for U.S.-Based AudiologistsAuDNet, Inc., in partnership with AudiologyOnline, has announced the launch of their iMarketing Program specifically created for U.S.-based licensed audiologists. The program will provide streamlined, digital marketing tools for individual audiologists and private practice owners looking to build their online presence and reach consumers searching for audiology care. The program will offer a host of benefits including professionally designed websites, fresh content and educational/promotional videos routinely and automatically added to the websites, and online practice list-ings on major search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo! and MSN. The iMarketing Program launched October 1 and sign-up will be available through December 31, 2010. Visit www.nowi hear.com to learn more or sign up.

new York eye and ear Infirmary Awarded Grant from nIdCd The National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) has awarded a $2.5 million grant to the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary to fund research over the next five years on how children with cochlear implants acquire language compared to peers who have typical hearing. If you have a child between the ages of 7 and 11 with a cochlear implant, live in the New York City area and are interested in participating in the study, contact Dr. Richard Schwartz with the City University of New York at (646) 438-7838.

Oticon hosts Camps for next Generation of hearing Care ProfessionalsOticon recently hosted two camps, in Denmark and the United States, for students and recent graduates representing the next generation of hearing care professionals. The camps combined seminars, discus-sions and workshops with opportuni-ties to share experiences and network with leading researchers, experienced


SOUND BITES practitioners, Oticon staff and other new hearing care professionals. According to Husmita Ratanjee, an audiologist and international trainer responsible for developing the camp curriculum in Denmark, “Oticon summer camps challenge the newest generation of hearing care profes-sionals to think about and discuss how to use the research, knowl-edge and technology we have at our disposal.”

nTId Awarded $170,000 for research and Cultural AwarenessThe National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), a college of the Rochester Institute of Technology, was recently awarded two grants totaling $170,000 to promote research and for a new

cultural awareness program at its Center on Access Technology. The first research-related grant was awarded to explore the application and adaptation of the ways in which Cisco products can benefit communication access for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The second grant aims to enhance the cultural understanding of both the hearing and deaf communities in the United States and Japan for high school students with hearing loss in both countries.

University of miami receives $5 million Gift to establish a Cochlear Implant Family resource Center On August 23, Barton G. Weiss, a Miami-area restauranteur and

hotelier, made a $5 million gift to the University of Miami Miller Medical School to establish a cochlear implant family resource center at the Miami Ear Institute. The resource center emphasizes cochlear implants and auditory-verbal therapy as a viable option for children with hearing loss to develop spoken language. Weiss’ daughter was born profoundly deaf and listens and talks with the help of cochlear implants.

new Course for Parents Interested in Cued SpeechFrederick S. Berg, Ph.D., has self-published a course for parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Entitled “Speech Development Guide for Children with

SOUND BITES


Hearing Loss,” the course combines a workbook with DVD instructions and aims to support parents whose children are developing listening and spoken language skills with the use of Cued Speech guides. To learn more, visit www.parentsof deafchildrentakecharge.com.

TeChnOlOGY WATCh

Advanced Bionics launches harmony Sound Processor for All CI UsersAdvanced Bionics announced the availability of the Harmony Sound Processor for all users of Advanced Bionics cochlear implants, including first generation users. The advanced sound processor offers improved

sound quality, easy to use controls, water-resistant design, quick-connect earhooks for cable-free connections to FM systems and a customizable look. To learn more

about upgrade opportunities, contact Advanced Bionics at (877) 829-0026 or [email protected].

michael Seidman, m.d., a long-time AG Bell member and associate editor of The Volta Review, has been named chair of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery Board of Governors. The board of governors identifies issues affecting the specialty, researches and recommends solutions, and advocates for action and member involvement. Dr. Seidman is an expert in otologic and neurotologic surgical problems, skull base tumors, cochlear implants, all surgical ear problems, surgically implantable hearing aids, hearing loss and tinnitus. He is director of the division of oto-logic and neurotolgic surgery in the department of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Mich.

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W hatever happened to the aided audiogram? Teachers and parents, accustomed to using

the aided audiogram as an assessment, counseling and programming tool, often wonder why these test results are rarely seen. Most clinical audiolo-gists have replaced aided audiograms, which indicate the child’s hearing thresholds after hearing aid ampli-fication, with real ear measurement technology, but teachers and parents/caregivers may not have learned to interpret and apply these results to everyday life. The first part of this article will describe why aided audio-grams are no longer considered the measurement tool of choice by clinical audiologists, and the second part will describe how parents/caregivers and teachers can interpret a different kind of graph, the SPLogram, to obtain the same information.

An aided audiogram is obtained in essentially the same way as a standard audiogram. Sounds are presented in the sound suite or booth, and the child’s responses to increasingly softer sounds are recorded; the main difference is that the sounds are presented through speak-ers because the child is wearing his or her amplification. For infants and young children, these responses might be a head turn towards the source of the sound; for older children, these responses might be putting a block in a bucket or rais-ing a hand when sounds are presented. Obtaining a complete aided audiogram requires a significant amount of time during which the child needs to be paying close attention. Real ear measurement technology, on the other hand, allows the audiologist to measure the characteristics of the hearing aid in the child’s ear canal very quickly and accurately. One of the most commonly used software programs for real ear measurement technology,

called the Desired Sensation Level (DSL) program, produces a different type of audiogram. This “SPLogram” looks a little different than a traditional audiogram, and with a little practice parents and teachers can use SPLograms to under-stand what a child can be predicted to hear with his or her hearing aids.

How do clinical audiologists measure how well a hearing aid is working without an aided audiogram or SPLogram? One way is an elec-troacoustical evaluation where the hearing aid is connected to a metal container (called a 2 cc coupler), placed in a small, sound proofed chamber and measured. This is often referred to as an “ANSI” test, meaning that the procedures and the mea-surements have been standardized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI, 1996). These results can be com-pared to specification sheets from the manufacturers that provide expected val-ues for each hearing aid. The measurement is typically done by clinical audiologists to

By Pamela D. Millett, Ph.D.

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understanding a Child’s Aided hearing characteristicsand How the desired sensation Level (dsL) approach Can Help (Part 1)


ensure that the electronic components are working; however, it cannot be used as an indication of how a child will perform with this hearing aid.

Why not? The values obtained when measuring the hearing aid coupled to a small metal chamber and the values obtained when the same hearing aid is placed in a child’s ear are quite differ-ent. Sound behaves very differently in a metal chamber than in an ear canal made of skin, cartilage and bone. Therefore, the “ANSI” measurement may overestimate or, more typically,

underestimate the sound levels the child receives. Aided audiograms, on the other hand, do test hearing aid perfor-mance on the child’s ears. However, they are time consuming, tiring for chil-dren and yield information about only a few frequencies. With the introduction of real ear measurement systems in the late 1980s, a more accurate way to mea-sure hearing aid benefit was possible.

Real ear measurement systems provide a direct measure of sound at an indi-vidual’s eardrum. Our ear canals actually shape sound as it passes through them to the eardrum. A phenomenon called “resonance” causes certain frequencies in the speech signal to be enhanced or amplified by the ear canal. The amount of enhancement and the frequency range at which it occurs varies from child to adult, and even from age to age (Kruger, 1987; Seewald & Scollie, 1999). This resonance can be measured using real ear measure-ment equipment and the resulting graph is referred to as the Real Ear Unaided Response. This simply means that it shows what happens to sound in an individual’s ear canal without a hearing

aid. If the way in which each individual’s ear shapes sound is unique, a better and more individualized hearing aid fitting can be obtained when this data is incor-porated into the fitting.

Using real ear measurement, the hear-ing aid can be measured directly on the child’s ear and the ear canal resonance characteristics will automatically be incorporated. Alternatively, the audi-ologist can do one quick measurement of the child’s ear canal characteristics without a hearing aid, ask the computer to compare the child’s ear to a 2 cc metal

coupler and save the resulting converted values. This is called the Real Ear to Coupler Difference. Once this value is entered, the audiologist does not need to have the child present to test a variety of hearing aids since the child’s “virtual ear” is saved in the program.

Real ear measurement is also crucial because the performance of the same hearing aid will differ for different sized ears. For example, we might measure a particular hearing aid on an adult and find that the maximum sound output of the hearing aid is 120 dB. When the same hearing aid at the same settings is placed on a child’s ear, the maximum output of that same hearing aid might be closer to 130 dB because the child’s ear canal is much smaller than the adult.

For the clinical audiologist, real ear measurements are the clear choice for hearing aid prescription and evalua-tion based on accuracy, completeness of information provided and speed. Real ear measurements allow the audiologist to:

Obtain information regarding the yhearing aid characteristics for many individual frequencies.

Measure the maximum sound output yof the hearing aid (very important to ensure that the hearing aid cannot damage the child’s residual hearing). Incorporate the child’s ear canal yresonance into the hearing aid fitting, particularly important because this measurement will change as the child’s ear grows in size and changes in shape. Measure the performance of the hear- ying aid using different sound levels, since many hearing aids respond differently to soft, medium and loud level sounds as well as to different kinds of sounds.

From the clinical audiologist’s perspec-tive, the prescription and evaluation of a hearing aid must be done using the most accurate and reliable procedure, prefer-ably one that can be done quickly given the attention spans of children and the realities of clinic schedules. Aided audio-grams are still used by clinical audiolo-gists, most commonly to evaluate results with a cochlear implant or bone conduc-tion device or as a crosscheck of the real ear measurement results. However, in general, aided audiograms do not give as much “bang for the buck” for hearing aid evaluation.

If aided audiograms are not provided, how can we know what to expect from a child’s hearing aids? It is important for parents and teachers to know how a child can be predicted to hear with his or her hearing aid, and interpreting test results is not as daunting as it appears. The second part of this article will discuss the DSL program, a hearing aid prescription and verifica-tion software widely used to evaluate hearing aid benefit for children (Bagatto, Scollie, Hyde & Seewald, 2010; Seewald, Cornelisse, Ramji, Sinclair, Moodie, & Jamieson, 1997). The DSL program was developed by Richard Seewald and colleagues at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, specifically for children to provide a more accurate way of evaluating hearing aid charac-teristics. It is widely used across North America and internationally, allowing an audiologist to input the child’s unaided audiogram into the software program, measure the characteristics of that child’s individual ear canals, generate targets for each frequency for soft, average and loud sounds, assess a variety of hearing aids

real ear measurements allow the audiologist to obtain information regarding the hearing aid characteristics for many individual frequencies


to select the most appropriate model for the child, and verify the characteristics of a child’s existing hearing aids to ensure that they are providing the most appro-priate amplification. All of these activities can be done more quickly and accurately

using real ear measurement equipment in combination with the DSL program than by measuring aided audiograms. The end result is a more accurate hearing aid fit, ensuring the child the best opportunity to develop listening and spoken language.

understanding a child’s Aided hearing characteristics

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American National Standards Institute (ANSI). (1996). American National Standard Specification of Hearing Aid Characteristics (ANSI S3.22-1996). New York, NY: Author.

Bagatto, M., Scollie, S., Hyde, M., & Seewald, R. (2010). Protocol for the provision of amplification within the Ontario Infant Hearing Program. International Journal of Audiology, 49(1), 70-79.

Kruger, B. (1987). An update on the external ear resonances in infants and young children. Ear and Hearing, 8(6), 333-336.

Seewald, R.C. & Scollie, S.D. (1999). Infants are not average adults: Implications for audiometric testing. The Hearing Journal, 52(10), 64-72.

Seewald, R., Cornelisse, L., Ramji, K., Sinclair, S., Moodie, K., & Jamieson, D. (1997). DSL v4.1 for Windows: A software implementation of the Desired Sensation Level (DSLi/o) method for fitting linear gain and wide-dynamic range compression hearing instruments.

Sinclair, S., Moodie, K.S., & Seewald, R. (1996). Case Study: Amplification in Children. In F. Bess, J. Gravel, & A.M. Tharpe, (Eds.) Amplification for Children with Auditory Deficits. Nashville, TN: Bill Wilkerson Center Press.

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Workshop Sessions

If you are an early interventionist, teacher of the deaf, classroom teacher, speech-language pathologist, audiologist, program or

school administrator, member of a state EHDI team – or play any role in supporting the education and development of children who

are deaf or hard of hearing – this workshop series is for you. Designed for professionals to build their foundational knowledge about

hearing loss and to develop strategies that will support an infant

or child who listens, learns and talks with the help of hearing aids,

FM systems and/or cochlear implants, this workshop features four

3-hour sessions with the leading experts in the field of listening

and spoken language development in children with hearing loss.

Listening, Language and Learning for Infants and Children Who are Deaf or Hard of HearingThis workshop will present foun-

dational information on audiology,

hearing technology, and the connec-

tion between hearing and spoken

language so participants can begin

to understand the critical role they

can play for infants or children who

listen with hearing aids, cochlear

implants and/or FM systems. We will

explore the exciting opportunities

for children who are deaf or hard

of hearing as a result of universal

newborn hearing screening, advanced

hearing technologies and qualified

professionals.

Presenter: Donald M. Goldberg,

Ph.D., CCC-SLP/A, LSLS Cert. AVT

Donald M. Goldberg is a professor

of communication at the College of

Wooster (Ohio), consultant staff with

the Hearing Implant Program at the

Cleveland Clinic and past president

of the AG Bell Academy for Listening

and Spoken Language.

Play it By Ear! Current Trends in Teaching Children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing to Listen and Talk

This workshop will discuss practical

strategies and intervention techniques

to develop auditory skills from detection

to conversation. Videotape segments

will demonstrate strategies for targeting

various auditory skill levels. Practical

suggestions for collaboration between

team members will be shared and

the needed information exchange

between audiologists, early interven-

tionists, teachers, speech-language

pathologists, and parents will be

specified. We are in position today to

dramatically expand the opportunities

for children born with hearing loss to

develop exceptional conversational

abilities, literacy skills, academic

competencies and professional

flexibility – if we play it by ear!

Presenter: Teresa Caraway, Ph.D.,

CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT

Teresa Caraway is the co-founder

and executive co-director of Hearts

for Hearing in Oklahoma City, Okla.,

and founding president of the AG

Bell Academy for Listening and

Spoken Language.

Classroom Strategies for Hearing Aids, FM’s and Cochlear ImplantsInfants and children who listen with

hearing aids, FM’s and/or cochlear

implants have access to remarkable

technology that allows them to hear

like never before. However, technology

continues to have some limitations.

This session will help participants

learn the basics about hearing

technology and address “repair”

strategies that teachers and

interventionists can use with

confidence to make sure a child

is listening as best as he or she

possibly can.

Presenter: Rebecca Kooper, Au.D.

Rebecca Kooper is an educational

audiologist who provides con-

sultant services to New York Eye

and Ear Infirmary’s Ear Institute,

Lexington School for the Deaf, as

well as school districts in the New

York City area.

Literacy Development for Students Who are Deaf or Hard of HearingThis session will address the

components of literacy development

and how to enhance reading and

comprehension for students who

listen with the assistance of hearing

aids, cochlear implants and or FM

systems. In addition, we will briefly

address some of the federal education

guidelines familiar to all of us – No

Child Left Behind, for example – and

learn how to make sure we include

those guidelines in assessing the

progress of our students who are

deaf or hard of hearing.

Presenter: Judy Horvath, M.A.,

LSLS Cert. AVEd

Judy Horvath is an experienced

teacher of the deaf and is director

of the Barton G. Kids Hear Now

Family Resource Center in

Miami, Fla.

Continuing Education Credits offered for the

AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken

Language and pending for the American

Speech-Language Hearing Association and

the American Academy of Audiology.

Presenting the AG Bell Listening and Spoken Language Workshop SeriesDecember 13-14, 2010Doubletree Hotel Chicago – Oak BrookOak Brook, IL

s

Keynote presentation by AG Bell

President Kathleen Treni, M.Ed., M.A.

Kathleen Treni is the principal of the Hearing

Impaired Programs of Bergen County Special

Services District in New Jersey.

For more information or to register,visit www.agbell.orgor call 866-337-5220.

s


I started my career as a clinical audiologist in 1960. After several years, I realized that there was a serious lack of services for the

parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Back then, after a child was diagnosed with a hearing loss, there was little or no help for the families in making the adjustment to having a child with special needs. The parental role was often one of a passive observer and recipient of professional expertise. There was seldom any attempt to engage the parents actively in the therapeutic process or to deal with possible family adjustment issues.

To correct this gap in services, in 1965 I helped launch the Thayer Lindsley Family-Centered Nursery in Boston, Mass. Parents of children newly diag-nosed with a hearing loss are enrolled in the program along with their child. There are three aspects to the program: a nurs-

ery, individual therapy and a parental support group. Parents are required to observe their child as he or she interacts with the Nursery personnel as well as in individual therapy working on develop-ing communication. (Through the years we have used a variety of communication strategies, but always saw our approach with the child as diagnostic and support-ive of the parent’s wishes. We have never let the methodology define the program.) After a period of watching their child, parents become actively involved in both the Nursery and the therapy, and we see our relationship with the parents as col-laborative rather than dependent.

After retiring from Emerson College as a full time professor in 2000, I have continued to work in the Nursery. For the past 45 years I have been privileged to be actively engaged with parents of children newly diagnosed with a hearing loss as they come to terms with their new

reality. The following are 10 tips I have learned that will help professionals who are working with parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

1 Technology Is Marvelous; Parental Empowerment Is Better

With the advent of newborn hear-ing screening, digital hearing aids, cochlear implants and hearing assistive devices (such as FM systems), we have truly moved into a technological age of educating children who are deaf and hard of hearing. The changes wrought by technology are breathtaking – almost all children coming through the Nursery can now expect to have clear speech, age-appropriate language skills and enter a mainstream educational setting. This in marked contrast to the 1960s when I began my clinical work and the only hearing device we had was a cumbersome vacuum-tubed hearing aid that could

By David Luterman, D.Ed.

early Childhood deafness: a 50-year Perspective P

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barely reach a child with a moderate hearing loss, let alone one with a severe or profound loss. Many of those children had limited speech and language skills and were educated in schools for the deaf. However, the technology is only as good as the parents’ (and professional’s) abil-ity to utilize it. Parental empowerment trumps technology and even in the tech-nological dark ages we were able to help develop well-rounded children when we had empowered, well-informed parents.

2 Informing Parents Is OK; Listening Is Better

Parents do need information and it is the professional’s responsibility to provide it. The information needs to be given with sensitivity to the parent’s ability to absorb it and an awareness of the par-ent’s emotional state. Deep listening and reflecting back the emotional state is a powerful clinical tool that needs to be in the arsenal of every professional. In the early stages of diagnosis, parental feel-ings are very intense and their ability to deal with content limited. They are best helped by being allowed to share their feelings within a supportive relation-ship. We are dealing with parents who are emotionally upset, not emotionally disturbed. As a profession we need to give ourselves permission to access client emotions and to see this as a necessary step in helping the child.

3 Let the Parents (and Child) Set the Pace – Do Not Rescue Them

Impatience with the grief process may lead the professional to rescue the child from the parent’s perceived inadequacy. Parents who have just learned that their child has a hearing loss need time to emotionally accept and process the array of information being presented to them. Often they employ a denial defense to prevent themselves from becoming over-whelmed. The professional, impatient to begin therapy, may be tempted to bypass the parental grief and assume responsi-bility for managing the child’s program. This will almost invariably lead to a dependant parent who relies on the pro-fessional’s wisdom instead of their own, prohibiting the empowerment of the parent. In the beginning, going slowly and not over helping pays huge dividends

later on. Patience is an enormous virtue that needs to be cultivated by all success-ful clinicians.

4 A Diversity of Communication Methodologies Is Good; A One-

Approach-Fits-All Mentality Is Not

The population of children who are deaf and hard of hearing is diverse. Some children will benefit from a great deal of visual input, while others won’t need it. The audiogram is not a good predictor of input preference; some children with severe hearing losses are able to use their limited hearing quite well while other children with seemingly more hearing are much more visually oriented. The early therapeutic interaction with the child needs to be diagnostic in nature and the therapist needs to see the child through a neutral lens. The child will teach us the best way he or she wants to learn if we observe carefully; it is then our responsi-bility to fit the methodology to the child and the parents’ wishes and not the child to the methodology. Any approach that tries to bypass the parents is doomed to failure and we all should be wary of any methodology-driven program. At the end of the day, the parents and child need to be able to communicate with each other, whatever methodology they choose.

5 Don’t Ignore the Developmental Imperative

From the inception of the program, an early childhood teacher has managed the Nursery. The teacher keeps us focused on the developmental needs of the child. Often, parents and professionals get so focused on the hearing loss that they forget there is still a child that needs to develop all the requisite life skills of an independent adult. The biggest set-backs in child management I have observed are in the area of responsibility assumption. Children with hearing loss may not be held to the same standard of behavior as children who have typical hearing. Parents may be guilt-driven to “make it up” to the child by not pressur-ing him or her, and professionals may be propelled by the myth that the child is fragile because of the hearing loss. Both approaches tend to protect the child from failure, limiting the child’s capacity to handle adversity.


6 Working with the Child Is Good; Working with the Whole Family

Is Better

Most clinicians are trained to work with the child and this is where they may feel the most comfortable. Unfortunately, this is the least efficient way of developing the child’s communications skills. Viewing the parents as the client benefits the child enormously. As clinicians we have the child for a very limited number of hours per week; the parent has the child 24/7. We can more efficiently facilitate language devel-opment if we make the home conducive to learning language. Enlisting the family as co-therapists by seeing the parents as the primary teachers and the clinician as coach and collaborator pays huge dividends. In this way we empower the parents and extend our teaching into the every day life of the child. Siblings and grandparents also need to be within the clinician’s scope of practice as they are often overlooked, to the detriment of the family.

7 Early Screening Is Good; Follow-Up Needs Improvement

Newborn screening and early hearing detection and intervention seem to be the main focus of our profession. Yet for those of us who see the aftermath of screening, it does not look nearly as good. According the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing, “almost half of infants who fail the initial screening fail to have appropriate follow up” (JCIH, 2007). I suspect the failure is both a systems failure and a function of trying to communicate with parents at a time when they are least receptive to receiving and processing information. We often see families enter the Nursery much later than the six-month guideline because the hospital personnel had mini-mized the screening failure. In addition, many infants are born with debris in their ear canal as a result of the birth process, causing a temporary conductive hearing loss. If we tested somewhat later these children would pass the screening. In

Massachusetts alone there is a 75 percent false-positive rate (MDPH, 2004). If we could test later at well baby clinics, for example, or at the infant’s medical home, many of these problems may clear up. I suspect we would have much less false positives and much better follow-up.

8 Cochlear Implants Are Marvelous; Isolating This

Population Is Not

There is a trend to see children with cochlear implants as a separate entity from other children with hearing loss. While there may be some psychological ramifications to having something in their heads as opposed to something on their heads, the educational and social issues are the same. The net result of cochlear implantation is a hard of hear-ing child. This is a child we know with all the attendant issues that a mild to moderate hearing loss imposes. It is not in the best interests of these children to

Early childhood deafness: A 50-year perspective

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separate them from the general popula-tion of children with hearing loss. We all need community and to limit the possibilities by restricting a small pool of people even further reduces the chance of community and may even limit their access to clinical services.

9 Mainstreaming Is Good; Inclusion of Peers Who Have

Hearing Loss Is Better

The goal of early intervention is to help children with hearing loss develop lan-guage abilities that make them capable of competing with their peers who have typical hearing in mainstream educa-tional facilities. To a large extent we are succeeding and many children who are profoundly deaf succeed in mainstream settings. However, mainstreaming as currently practiced may cause social isolation. There is a hunger for community that is not met by simply sending the child to the nearest local school. Too often the child is the only one in the school with a hearing loss and because of his or her limited hearing, fails to connect socially.

Many of these children succeed academi-cally by dint of hard work, but may be unhappy, stressed or have few friends. We need to expand our notion of success for these children to include psychosocial issues. A program option I favor is one that mainstreams a class instead of an individual; in that way there is a built-in peer group. Strangely enough, one child with a hearing loss stands out in the class while a group blends in.

10 The Current Challenges of Early Childhood Hearing Loss

Are Apparent; The Solutions are Also Clear and Obtainable

Because of newborn screening, we have moved from a parent-initiated model of diagnosis to a professional-initiated one. As a result I think we are currently in an educational gap where the knowledge of many professionals in the field needs to be expanded. Audiologists will need knowl-edge and skills to use the most current technology as well as expanded counsel-ing skills to work with parents at a very vulnerable time. Therapists will need to

develop curricula that are developmentally based and that are guiding the children to mainstream options. Educators need to be prepared for the influx of children with hearing loss in the public schools by modi-fying classrooms and providing acoustic help. If we remain aware and committed, we can solve these problems through continuing education and application of what we already know. This is a very excit-ing age – so much so that I would love to be around for another 50 years.

Editor’s Note: This article has been adapted from “Ten Considerations for Early Intervention Derived from 50 Years in the Clinic,” Hearing Journal, 61(5), p 25-28.

Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH). (2007). Year 2007 position statement: Principles and guidelines for early hearing detection and intervention programs. Pediatrics, 120(4): 898-921.

Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH). (2004). Massachusetts universal newborn screening program. Available from www.mass.gov/dph/unhsp. Accessed October 12, 2010.

references


When we talk about AG Bell’s mis-sion, “Advocating Independence through

Listening and Talking,” we refer to advo-cating on behalf of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing who listen and use spoken language to communicate. Examples of AG Bell’s advocacy efforts specific to its mission include: educat-ing legislative and regulatory decision makers about the listening and spoken language perspective, including issues such as reimbursement and coverage for hearing aids and cochlear implants; the dire need for qualified profession-als trained to maximize auditory-based learning and facilitate spoken language development; and classroom acoustics and other accommodations that address the specific needs of students with hear-ing loss who learn through listening.

However, AG Bell is also part of the broader community of individuals who

are deaf or hard of hearing, and our adult members with hearing loss in particular express great interest in issues that affect the community-at-large. For example, captioning availability and quality is always of great concern, particularly in movie theaters and sport and entertainment venues. Another is expansion of employment opportunities and workplace communication access for individuals who are deaf or hard of hear-ing. In addition, communications access in emergency situations, transportation and other public service situations seem to continually fall short for the deaf and hard of hearing community and needs to constantly be addressed with public policy makers.

To address the wide variety of advocacy needs important to the AG Bell commu-nity, AG Bell has formulated a two-part approach to its public affairs efforts that continues to prioritize listening and spo-ken language but also looks to support

the community at large in cases that ben-efit the broader population of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. First, the AG Bell Public Affairs Council, repre-sented by a cross-section of the AG Bell community, meet regularly to discuss public policy issues with a keen eye to how those issues might support listening and spoken language for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing. The Public Affairs Council crafts AG Bell’s position statements on key issues such as early hearing detection and intervention, reimbursement and coverage of assistive hearing devices, and full funding of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The recommendations of the Public Affairs Council are presented to the AG Bell Board of Directors, who then confer and make the final decision on the association’s official positions. The staff then implements those policies into its communications and advocacy outreach efforts.

collaborative EffortsBy Catherine Murphy

How aG bell Promotes its Mission on a national scale

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Second, AG Bell participates in a variety of coalitions that work on a broader level for the deaf and hard of hearing community. Coalitions are a very effective way to have an impact on public policy by combining efforts with other organizations on issues of common interest. They also serve to demonstrate unity and cohesiveness among com-munity advocates before key decision makers in Congress and officials in federal regulatory agencies. For example, while advocating for passage of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Act, AG Bell participated in Congressional staff briefings alongside representatives from other national organizations, such as Hands & Voices, the National Association of the Deaf and the National Cued Speech Association. All these groups know how important early identification and intervention is for infants and children with hearing loss. Therefore, each group has a stake in making sure EHDI programs are well-structured and funded appropriately. By combining our efforts we present a greater urgency to Congress to address newborn hearing screening and interven-tion programs.

Some of the community’s public policy successes over the last two years include:

Enactment of the 21st Century yCommunications and Video Accessibility Act.Reauthorization of the Americans ywith Disabilities Act.Defeat of a proposed hearing aid ydevice tax to pay for health care reform. New emphasis on federal employment yof individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing.Tremendous grassroots support of a yfederal hearing aid tax credit.Increased Medicare reimbursement yfor cochlear implant and implantable hearing aids.A decision by the U.S. Access Board yto take up the matter of establishing standards for classroom acoustics.

In addition to these milestones, earlier this year AG Bell hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on the “Crisis of Capacity” to urge lawmakers to address the shortage of qualified professionals in the public system to help children with

deaf and hard of hearing Alliance (DHHA) was founded by AG Bell and the National Association of the Deaf and has grown to include 14 national consumer and professional organizations that advocate on behalf of individu-als who are deaf. The DHHA has most recently been the driving organization behind efforts to reauthorize the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act. Other members include the Hearing Loss Association of America, National Cued Speech Association, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, National Court Reporters Association and the Media Access Group at WGBH. For more information, visit www.dhhainfo.com.

deaf and hard of hearing Consumer Action network (DHHCAN) is a coalition of national organizations that works to improve the rights of deaf and hard of hearing persons and their quality of life, including affirmation of their right to consumer leadership, self-representation, and equal access to education, employment, community life, communication and technology. Other members include the Association of Late Deafened Adults, USA Deaf Sports Federation, Gallaudet University Alumni Association and the American Deafness and Rehabilitation Association, among others.

Coalition of Organizations for Accessible Technology (COAT) is a coalition of more than 300 disability organizations that advocate for legislative and regulatory safeguards that will ensure full access by people with disabilities to high speed broadband, wireless and other Internet Protocol (IP) technolo-gies. Most recently, COAT was instrumental in the enactment of the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, which addresses increased access to Internet programming, hearing aid compatibility with telecommunications equipment, and increased communications capability between individuals with varying disabilities and emergency/911 services. Other COAT members include the American Foundation of the Blind, Easter Seals and National Council on Independent Living. For more information about COAT, visit www.coataccess.org.

Consortium for Citizens with disabilities (CCD) is a coalition of approximately 100 national disability organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the self determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society. Areas of legislative interest include education, employment and training, health care, social security and civil rights. Other members include the American Association of Retired Persons, American Academy of Pediatrics, Autism Speaks, Council for Exceptional Children and Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates. For more information, visit www.c-c-d.org.

Council on the education of the deaf (CED) works to maintain stan-dards for professionals working with students who are deaf or hard of hearing in educational settings. Part of its activities is to develop, review and recom-mend standards for training and certification of personnel working in educa-tional programs that serve students with hearing loss. Other members include the Association of College Educators of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and the American Society for Deaf Children. AG Bell is a co-founding organization of CED. For more information, visit www.deafed.net.

Joint Committee on Infant hearing (JCIH) was established in 1969 and is composed of organizations representing medical, clinical/therapeutic and consumer organizations that focus on services and care for infants with hearing loss and their families. The committee’s primary activity has been publication of position statements summarizing the state of infant hearing detection, and recom-mending the preferred practice in early identification and appropriate intervention of newborns at risk for or who have hearing loss. Other members include the American Academy of Pediatrics, Directors of Speech and Hearing Programs in State Welfare Agencies, and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. For more information, visit www.jcih.org.

AG BELL cOALiTiON MEMBErships


collaborative Efforts

hearing loss maximize their listening and spoken language potential. AG Bell is also preparing to distribute its most recent monograph edition of The Volta Review on professional preparation to key Congressional and regulatory decision makers so they can acquire

a further understanding of the grow-ing demand for a listening and spoken language outcome for children with hearing loss, and what it takes to ensure they succeed in that effort.

As we head into 2011, AG Bell will continue to examine opportunities for

it to present the listening and spoken language perspective on issues related to education, health care, communication access and employment in the hopes that we can continue the momentum we’ve gained over the last two years.

To learn more about AG Bell’s public affairs efforts or to volunteer, contact AG Bell Director of Communications and Public Affairs Catherine Murphy at [email protected].

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John Stanton, Chair

Joni Alberg

Rachel Arfa

Bruce Corwin

Ben Dubin

Rachel Dubin

Bruce Goldstein

Jack Roush

AG BELL puBLic AffAirs cOuNciL

LOFT is a four-day program designed for participants to develop skills

in individual leadership, teamwork, public speaking and self-advocacy.

The program is structured so that participants increase their self-

confidence and their understanding of their own strengths and abilities

through activities designed to challenge them more each day to push

beyond their comfort zone in a supportive environment.

Leadership Opportunities for Teens (LOFT) 2011

J u ly 2 4 - 2 8 , 2 0 1 1 • O m n i S h O r e h a m • W a S h i n g t O n , D . C .

More information and an application will

be available on the AG Bell website at

www.agbell.org after December 1, 2010.

Application deadline is March 1, 2011.

“Meeting new friends whom I hope to keep in touch with for a lifetime has been the absolute best experience I’ve ever gone through. Those self-advocacy exercises really put things in perspective for me and I wouldn’t have met the people I did that inspired me. Without AG Bell, my summer wouldn’t have been the same!”

– Teen Participant

“Who knew that just five days in the LOFT program could alter one’s life? Not only did my son gain the value of developing leadership and self-advocacy skills, but he established deep connections with other hearing impaired teens in a very short time! He’s in constant contact with some of them weeks after he returned home. I would highly recommend LOFT to any teen fortunate enough to have the opportunity!”

– Parent

“Summer camps come and then vanish quickly from your mind, but LOFT is a program that is unique. What I learned during the program will stay with me for many years. I made connections and friends, and found myself among others with the burning desire to make a difference in the world. LOFT is a program that has the ability to change lives for the better.”

– Teen Participant

LOFT 2011 Ad_v2.indd 1 9/27/10 3:57:27 PM


In June 2010, AG Bell continued its convention family scholar-ship program by awarding full or partial scholarships to families

to attend the AG Bell 2010 Biennial Convention in Orlando, Fla. A total of $8,680 was raised and then donated to families that otherwise could not afford the costs of convention. AG Bell offered each family one hotel room for four nights, up to two adult and two child program registrations, and four tickets to Family Movie Night. Criteria for the scholarship included having at least one child with a bilateral hearing loss who listens and talks, and hav-ing never before attended an AG Bell Biennial Convention. Out of the 65 applications received, AG Bell awarded seven families the opportunity to attend, network and learn in Orlando.

Three parents from those fami-lies shared their experiences at the convention and the impact it had on

their lives.

Volta Voices: What did you enjoy most about attending the AG Bell 2010 Biennial Convention?

Mitchell Daigle: The sense of commu-nity you get from all the participants, professionals and families.

Mikki Spence: I enjoyed meeting the other families who have been going through the same situations as I have for the past three years. And seeing the smiles on their faces regarding the choices they have made for their child/children with hearing loss.

Cindy Russell: It truly would be impossible to just list one event that made the AG Bell convention a mile-stone, memory making event for our family. This was our first family vacation outside our home state of Indiana and it also fulfilled a 10-year family goal to travel to Florida and

visit Disney World, Epcot and NASA together as a family. One particular experience stands out in our minds, however. When we arrived for Family Movie Night, we looked around the room and noticed a woman sitting alone toward the back of the room. When we went to the table, she jumped up and was excited someone had come over to meet her. She was a young mother whose child had just been diagnosed with a significant hearing loss and was at the convention alone, without her husband or baby. She came in hopes of learning more about hearing loss and how this was going to affect her child. My husband and I were honored to hear her story and share our experiences. We came into the evening thinking we were going to be encouraged, and left knowing we gave hope to someone else. What an encouragement for us!

endless Possibilities for aG bell familiesBy Melody Felzien

Cindy Russell and her family pose in front of the Exhibition Hall during the AG Bell 2010 Biennial Convention in Orlando, Fla.

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VV: Why was it important for your family to attend the convention?

M.D.: To connect my son and myself with other families and professionals we would not have the opportunity to meet elsewhere.

M.S.: I wanted my children with hear-ing loss, along with my son who has typical hearing, to see that life can be very normal for those who are deaf and hard of hearing. I wanted them to see that we are not the only family in our situation. It was an opportunity for all of us to bond as a family with other families and gather information to use for a lifetime.

C.R.: I believe it was vitally important for our family to attend the conven-tion because we have addressed our daughter, Abbey’s, hearing loss through our own efforts. Even though Abbey has experienced great successes in her young life, we have not met other fami-lies similar to ours. This is a change we needed to make for our family and the AG Bell convention was the perfect place to make new friends.

VV: How has attending the conven-tion impacted your family today?

M.D.: It has given me a great sense of support from AG Bell and AG Bell families. It has also made me a more confident and versed advocate for my son.

M.S.: My children still talk about our vacation almost daily. They talk about the friends they made and the activi-ties they did with their friends while there. It impacted me by gaining and bringing home so much information on hearing loss and what the future holds. I also gained much parent advocacy knowledge to incorporate in my chil-dren’s everyday life. I have already had to use this information in my children’s Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) this year.

C.R.: We definitely learned that we are not alone in our family’s hearing loss journey. It was so encouraging for us to meet so many beautiful families that were sharing our privileges as well as struggles. Even our children who have typical hearing felt welcome and

Mrs. Bonnie Ahmed

Ms. Laura Andrukaitis

Mr. and Mrs. Paul Arenberg

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Ban

Ms. Nancy Bellew Arfa

Mrs. Thomas Berkson

Ms. Tracey Blair

Mrs. Jenna Bollinger-Voss

Mrs. Ellie Borwosky

Dr. Tamala Bradham

Mr. and Mrs. William Buckley

Mrs. Lisa Cantwell

Ms. Georgia Corbett

Mr. David Davis

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph DiBattista

Mr. Michael Dickenson

Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Dubin

Ms. Rachel Dubin

Mrs. Nan Ellen East

The Economy Family

Ms. Elfie Eisman

Ms. Marian Ernst

Mrs. Phyllis Feibelman

Ms. Sherri Fickenscher

Mr. Jay Fishman

Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Forsthoefel

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Glassman

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Glaze

Mrs. Beverly Gold

Ms. Laura Gold

Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Goldberg

Ms. Lisa Goldstein and Mr. Aaron Steinfield

Ms. Raema Green

Mr. and Mrs. Barry Griebler

Ms. Elizabeth Grunig

Ms. Marsha Haines and Mr. David Nicodemo

Mrs. Mary Hale

Ms. Sue Hall

Ms. Susan Hambrecht

Ms. Patricia Holder

Ms. Joo Young Hong

Ms. Karen Hoppe

Mr. and Mrs. Scott Horvath

Mr. and Mrs. Gregory Hubert

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Hunter

Mr. and Ms. John Kearney

Mr. and Ms. Bert Kelly

Ms. Suzanne Kelly

Mr. Ken Levinson

Ms. Pam Lewis

Mr. Robert Lillie

Ms. Deanna Lizas

Mrs. Charlotte Martin

Mrs. Elizabeth Mayersohn

Mr. Peter Murphy

Dr. Pauline Newton

Mr. Justin Ogden

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Oleszczuk

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Parton

Ms. Caitlin Parton

Mr. and Mrs. Donald Paterson

Dr. James Rodgers

Dr. Joseph Rosenstein

Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Sakakura

Mr. and Mrs. Robert Saperstein

Ms. Susan Schmidberger and Mr. Herbert Arbeiter

Dr. and Mrs. Alvin Schonfeld

Ms. Stefanie Seldin

Ms. and Mrs. Charles Shallbetter

Ms. Deborah Shaffer

Mr. and Mrs. Merritt Sherer

Ms. Ann Shorey

Ms. Judith Simser

Mr. Edward Smith

Mr. and Mrs. J. Paul Sommer

Ms. Michael Spence

Mrs. Virginia Stern

Mrs. Esther Tecklenburg

Ms. Emmy Thomson

Ms. Doris Titsworth

Mrs. Mary Wabeke

Ms. Julie Weinzapfel

Mrs. Karen Werner

Dr. Karen Youdelman

Ms. Carla Zimmerman

AG BELL ThANks suppOrTErs Of ThE 2010 fAMiLy schOLArship prOGrAM

Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this list. If you see an error, please contact AG Bell Manager of Advertising and Exhibit Sales Gary Yates at [email protected].


Endless possibilities for AG Bell families

supported by the other attendees of the convention. We also received valuable information by becoming more famil-iar with all the equipment available

and even purchased cool hearing aid jewelry for Abbey!

VV: What is the most important information you learned from other AG Bell members? How will this benefit your family?

M.D.: The most important thing I learned from other members was how AG Bell and AG Bell families become part of your life long journey. This has caused me to become more involved with AG Bell, and the support is priceless.

M.S.: I feel the most important infor-mation I gained was the importance of parent advocacy. It has already ben-efited me this year with my children’s IEPs and will continue to help me in the years to come regarding their education.

C.R.: Every session was filled with valu-able information. We learned hair cell

regeneration is a future possibility. The teen panel had life stories and experi-ences similar to my pre-teen daughter’s experiences. One of the highlights for my husband and I was meeting the members of the Cochlear Americas booth at the convention. Their willingness to openly share their life experiences as individuals and professionals was valuable to us as parents of our own very special girl. It was there that we met four individuals with the same syndrome as Abbey. How excit-ing to meet happy, successful individuals with a bright future!

VV: What advice do you have for other families with limited resources who are seeking information and support services for their child/children with hearing loss?

M.D.: To become a member, utilize the free six-month trial and connect with other AG Bell members. The com-

Daigle Family (Scarborough, Maine) – Mitchell and Taylor, who is deaf and uses bilateral cochlear implants.

Russell Family (Grabill, Ind.) – Cindy, Joseph, Micah, Bethany, Joel and Abbey, who is deaf and uses hearing aids.

Spence Family (Denham Springs, La.) – Mikki, Andrew, Price, who is deaf and uses a cochlear implant and a hearing aid, and Sophie, who is deaf and uses bilateral cochlear implants.

fAMiLy schOLArship rEcipiENTs

Moisture on a microphone and/or receiver damps high frequency sounds.If there were a product that could help restore high frequencies by removing that moisture,

wouldn’t you want your child to have that bene� t?

� e good news is that there IS such a product, and it’s called Dry & Store.®Used regularly, Dry & Store removes damaging moisture, so your child’s hearing instruments operate at

peak performance, every day. Plus, it’s the only drying appliance that also kills germs that reside on hearing instruments.

Learn more at www.dryandstore.com or by calling Ear Technology at 1-888-327-1299.

Remember: Consonants are more important than vowels.Remember: Dry & Store®. Be� er hearing through be� er hearing aid care .

Consonants are more important than vowels.


Consonants are more important than vowels.Consonants are more important than vowels.

For understanding speech (and for speech development), consonants play a huge role, and as it turns out, consonants are high frequency sounds.



munity of knowledge and support is unmatched.

M.S.: My advice is to keep on seek-ing more and more information. It is our responsibility as parents, regard-less of our resources, to become more knowledgeable of our children’s needs and to guide them through their life, especially through their education. The Internet was my way of gathering all the information I could. If there is no Internet at home, go to your local library. There is so much information available online related to hearing loss and the support services we parents need to get our children equipped to thrive in our communities.

C.R.: Remembering back to the time when Abbey was first diagnosed we began by building a team to help us help our daughter. We first began by interviewing a respected preschool in our area and asked if they were willing

to work with us and our daughter (they were). Next we contacted the local public school district where Abbey was evaluated and support services were offered. It was, and still is, within this school system that we found profes-sional support and individuals dedi-cated to the independent success and self-advocacy of Abbey. Our team con-sists of three adults and Abbey. Their bond has been our family’s greatest asset! Another valuable tool is learning our child’s equipment. By meeting with our audiologists and equipment manu-facturer representatives, we are able to stay current with Abbey’s equipment. Also, wearing her hearing aid helps us as parents better understand what and how she hears. We’ve worn it while watching TV and even going for a drive in our van! Of course, the ultimate gift was the AG Bell Family Scholarship Award....what a dream come true!

VV: If possible, will you attend future AG Bell Biennial Conventions?

M.D.: I knew the second day of the convention that I want to continue to attend conventions in the future and will do my best to see that happen.

M.S.: We would love to attend future AG Bell conventions. I met some extraordinary people whom I would love to come in contact with again one day. It was a great experience all around. Thank you, AG Bell!

C.R.: Yes, we are planning to attend conventions in the future, all six of us. The new technology, contacts and research information are the tops. I also see many benefits for Abbey, who is now 13 years old, to become an active member of the teen program.


I recently visited the Los Angeles area for meetings with AG Bell sponsors and listening and spoken language programs,

including Oralingua, the John Tracy Clinic and the Echo Horizon School (I’ll share more about my fun visit to a fifth grade class at Oralingua in a future column). In addition, I met with leaders of AG Bell ’s California Chapter, including Michelle Nemetz. Michelle serves as the current trea-surer for the chapter. Here’s more about my conversation with Michelle.

Alex Graham: How did you first get involved with AG Bell?

Michelle Nemetz: This took a few minutes to think about because of how far back it was. I first got involved with my local deaf and hard of hearing section chapter in early 1980s when I was still in high school. The 1984 AG Bell Convention in Washington, D.C., was my first national convention. I had a blast meeting new friends and attend-ing workshops. In addition, meeting parents who have a child with hear-ing loss was a great experience for me to share my experiences growing up, and show them that they are not alone and that there is support out there. I now have friends all over the

country and am very grateful to AG Bell for those long-time friendships.

A.G.: Do you have a favorite AG Bell event?

M.N.: I have many great memories of past AG Bell events. One sticks out in my mind the most and that would be deaf and hard of hearing section retreat in San Antonio, Texas, in 2003. We all worked hard planning for the future. Those memories will never fade for me. Speaking of conventions, the banquet dinner event in Pittsburgh, Penn., in 2006 was wonderful with food and dancing into the late evening and hang-ing out with other members afterwards.

ConversationsWith Alex Graham

VOICES FROM AG BELL


A.G.: What is the biggest issue that you think faces the deaf commu-nity today in your home state of California?

M.N.: Some of the major issues include funding for education and hearing aids as well as support services both in K-12 schools and in higher education. The California state budget is now facing many cuts in the near future to reduce deficit. Today’s generation of children with hearing loss is very different then during my younger years thanks to cochlear implants and better hear-ing aid technology. We still need to educate parents and educators because the environment continues to change, including technological advances, captioning and legal issues.

A.G.: How do you think AG Bell can remain relevant in the lives of adults who are living with hearing loss?

M.N.: This can be done by maintain-ing social networks, keeping both current and potential members in the loop of future events. This can include networking or sharing sto-ries. Possibly planning a retreat or a long weekend for the adults with hearing loss in the years between

the national conventions would be beneficial. This would allow many members to reconnect and build on relationships, both professionally and personally. Adults with hearing loss would like to see more workshops or events in the national convention to draw their attention. Another idea is having a social event for mentoring, allowing parents to socialize with adults with hearing loss and ask ques-tions or express concerns they may have. This may have been done on a small scale in the past but can always be implemented in a larger scale in the future.

A.G.: What’s the one piece of advice you would like to give a young per-son living with hearing loss?

M.N.: My advice is to never give up and know you are not alone. It’s important to meet others like you who share similar experiences or have a hearing loss. You may need to work harder than others but it will eventually pay off. There is no rush. For teens, attending the AG Bell Leadership Opportunity for Teens program is a great start. For young adults I encouraged involvement in the convention and local chapter events.

Meet Michelle Nemetz

Michelle is an accounting technician with the City of West Hollywood. Recently she completed a Master’s in Business Administration with a concentration in management from Argosy University. She also holds a certificate in account-ing from University of California, Los Angeles. Michelle has a profound hearing loss and uses bilateral cochlear implants and attended mainstream schools as a child. She enjoys traveling abroad, photography, Pilates and her latest toy, a Kindle reader. P

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ARITHMETIC AND LANGUAGE dEVELOpMENT

Volta Voices would like to intro-duce a 5-part column focusing on how arithmetic word prob-lems can aid in the development

of listening and spoken language for children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Professionals may not recognize that learning to solve arithmetic word prob-lems involves language learning. Some children learn such language informally, either from parents or peers, but many do not. In the case of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, parents, teach-ers, speech-language pathologists and listening and spoken language specialists (LSLSs) should be prepared to help.

Through this series, we will show that there is a connection between learning arithmetic and learning language. This article will show you that, in general, word problems incorporate important language distinctions. In the articles to follow we will examine more thoroughly the language of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

Arithmetic word problems offer a large array of language development oppor-tunities. Here is an example involving a child, Lynn, who has a profound hearing loss and uses bilateral cochlear implants. She is trying to solve an arithmetic word problem and it should be clear that her difficulty is as much about language as it is about arithmetic.

It is Halloween and Jessica and Lynn have collected way too much candy, including lots of candy corn. As it happens, Jessica has collected 4 pieces of candy corn and Lynn has collected 9.

Rob (Jessica and Lynn’s teacher): Jessica, how many pieces of candy corn do you have there?

Jessica: (She takes a quick look at the small pile of candy and, without count-ing, answers.) I’ve got 4.

Rob: Lynn, it looks like you have more than Jessica has. How many pieces of candy corn do you have?

Lynn: (Counting the candies) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

Rob: Lynn, how many more pieces of candy do you have than Jessica has?

Lynn: (She seems to think that Rob is repeating himself. She looks at him like she doesn’t understand why and repeats her previous answer.) I have 9.

Rob: Right, you do have 9, but I want to know how many more you have than Jessica has.

Lynn: (No response.)

Rob: Well how about this, who has more…you or Jessica?

Lynn: I have more.

Rob: We need to figure out how many more you have. Let’s match up Jessica’s 4

candy corns with 4 of yours. (Rob helps her to do that.)

Rob: (Points to Lynn’s additional candies.) These are the extra candies that you have. How many extra ones do you have?

Lynn: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

Rob: Right, you have 5 more candy corns than Jessica. Here are your 9 (pointing), here are Jessica’s 4 (pointing), here are your 4 that match Jessica’s (pointing) and here are your 5 extras (pointing).

In trying to help, we show Lynn what to count and use that language over and over again, always relating the words back to the physical candies. We talk about “matching up” some of Jessica’s candies and about Lynn’s “extra ones.” At the end of the conversation we use the words of the problem: “You have 5 more candies than Jessica has” and we essen-tially re-state the problem and the solu-tion. We are trying to teach her what the words of the problem mean with respect to how the candies must be manipulated and what must be counted.

Learning the Language of Elementary ArithmeticBy Rob Madell, Ph.D., and Jane R. Madell, Ph.D., CCC A/SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT

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The unique language of arithmetic word problems provide unique opportunities for developing listening and spoken language.


Here is an example involving a multi-plication word problem. The child, Mike, has a moderately severe hearing loss and uses bilateral hearing aids. In this case, it is not that Mike does not understand. Rather, he has misunderstood. Once again his difficulty is as much about language as it is about arithmetic.

Jane (Mike’s teacher): I have a very hard problem for you to try to solve. Suppose that your dog, Punch, has 3 collars.

Mike: She only has 2.

Jane: OK. But just suppose that she had 3 collars. And suppose also that she had 4 scarves.

Mike: (He has been building with some wooden blocks and picks out 3 blocks to represent the collars and, in a separate pile, 4 blocks to represent the scarves. Without even knowing what the question is, Mike knows that it will be helpful to make a physical model of it.)

Jane: OK. Good. Now when Punch gets dressed up for something special, she likes to wear a scarf and a collar. So here is what I want to know. How many outfits does Punch have? So if she wants to wear a scarf with a collar, how many different outfits can she make?

Mike: (Matching 1 “collar” with 1 “scarf”), here is 1 outfit.

Jane: OK.

Mike: (Matching a second “collar” with a second “scarf,” and then the third “col-lar” with a third “scarf.”) She can make 3 outfits.

Mike: (He pauses and then looks at the fourth scarf.) But what should I do with this?

Mike’s misunderstanding is not unrea-sonable. Punch can in fact only assemble 3 outfits at any one time. Although the words of the problem don’t make it explicitly clear, the intent is to ask for all possible combinations. You might want to think about how to help Mike represent those combinations so that he can count them.

Examples like these illustrate three things about elementary arithmetic:

1. Every word problem can be repre-sented by a physical model of the problem. In Lynn’s candy problem

(essentially 9 2 4 5 ), we used the actual candies that the words of the problem referred to. In Mike’s outfit problem (essentially 3 3 4 5 ), he represented his understanding of the problem with the blocks that he happened to be building with.

2. For each word problem, the physical model that represents the problem can be manipulated so that together with appropriate counting, the problem can be solved.

Mathematics educators agree that before children start to memorize “facts,” such as 9 2 4 5 5 and 3 3 4 5 12), they should first learn to solve word problems by mak-ing physical models of them and counting.

3. If you pay careful attention to the actual words of mathematical word problems, you see that problems, which may seem similar, require distinct models, manipulation and counting. As a consequence there are more types of word problems than you might think.

For example, we could have asked Lynn the following:

You have 9 candy corns. Suppose that you gave 4 of them to Jessica. How many would you have left?

Like Lynn’s original problem, this one can also be represented by 9 2 4 5 . But the words describe an entirely differ-ent situation. The two problems require very different models.

And here is a problem that, like Mike’s, can also be represented by 3 3 4 5 . But it is much easier to model.

There are 3 shelves of books in your room. There are 4 books on each shelf. How many books do you have altogether?

Mathematics educators disagree about the number of different word problem models. But by our count and for the purposes of this series, there are two addition models, three subtraction mod-els, three multiplication models and two division models.

Some children learn how to model some word problems without direct, explicit instruction. But very few chil-dren (with or without typical hearing) learn to model them all in this way. Parents, teachers, speech-language pathologists and LSLSs should make themselves familiar with all the dif-ferent models. They should systemati-cally introduce lots of different word problems and help children understand the language of those problems so that they can model and solve them as well as develop better listening and spoken language skills.

In the articles to follow we will examine addition problems, subtrac-tion problems, multiplication problems and division problems. Altogether, 10 different word problem models will be discussed. Collectively the articles present all of the word problem models that children are likely to see in school and will provide suggestions for helping children with hearing loss develop the language of arithmetic.

Editor’s Note: Also available in Spanish at www.t-oigo.com / También disponible en español en la página web, www.t-oigo.com.


For the past 45 years I have been privileged to work with parents of newly diagnosed children with hearing loss.

In 1965, I began a family-centered, early intervention program, the Thayer Lindsley Family-Centered Nursery in Boston, Mass., that featured a nursery and individual therapy for the child as well as a support group for the parents. The parents were required to actively participate in all aspects of the Nursery and I have been facilitating the support group since its inception. Parents have taught me much over the years, as have my four children who have typical hear-ing. Now on the eve of retirement I want to share what I have learned. Here is the “Luterman 10” for parenting a child with hearing loss.

1. Parenting Is Inherently ConflictualThe parents’ job is to teach their child the rules of their culture, both the macro society and the micro culture of the fam-ily. These rules are learned; children have no inborn knowledge and they learn by testing limits imposed by their parents. Therefore, as the child tests boundaries, there is conflict. It is the parents’ respon-sibility to set limits for their child, but over the long haul they must give ground to accommodate the child’s growth, eventually ceding full control to the child/adult. I often tell parents, “if you are not fighting with your child, you are not doing it right.” I usually get the response, “not to worry, we are doing it right.”

2. making mistakesThere are many crucial decisions parents must make. Trying to raise a

child with a hearing loss mistake-free is an exercise doomed to failure. For me, it is only a “mistake” if you do it a second time; the first time through it is data. Parents do not owe their child error-free decisions. What they owe their child is to make a decision on the best available data and change the course of action if it is not working out. The “mistake” parents of children with hearing loss often make is to stay with a program longer than they should for fear of admitting that they were wrong or alienating the profes-sionals. Parents need to be monitors of their own decisions and advocates for their child.

3. Teaching FailureChildren need to learn how to cope with adversity and, therefore, need

to experience failure while grow-ing up. Parents of children who have special needs tend to over-protect and shield them from failure, but the child must experience failure in order to grow. Growing up without coping skills limits a child severely because the adult experience is that we don’t always succeed in what we do. It is the overcoming of frustration that enables us to grow, so mild frustration is an incentive to growth. One of the hardest things for any parent to do is to stand back and let his or her child experience failure. We need to be judicious about it because if we let the child experi-ence too much failure, they become risk averse and not enough failure, they become frustration intolerant. Parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing have thin margins to

10 Ideas for Parenting a Child with Hearing Loss By david Luterman, d.Ed.

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Parental involvement is key for children who are deaf or hard of hearing who are learning to listen and talk.


work with, and recognizing when to let go and when to protect is the art of parenting.

4. developmental Issues versus hearing loss IssuesIt is always hard for parents to distin-guish between behavior that is due to the hearing loss and behavior that is developmental in nature. Parents usually err in the direction of giving too much credit for the deafness and not holding their child to the same standard of conduct as a child who has typically hearing. A child must learn to take responsibility for their own choices and they must experience the consequences of their own behavior – if the child spills the milk, he or she needs to help clean it up! This is why we have always kept an early childhood teacher as well as a child who has typi-cal hearing in the Nursery. The teacher and the child are there to remind us of the developmental prerogatives. At the 2-year-old level, almost all behavior is developmental in nature; 2-year-old children with all levels of hearing are prone to ignore their parents.

5. hearing loss Is a Family AffairFamily therapists tell us that the family is a system in which all the parts are intricately linked, meaning that when one part of the system is damaged, all parts of the system, even seemingly remote ones, are affected. Siblings and grandparents also deserve professional attention. One of the first topics that usually emerge in a parent group is the imbalance of attention paid to siblings who have typical hearing. Within the Nursery we always try to have siblings par-ticipate in the nursery and therapy if the activities are age appropriate. Grandparents also deserve attention. For them, it is a double wound as they are concerned for their child as well as for their grandchild. They seldom get a chance to talk about their feelings; within the Nursery, we try to have a grandparent-only support group. These are usually the most emotion-ally intense groups that I facilitate.

6. Tending to the Primary relationshipParenting any child, but especially one with a hearing loss, is a very demand-ing job. It is a 24/7 responsibility that requires vigilance and, at times, difficult decisions that demand a lot of thought and attention. This is a job that is best done within a sup-portive relationship where ownership and responsibility can be shared. Single parents can and do turn out well-rounded children. Those that do it best have found other places of support other than a marital partner. It is absolutely necessary that time and attention be paid to the primary relationship. It is easy to damage a relationship because too much energy is devoted to the parenting and not enough to marital maintenance. I often tell parents that the parenting, though very intense, is a relatively short-term proposition; the partner-ship is long term and therefore needs ongoing attention.

7. Good Parenting/Good Self CareIt is often hard for parents to see that they are the lynchpin of the family. The parent is the most important family member and therefore requires care. Leadership is what you have left over after you have taken care of one’s self. Often the best thing a parent can do for their child is to take time for themselves; running on empty won’t cut it. A long walk or a cup of tea can go a long way in the parenting process. Happy parents usually turn out happy children.

8. The Bottom lineSome parents are motivated to try to overcome their child’s hearing loss. To have a child that speaks typically and integrated into mainstream setting can become the main goal. However, the child may see this as a denial of the hearing loss and a rejection of who the child is. This can lead to an unhappy child who rejects their parents’ goals. In my opinion, the bottom line should be to have a child who is comfortable in his or her skin and is interperson-ally happy. The listening and spoken

language skills, while important, are secondary and children need to be accepted for who they are, not for who they might become. Parents need to be able to distinguish between what the child’s needs are and what is in the best interests of their child.

9. letting GoThe parents’ job is to create an inde-pendent adult who no longer needs them. To that end, parents must gradually cede control of their child’s life to the child. This must start early and be ongoing. There is nothing more important than teaching a child to take responsibility for the choices he or she makes. Parents must set the boundar-ies for their child at a very early age and within that universe, give the child real choices and allow the child to suf-fer the consequences of their choices. Eventually, the parent should give up all control. If the parent becomes so embedded within the parenting, to the extent that the primary relationship is negatively impacted and the parent neglects other aspects of his or her life to do the parenting, then letting go becomes very hard. Many parents can hardly wait for their child to leave home so they can devote more energy to other aspects of their lives.

10. The GiftThere is a great deal of pain, anxiety and sheer hard work in the process of successfully raising a child who has a hearing loss. Yet within that travail, strange as it may seem, there is much opportunity for joy and growth. We give to life what life demands and hearing loss can become a powerful teacher, helping parents develop skills and capacity that otherwise might lay latent. I am always struck at the resiliency of parents and children. They stretch to do what needs to be done and in that stretching they grow. This is the gift the child brings. My wish for all parents is that in the course of raising their child, they find the gift. For me it has been a marvelous life work, and the families I’ve worked with have brought to me a great gift of giv-ing direction and meaning to my life’s work.


En los últimos 45 años he tenido el privilegio de trabajar con padres de niños a los que se les ha diagnosticado recientemente

la pérdida de audición. En 1965, empecé un programa de intervención temprana centrado en la familia, el Thayer Lindsley Family Centered Nursery en Boston, Massachusetts, que contaba con una guardería y terapia individual para el niño, así como un grupo de apoyo para los padres. Los padres tenían la obligación de participar de forma activa en todos los aspectos de la guardería y desde su creación yo facilitaba el grupo de apoyo. Los padres me han enseñado mucho durante todos estos años, ya que mis cuatro hijos oyen. Ahora a punto de jubilarme quiero com-partir con vosotros lo que he aprendido. Aquí tenéis “Los 10 consejos de Luterman” para criar un niño con pérdida de audición.

1. Criar hijos es intrínsecamente conflictivoEl trabajo de los padres es enseñar a su hijo las reglas de su cultura, tanto de la macro-cultura de la sociedad como la microcul-tura de la familia. Estas reglas se aprenden, es decir, que los niños no nacen sabiéndolas y las aprenden probando los límites que sus padres les imponen. Por lo tanto, a medida que el niño va probando los límites, se van creando conflictos. La responsabilidad de los padres es establecer límites para su hijo, pero a la larga deben dejar espacio para acomodar el crecimiento del niño, y al final cederle el control completo al niño/adulto. A menudo les digo a los padres, “si no estáis peleando con vuestro hijo, es que no lo estáis haciendo bien”. Por lo general me contestan, “no se preocupe, lo estamos haciendo bien”.

2. Cometer erroresHay muchas decisiones cruciales que los padres deben tomar. Tratar de criar un niño con pérdida de audición sin cometer errores es un ejercicio que está destinado a fracasar. Para mí, sólo es un “error” si se comete dos veces; la primera vez son datos. Los padres no tienen la obligación de proporcionar a su hijo decisiones libres de errores. Lo que le deben a su hijo es tomar decisiones basadas en la mejor información disponible y cambiar el rumbo si las cosas no funcionan. Con frecuencia, el “error” que cometen los padres de niños con pérdidas auditivas es permanecer en un programa durante más tiempo del necesario por temor a admitir que estaban equivocados o dejar fuera a los profesionales. Los padres necesitan ser los monitores de sus pro-pias decisiones y defensores de su hijo.

3. enseñar el fracasoLos niños necesitan aprender cómo mane-jar la adversidad y, por lo tanto, necesitan

experimentar el fracaso mientras crecen. Los padres de niños con necesidades especiales tienden a ser sobreprotectores y protegen a sus hijos del fracaso, pero el niño necesita experimentar el fracaso para poder crecer. Crecer sin habilidades para sobrellevar los fracasos limita seve-ramente al niño, ya que la experiencia como adultos nos enseña que no siempre tenemos éxito en lo que hacemos. Superar la frustración es lo que nos permite crecer, así que un poco de frustración es un incen-tivo para crecer. Una de las cosas más duras para cualquier padre es hacerse a un lado y permitir que su hijo experimente el fracaso. Necesitamos ser juiciosos porque si permitimos al niño experimentar demasiados fracasos, tendrán aversión al riesgo y si no experimentan suficientes, no tolerarán la frustración. Los padres de niños sordos o con dificultades para oír tienen un margen de acción muy limitado, y reconocer cuándo hay que dejarlos hacer y cuándo hay que protegerlos forma parte del arte de la crianza.

10 ideas para criar un niño con pérdida de audición por david Luterman, d.Ed.

CONSEJOS pArA pAdrEs

La participación de los padres es fundamental en los niños sordos o con dificultades de audición que están aprendiendo a escuchar y hablar.

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4. Problemas de desarrollo versus problemas de pérdida de audiciónLos padres siempre tienen dificultades para distinguir entre el comportamiento ocasionado por la pérdida de audición y el comportamiento que se debe al desa rrollo. Los padres a menudo se equivocan en la dirección de darle demasiado crédito a la sordera y no hacer que su hijo tenga que seguir los mismos estándares de conducta que los niños que oyen. El niño debe aprender a ser responsable de sus propias elecciones y debe experimentar las consecuencias de su propia conducta, es decir, si el niño por ejemplo tira la leche, necesita ayudar a limpiarla. Es por eso que siempre hemos tenido en la guardería un maestro de educación infantil así como un niño que oye. Tanto el maestro como el niño están allí para recordarnos las prerrogativas del desarrollo. A la edad de 2 años, casi todos los comportamientos forman parte del desarrollo; los niños de 2 años de todos los niveles de audición tienden a ignorar a sus padres.

5. la pérdida de la audición es un asunto familiarLos terapeutas familiares nos dicen que la familia es un sistema en la que todas las partes están íntimamente ligadas, es decir, que cuando una parte del sistema está dañado, todas las partes del sistema, incluso las que parecen más remotas, se ven afectadas. Tanto los hermanos como los abuelos también merecen una atención profesional. Uno de los primeros temas que con frecuencia surge en un grupo de padres es el desequilibrio en la atención que se les presta a los hermanos que oyen. Dentro de la guardería siempre tratamos que los hermanos participen y en las tera-pias si las actividades son adecuadas para su edad. Los abuelos también se merecen que les presten atención. Para ellos, es una herida doble ya que su preocupación no es sólo por su hijo o hija sino también por su nieto o nieta. Es muy poco frecuente que ellos tengan la oportunidad de hablar sobre sus sentimientos; dentro de la guardería tratamos de tener un grupo de apoyo especial para los abuelos. Por lo gen-eral estos son los grupos emocionalmente más intensos que facilito.

6. Cuidar la relación principalCuidar a cualquier niño, en especial a uno con una pérdida de audición, es un trabajo muy exigente. Es una responsabilidad que dura las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana, y que requiere vigilancia y, algu-nas veces, atención y la toma de decisiones difíciles que necesitan meditarse mucho. Este es un trabajo que se hace mejor dentro de una relación comprensiva en la que se pueden compartir las responsabilidades. Los padres solteros pueden y crían niños centrados. Aquellos que mejor lo hacen, son los que han encontrado otros lugares de apoyo aparte de la pareja. Es absolutamente necesario que se le preste atención y tiempo a la relación principal. Es muy fácil dañar una relación cuando se le dedica demasiada energía a la crianza de los hijos y no a la pareja. A menudo les digo a los padres que la crianza de los hijos, aunque sea muy intensa, es un trabajo de relativamente corta duración; la relación es a largo plazo y por lo tanto necesita atención continúa.

7. Buenos padres/buenos cuidados personalesCon frecuencia los padres tienen dificul-tades para darse cuenta de que son el eje de la familia. Los padres son los miembros más importantes de la familia y por lo tanto necesitan cuidados. El liderazgo es lo que os queda después de que os hayáis cuidado a vosotros mismos. A menudo lo mejor que un padre o madre pueden hacer por su hijo es tener tiempo para ellos mismos, ya que padres agotados no son de mucha ayuda. Salir a caminar o tomarse una taza de té puede hacer maravillas en el proceso de crianza. Por lo general los padres felices crían hijos felices.

8. el resultado finalAlgunos padres están motivados a inten-tar superar la pérdida de audición de su hijo. Hacer que un niño hable bien y se integre en un entorno normal pueden ser los objetivos principales. Sin embargo, el niño podría ver esto como una negación de la pérdida de audición y un rechazo hacia su persona. Esto puede llevar a un niño infeliz que rechaza los objetivos de sus padres. Yo pienso que el resultado final debería ser tener un niño que se sienta cómodo en su propia piel y esté

feliz interpersonalmente. Las habili-dades de escuchar y hablar, aunque sean importantes, son secundarias y los niños necesitan ser aceptados por quienes son, y no por quienes podrían llegar a ser. Los padres necesitan ser capaces de distin-guir entre lo que el niño necesita y lo que más le convenga a su hijo.

9. dejar irEl trabajo de los padres es crear un adulto independiente que ya no los necesita. Con ese fin, los padres deben ceder de forma gradual el control de la vida de su hijo al niño. Esto debe empezar pronto y ser continuo. No hay nada más importante que enseñarle a un niño a ser responsable de las elecciones que hace. Los padres deben establecer límites para su hijo desde una edad muy temprana, y dentro de ese universo, darle al niño elecciones reales y permitirle que sufra las consecuencias de las mismas. Al final, los padres deberán entregarle todo el control. Si el padre o la madre están demasiado inmersos en la crianza de los hijos, hasta el punto que la relación principal se ve afectada negati-vamente y descuidan otros aspectos de su vida por cuidar a los hijos, dejarlos ir es muy duro. Muchos padres no ven las horas en las que su hijo se vaya de casa para poder dedicar más energía a otros aspectos de sus vidas.

10. el regaloExiste una gran cantidad de dolor, ansiedad y puro trabajo duro en el proceso de criar con éxito a un niño con pérdida de audición. Pero dentro de esas tribu-laciones, por más raro que parezca, hay alegrías y oportunidades para crecer. Nosotros le damos a la vida lo que ella nos demanda, y la pérdida de audición puede ser un maes tro muy poderoso, ayudando a los padres a desarrollar habilidades y capacidades que de otra forma perman-ecerían dormidas. Siempre me sorprende la elasticidad de los padres y niños. Se estiran para hacer lo que se necesita y estirándose crecen. Este es el regalo que el niño trae. Mi deseo es que todos los padres que estén en el curso de criar a un hijo encuentren el regalo. Para mí ha sido un trabajo de toda la vida maravi lloso, y las familias con las que he trabajado me han dado un gran regalo al darle dirección y significado a la obra de mi vida.


Parlez-vous Français? by lesley miller

I am currently a sophomore in a mainstream high school. When I was first diagnosed at age 3 with a moderate-to-severe hearing

loss, the audiologist told my parents it was unlikely I’d ever speak well and I’d probably never go to a “normal” school. Instead of listening, my par-ents changed audiologists, purchased hearing aids and enrolled me in auditory-verbal therapy. I remained in my mainstream school, even getting into the gifted and talented program, and have always been successful with the use of my hearing aids and an FM system. I’m also stubborn and there’s no greater pleasure than proving someone wrong who doubted you!

When I was in sixth grade, my hear-ing loss took a turn for the worse and I chose to get a cochlear implant. Two months after it was activated I began a new school year. This included new teachers and new classes – one of which was French. I couldn’t help but wonder if I was the slightest bit naïve in believing I could begin learning a foreign language so soon after get-ting a cochlear implant, but I was blessed with a wonderful teacher. I never needed any extra assistance and French soon became one of my favorite classes.

When I reached high school, most of the listening and speaking activi-ties were done using pre-recorded tapes, which I sometimes have trouble understanding with my (now bilat-eral) cochlear implants. While I faced setbacks in getting the accommoda-tions I needed in most of my other classes, my French teacher was more than cooperative. We agreed that I

would come in before or after school on the day of all quizzes and tests, and she would read the listening portions aloud to me. I didn’t get any extra repeats, just a natural voice, the option to lip-read and a teacher willing to offer accommodations.

Towards the end of my freshman year, all of the students were given the opportunity to take the National French Exam. The exam is about 1/2 to 1/3 listening and, as the name suggests, is given to French students around the country. I chose to take it, figuring it couldn’t hurt to see how I ranked among other French students at my level. Imagine my excitement when I found out that not only did I do well on this exam, but I ranked ninth overall in the nation! It was an amazing feeling, and walking across the stage to receive a medal in front of hundreds of people was pretty cool too.

I am sometimes asked by parents if they’re expecting too much of their children who have hearing loss by ask-ing them to learn to speak and listen, play a musical instrument or even speak a foreign language. While not everyone is the same, I truly believe I wouldn’t be where I am today if my mom hadn’t persevered and set high expectations of me, and instilled that same confidence in myself.

Lesley Miller writes a blog at cacophony tosymphony.blogspot.com, and also helped create the website deafteens.org where teens

with hearing loss can connect with each other. She’s from Dallas, Texas, and was diagnosed with a hearing loss at age 3 from unknown causes. She received her first cochlear implant at age 12 and her bilateral implant at age 14. She hopes to one day go to medical school and become a neurologist.

“A day in a dog’s life” by hailey WalkerEver since I was a little girl, I loved art – from drawing horses at the age of 6 to currently making movies about my dog. I enjoy pencil drawing, oil painting, photography, ceram-ics, sculpting, making movies and am now learning how to work with Photoshop. This past March, I took an art course at The Rhode Island School of Design about how to make movies. I love movies and have always been very curious about how to make them! I always thought it would be really neat to go behind the scenes of an actual movie to see how they are created. So I took this opportu-nity to learn about how movies are developed.

In this class, my teacher first taught me and my classmates about the basics of movie making. We watched a few movies and discussed the techniques that were used afterwards. When we were ready, he took us out for our first movie shoot at a park. We were given the assignment to create a montage, which is a series of rapid and fast shots with music. We worked individually on this project and once we were finished, we showcased the montages to our class-mates. It was very interesting to see the many different ideas that were used to create amazing one-minute montages.

Two Tales of Language and Arts Creativity

HEAR OUR VOicEs

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Our next assignment was to create a documentary. For this project we were split into groups. My group was only girls and we decided to make a documentary about the beauty of downtown Providence. It was great to work with these girls to create a movie we were all passionate about.

Our final assignment was to cre-ate a movie about a topic of interest. At first I decided to create a film about hearing loss but realized that there was not enough time available to address that topic. After a lot of thinking, I decided to create a film about my dog. I had an idea to create a short comedy about the human-like activities that my dog would do when everyone was gone from home. I shot Bella, my dog, watching a movie, reading and so much more! I had fun creating this film and it was totally different from what I thought my film would be. I decided to name this short movie “A Day in A Dog’s Life.” I was

very pleased with the results of this film and I received great marks from my teacher.

During this experience, I made sure that I told my teacher about my hearing loss. There were no problems with not understanding my teacher and when I had questions he would always answer them. In this class I actually felt at ease for once and I was probably the most talkative student in the class, which is very unlike me. It was a small class and it was easy to make new friends. I enjoyed this class both academically and socially. Academically, I learned a cool new digital movie-editing program called Final Cut Pro. This is the same pro-gram that professional editors use. And, as a result of taking this class, I gained more experience working in groups, which is sometimes difficult for me. I was able to work on strate-gies to help me gain self-confidence in group work environments.

Hailey Walker was born with a profound hearing loss. She received her first cochlear implant at age 2 and her second

at age 11. Hailey was the first child in Rhode Island to receive a cochlear implant. She is currently in the eleventh grade in a mainstream program at Lincoln School in Providence, R.I. Hailey received an AG Bell Arts and Sciences scholarship to attend the film-making class.

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Providing children who are deaf and hard of hearing with the listening, learning and spoken language skills they need to succeed.

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n AlabamaAlabama Ear Institute, 300 Office Park Drive, Suite 210, Birmingham, AL 35223 • (205-879-4234 – voice) • (205-879-4233-fax) – www.alabamaearinstitute.org AEI Auditory-Verbal Mentoring Program - Training in spoken language development utilizing the A-V approach w/ continuing education workshops & mentoring by LSLS Cert AVTs. AEI Summer Institute in Auditory-Verbal Therapy- two-week immersion in A-V approach - Workshops and practicum experience w/instruction and coaching by LSLS Cert AVTs. The Alabama School for Hearing: pre-school utilizing auditory/oral classroom approach - Auditory-Verbal therapy also provided. AEI: Education, research and public policy.

n ArizonaDesert Voices, 3426 E. Shea Blvd., Phoenix, AZ 85028 • 602-224-0598 (voice) • 602-224-2460 (fax) • [email protected] (email). Emily Lawson, Executive Director. Oral school for deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth to nine years of age. Programs include Birth to Three therapy, Toddler Group, and full day Educational Program. Other services include parent education classes, speech and language evaluations, parent organization and student teacher placements. Desert Voices is a Moog Curriculum school.

n CaliforniaAuditory-Verbal Services, 10623 Emerson Bend, Tustin, CA 92782 • 714-573-2143 (voice) • email [email protected] • Karen Rothwell-Vivian, M.S.ED. M.A. CCC-A. LSLS-Cert.AVT. Listening and Spoken Language Specialist - Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist providing Auditory-Verbal Therapy and both audiological and educational consultation for children from infancy through college age. Auditory Rehabilitation is also provided for adults. Extensive expertise with amplification, cochlear implants, and FM systems.

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) • [email protected] (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 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. Auditory-Verbal individual therapy, birth to 21 years.

HEAR to Talk, 547 North June Street, Los Angeles, CA 90004 • 323-464-3040 (voice) • [email protected] (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 Avenue, Redwood City, CA 94062 • 650-365-7500 (voice) • [email protected] (e-mail) • www.oraldeafed.org/schools/jwposd (website) Kathleen Daniel Sussman, Executive Director; Pamela Musladin, Principal. An auditory/oral program where deaf and hard of hearing children listen, think and talk! Cognitive based program from birth through mainstreaming into 1st or 2nd grade. Students develop excellent language, listening and social skills with superior academic competencies. Cochlear Implant Habilitation, mainstream support services and Family Center offering special services for infants, toddlers and their families.

John Tracy Clinic, 806 West Adams Blvd., L.A., CA 90007 • 213-748-5481 • 800-522-4582 (parents) • www.jtc.org • Since 1942, free worldwide Parent Distance Education Program and onsite comprehensive audiological, counseling and educational services for families with children ages birth thru 5 years. Intensive 3-week Summer Sessions (ages 2-5) with Sibling Program. Online and on-campus options for accredited Master’s and Credential in Deaf Education.

Lets Talk About It 207 Santa Anita Street, #300, San Gabriel, CA • 91776 • 626-695-2965 (voice) [email protected] (email) • Bridgette Klaus, M.S.Ed., LSLS Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist. Providing Auditory-Verbal therapy for children with a hearing loss and their families. Services for individuals with hearing aids and/or cochlear implants, infancy through adulthood.

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

No Limits 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.

Oralingua School for the Hearing Impaired, North Campus – 7056 S. Washington Avenue, Whittier, CA 90602 – 562-945-8391 (voice) 562-945-0361 (fax) [email protected] (email) www.oralingua.org (website) South Campus – 221 Pawnee Street, San Marcos, CA 92078 – 760-471-5187 (voice) 760-591-4631 (fax) Where Children are Listening and Talking! An auditory/oral program serving children from infancy to 11 years old. Audiological, Speech, Itinerant, AVI Therapy, and other related Designated Instructional Services available. Contact Elisa J. Roche, Executive Director.

Training and Advocacy Group for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children and Teens (TAG), 11693 San Vicente Blvd. #559, Los Angeles, CA 90049, 310-339-7678, [email protected], www.tagkids.org. Leah Ilan, Executive Director. Offers free group meetings for ddh children and teens from 5th grade through high school to provide socialization and advocacy training. Half-day workshops for high school seniors are given to prepare students for college or employment. Groups are held in schools during weekdays and in the community during the weekends. The sessions are each two hours long with 8-12 participants. Parent workshops and special extracurricular outings are also offered throughout the school year.

n ColoradoBill Daniels Center for Children’s Hearing, The Children’s Hospital – Colorado, Department of Audiology, Speech Pathology and Learning Services, 13123 East 16th Avenue, B030 Aurora, CO 80045. www.thechildrenshospital.org (website) – 720-777-6531(voice) - 720-777-6886 (TTY) or [email protected] (e-mail) We provide comprehensive audiology and speech-language 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 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, a deaf educator, family consultant, and clinical social worker. Individual, group and parent educational support and programs are designed to meet each family desire for their preference of communication needs. We also provide advanced technology hearing aid fitting and cochlear implant services.

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



Rocky Mountain Ear Center, P.C. • 601 East Hampden Avenue, Suite 530, Englewood, CO 80113 • 303-783-9220 (voice) • 303-806-6292 (fax) • www.rockymountainearcenter.com (website). We provide a full range of neurotology and audiology services for all ages, ranging from infants to seniors. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, our board-certified otologist and doctors of audiology test and diagnose hearing, balance, facial nerve and ear disorders and we provide full-service hearing aid, cochlear implant and BAHA services. We offer medical and surgical treatment as well as language therapy and support groups, and are actively involved in various research studies.

n ConnecticutCREC Soundbridge, 123 Progress Drive, Wethersfield, CT 06109 • 860- 529-4260 (voice/ TTY) • 860-257-8500 (fax) • www.crec.org/soundbridge (website). Dr. Elizabeth B. Cole, Program Director. Comprehensive audiological and instructional services, birth through post-secondary, public school settings. Focus on providing cutting-edge technology for optimal auditory access and listening in educational settings and at home, development of spoken language, development of self advocacy – all to support each individual’s realization of social, academic and vocational potential. Birth to Three, Auditory-Verbal Therapy, integrated preschool, intensive day program, direct educational and consulting services in schools, educational audiology support services in all settings, cochlear implant mapping and habilitation, diagnostic assessments, and summer programs.

New England Center for Hearing Rehabilitation (NECHEAR), 354 Hartford Turnpike, Hampton, CT 06247 • 860-455-1404 (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 FloridaBolesta Center, Inc, 7205 North Habana Avenue, Tampa, FL 33614 • 813-932-1184 (voice) • 813-932-9583 (fax) • [email protected] (email) • www.bolestacenter.org (website) • Non-profit Listening and Spoken Language Center dedicated to teaching children who are deaf and hard of hearing to listen and speak. No family turned away based on ability to pay. Services provided to families, professionals, and school districts. Specializing in auditory-verbal therapy, educational outreach, and professional development programs. Kids and professionals immersion and summer programs available. Talk to us about our success with late implanted children! Contact Judy Horvath, LSL Cert. AVEd.

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/Jacksonville, 9857 St. Augustine Rd., Jacksonville, FL 32257 • 904/880-9001 (voice/TTY)• [email protected], • www.clarkeschools.org • Susan G. Allen, Director. Serving families with children with hearing loss, services include early intervention, toddler, preschool, PreK/kindergarten, primary, parent support, individual listening, speech and language services, and cochlear implant habilitation and mainstream support.

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) [email protected] (email) http://www.atlantaspeechschool.org (website) A Listening and Spoken Language program serving children who are deaf or hard of hearing from infancy to elementary school age. Children receive language-rich lessons and highly individualized 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 educational evaluations. Established in 1938.

Auditory-Verbal Center, Inc - Atlanta, 1901 Century Boulevard, Suite 20, Atlanta, GA 30345, 404-633-8911 (voice) • 404-633-6403 (fax) • [email protected] (email) • www.avchears.org (website). Auditory-Verbal Center, Inc - Macon, 2720 Sheraton Drive, Suite D-240, Macon, GA 31204 • 478-471-0019 (voice). A comprehensive Auditory-Verbal program for children with hearing impairments and their families. Home Center and Practicum Site programs provide intensive A-V training for families and professionals. Complete audiological services for children and adults. Assistive listening devices demonstration center.

Georgia Relay, 866-787-6710 (voice) • [email protected] (email) • www.georgiarelay.org (website). Georgia Relay provides services that enable people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind and speech impaired to place and receive calls via a standard telephone. Free specialized telephones are available to applicants who financially and medically qualify through the Georgia Telecommunications Equipment Distribution Program (TEDP). Georgia Relay is easily accessed by dialing 7-1-1 and is overseen by the Georgia Public Service Commission.

n IdahoIdaho Educational Services for the Deaf and the Blind, 1450 Main Street, Gooding, ID 83330 • 208 934 4457 (V/TTY) • 208 934 8352 (fax) • [email protected] (e-mail). IESDB serves birth to 21 year old youth with hearing loss through parent-infant, on-site, and outreach programs. Options include auditory/oral programs for children using spoken language birth through second grade. Audiology, speech instruction, auditory development, and cochlear implant habilitation is provided.

n IllinoisAlexander Graham Bell Montessori School (AGBMS) and Alternatives in Education for the Hearing Impaired www.agbms.org (website) • [email protected] (email) • 847-850-5490 (phone) • 847-850-5493 (fax) • 9300 Capitol Drive Wheeling, IL 60090 • AGBMS provides challenging academic programs in a mainstream environment for deaf children ages 0-12 years. Teach of the Deaf, Speech/Language Pathologist, and Classroom Teachers utilize Cued speech to provide complete access to English and enable development of age-appropriate language and literacy skills. Speaking and listening skills are emphasized by staff with special training in auditory/verbal therapy techniques. AEHI provides Cued Speech training and other outreach services to families and professionals in the Great Lakes area.

Child’s Voice School, 180 Hansen Court, Wood Dale, IL 60191, (630) 595-8200 (voice) (630) 595-8282 (fax) - [email protected] (email) http://www.childsvoice.org (website). Michele Wilkins, Ed.D., LSLS Cert. AVEd., Executive Director. A Listening and Spoken Language program for children birth to age 8. Cochlear implant (re) habilitation, audiology services and mainstream support services provided. Early intervention for birth to age three with parent-infant and toddler classes and home based services offered. Parent Support/Education classes provided. Child’s Voice is a Moog Curriculum school.

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; [email protected] (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 Kansas and Missouri for other campus information.)

n KansasSt. Joseph Institute for the Deaf - Kansas City, 8835 Monrovia, Lenexa, KS 66215 • 913-383-3535 • www.sjid.org • Jeanne Fredriksen, M.S., Ed., Director • [email protected]. St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf - Kansas City, a campus of the St. Joseph Institute system, serves children with hearing loss, birth to age eight. Listening and Spoken Language programs include: early intervention, toddler playgroups, preschool to second grade classes, cochlear implant/hearing aid rehabilitation and daily speech therapy. Challenging listening/speech and language therapy, academic programs and personal development opportunities are offered in a nurturing environment. (See Missouri and Indiana for other campus information.)

n maryland

The Hearing and Speech Agency’s Auditory/Oral Center, 5900 Metro Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215 • (voice) 410-318-6780 • (TTY) 410-318-6759 • (fax) 410-318-6759 • Email: [email protected] • Website: www.hasa.org. Jill Berie, Educational Director, Olga Polites, Clinical Director, Heather Eisgrau, Teacher of the Deaf/Director. Auditory/Oral education and therapy program for infants and young children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Self-contained, state-of-the-art classrooms located in the Gateway School approved by the Maryland State Department of Education. Additional services include speech-language therapy, family education and support, pre- and post-cochlear implant habilitation, collaboration and support of inclusion, audiological management and occupational therapy. The Hearing and Speech Agency’s Auditory/Oral preschool program, “Little Ears, Big Voices” is the only Auditory/Oral preschool in Baltimore. In operation for more than five years, it focuses on preparing children who are deaf or hard of hearing to succeed in mainstream elementary schools. Applications for all Auditory/Oral Center programs are accepted year-round. Families are encouraged to apply for scholarships and financial assistance. HASA is a direct service provider, information resource center and advocate for people of all ages who are deaf, hard of hearing or who have speech and language disorders.



n massachusetts

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/Boston Area, 1 Whitman Road, Canton, MA 02021 • 781-821-3499 (voice) • 781-821-3904 (tty) • [email protected], www.clarkeschools.org. Cara Jordan, Director. Serving families of young children with hearing loss, services include early intervention, preschool, kindergarten, parent support, cochlear implant habilitation, and mainstream services (itinerant and consultation).

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/Northampton, 47 Round Hill Rd, Northampton, MA 01060 • 413-584-3450 (voice/tty) • [email protected], www.clarkeschools.org. Bill Corwin, President. Early intervention, preschool, day and boarding school through 8th grade, cochlear implant assessments, summer programs, mainstream services (itinerant and consultation), evaluations for infants through high school students, audiological services, and graduate-teacher-education program.

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

n michigan

Monroe County Program for Hearing Impaired Children, 3145 Prairie St., Ida, MI 48140-9778 • 734-269-3875 (voice/TTY) • 734-269-3885 (fax) • [email protected] (e-mail) • www.misd.k12.mi.us • Kathleen Whitman, Supervisor. Auditory/oral program, full continuum of services, birth to 25 years. Staff: 21.

Redford Union Oral Program for Children with Hearing Impairments, 18499 Beech Daly Rd. Redford, MI 48240 • 313-242-3510 (voice) • 313-242-3595 (fax) • 313-242-6286 (tty) • Dorothea B. French, Ph.D., Director. Auditory/oral day program serves 80 center students/250 teacher consultant students. Birth to 25 years of age.

n minnesotaNorthern Voices, 1660 W. County Road B, Roseville, MN, 55113-1714, 651-639-2535 (voice), 651-639-1996 (fax), [email protected] (email), Darolyn Gray, Executive Director. Northern Voices is a non-profit early education center focused on creating a positive environment where children with hearing loss and their families learn to communicate through the use of spoken language. Our goal is for students to become fluent oral communicators and to join their hearing peers in a traditional classroom at their neighborhood schools. Northern Voices is a Moog Curriculum School. Please visit www.northernvoices.org.

Northeast Metro #916 Auditory/Oral Program, 3375 Willow Ave., Rm 109, White Bear Lake, Minnesota 55110; 651.415.5546, • email [email protected]. • Providing oral 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 typical hearing peers. This can be achieved when they are identified at an early age, receive appropriate amplification, and participate in an oral-specific early intervention program. Referrals are through the local school district in which the family live.

n mississippiDuBard School for Language Disorders, The University of Southern Mississippi, 118 College Drive #5215, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001 • 601.266.5223 (voice) · [email protected] (e-mail) • www.usm.edu/dubard · Maureen K. Martin, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, CED, CALT, Director • The DuBard School for Language Disorders is a clinical division of the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Southern Mississippi. The school serves children from birth to age 13 in its state-of-the-art facility. Working collaboratively with 20 public school districts, the school specializes in coexisting language disorders, learning disabilities/dyslexia and speech disorders, such as apraxia, through its non-graded, 11-month program. The Association Method, as refined, and expanded by the late Dr. Etoile DuBard and the staff of the school, is the basis of the curriculum. Comprehensive evaluations, individual therapy, audiological services and professional development programs also are available. A/EOE/ADAI

Magnolia Speech School, Inc. 733 Flag Chapel Road, Jackson, MS 39209 – 601-922-5530 (voice), 601-922-5534 (fax) – [email protected] –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 missouriCID – Central Institute for the Deaf, 825 S. Taylor Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110 314-977-0132 (voice) • 314-977-0037 (tty) • [email protected] (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, Director of School and Family School, [email protected]. Services provided to children who are deaf and hard-of-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 Moog Curriculum School.

The Moog School at Columbia, 3301 West Broadway, Columbia, MO 65203 • 573-446-1981(voice) • 573-446-2031 (fax) • Judith S. Harper, CCC SLP, Director • [email protected] (e-mail). Services provided to children who are deaf and hard-of hearing from birth to kindergarten. Programs include the Family School (birth to 3). School (3 years to kindergarten). Mainstream services (speech therapy/academic tutoring) ,educational evaluations, parent education, support groups, and student teacher placements. The Moog School—Columbia is a Moog Curriculum School.

St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf - St. Louis, 1809 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield, MO 63017 • (636) 532-3211 (voice/TYY) • www.sjid.org; Mary Daniels, MAEd, LSLS Cert. AVEd, Director of Education • [email protected] • 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, I-Hear 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 Kansas and Indiana for other campus information.)

n nebraska

Omaha Hearing School for Children, Inc. 1110 N. 66 St., Omaha, NE 68132 402-558-1546 [email protected] An OPTIONschools Accredited Program offering auditory/oral education for birth to three, preschool and K – 3rd grades. Serving Omaha and the surrounding region.

n new JerseyHIP and SHIP of Bergen County Special Services - Midland Park School District, 41 E. Center Street, Midland Park, N.J. 07432 • 201-343-8982 (voice) • [email protected] (email) • Kathleen Treni, Principal. An integrated, comprehensive pre-K-12th grade auditory oral program in public schools. Services include Auditory Verbal and Speech Therapy, Cochlear Implant habilitation, Parent Education, and Educational Audiological services. Consulting teacher services are available for mainstream students in home districts. Early Intervention services provided for babies from birth to three. SHIP is the state’s only 7-12th grade auditory oral program. CART (Computer Real Time Captioning) is provided in a supportive, small high school environment.

The Ivy Hall Program at Lake Drive, 10 Lake Drive, Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046 • 973-299-0166 (voice/tty) • 973-299-9405 (fax) • www.mtlakes.org/ld. • Trish Filiaci, MA, CCC-SLP, Principal. An innovative program that brings hearing children and children with hearing loss together in a rich academic environment. Auditory/oral programs include: early intervention, preschool, kindergarten, parent support, cochlear implant habilitation, itinerant services, OT, PT and speech/language services. Self-contained to full range of inclusion models available.

Speech Partners, Inc. 26 West High Street, Somerville, NJ 08876 • 908-231-9090 (voice) • 908-231-9091 (fax) • [email protected] (email). Nancy V. Schumann, M.A., CCC-SLP, Cert. AVT. Auditory-Verbal Therapy, Communication Evaluations, Speech-Language Therapy and Aural Rehabilitation, School Consultation, Mentoring, Workshops.

Summit Speech School for the Hearing-Impaired Child, F.M. Kirby Center is an exclusionay 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) • 908-508-0012 (fax) • [email protected] (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.

n new mexico

Presbyterian Ear Institute – Albuquerque, 415 Cedar Street SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106 • 505-224-7020 (voice) • 505-224-7023 (fax) • Contact: Dawn Sandoval, Co-Lead Teacher. A cochlear implant center, auditory/oral school for deaf and hard-of-hearing children and parent infant program. Exists to assist people with hearing loss to better listen and speak and integrate into mainstream society.

n new YorkAnne Kearney, M.S., LSLS Cert. AVT, CCC-Speech Language Pathology, 401 Littleworth Lane, Sea Cliff, Long Island, NY 11579 • 516-671-9057 (voice).

Auditory/Oral School of New York, 2164 Ralph Avenue & 3321 Avenue “M,” Brooklyn, NY 11234 • 718-531-1800 (voice) • 718-421-5395 (fax) • [email protected] (e-mail) • Pnina Bravmann, Program Director. A premier auditory/oral early intervention and preschool program servicing hearing impaired children and their families. Programs include: StriVright Early Intervention (home-based and center-based), preschool, integrated preschool classes with children with normal hearing, multidisciplinary evaluations, parent support, Auditory-Verbal Therapy, complete audiological services, cochlear implant habilitation, central auditory processing (CAPD) testing and therapy, mainstreaming, ongoing support services following mainstreaming.

Center for Hearing and Communication (formerly the League for the Hard of Hearing), 50 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10004 • 917 305-7700 (voice) • 917-305-7888 (TTY) • 917-305-7999 (fax) • http://www.chchearing.org (website). Florida Office: 2900 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite 3, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33309 • 954-601-1930 (Voice) • 954-601-1938 (TTY) • 954-601-1399 (Fax). A leading center for hearing and communication services for people of all ages who are hard of hearing or deaf. Comprehensive array of services include: audiology, otology, hearing aid evaluation, fitting and sales, communication therapy, cochlear implant training, assistive technology consultation, emotional health and wellness, public education, support groups and Mobile Hearing Test Units. Visit http://www.chchearing.org to access our vast library of information about hearing loss and hearing conservation. For more information or to make an appointment, contact us at [email protected].

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech/New York, 80 East End Avenue, New York, NY 10028 • 212/585-3500 (voice/tty) • [email protected], www.clarkeschools.org Meredith Berger, Director. Serving families of children with hearing loss, services include early intervention, preschool, evaluations (NY state approved Committee on Preschool Education Services; early intervention, Audiology, PT, OT and speech), hearing aid and FM system dispensing and related services including occupational and physical therapy in a sensory gym and speech-language therapies.

Long Island Jewish Medical Center: Hearing & Speech Center, 430 Lakeville Road, New Hyde Park, NY 11042 • 718-470-8910 (voice) • 718-470-1679 (fax). Long Island Jewish Medical Center: Hearing & Speech Center. A complete range of audiological and speech-language services is provided for infants, children and adults at our Hearing and Speech Center and Hearing Aid Dispensary. The Center participates in the Early Intervention Program, Physically Handicapped Children’s Program and accepts Medicaid and Medicare. The Cochlear Implant Center provides full diagnostic, counseling and rehabilitation services to individuals with severe to profound hearing loss. Support groups for parents of hearing impaired children and cochlear implant recipients are available.

Mill Neck Manor School for the Deaf - GOALS (Growing Oral/Aural Language Skills) PROGRAM, 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 education, parent training, family support and speech/language/audiological services.Collaborates with Early Intervention Services. Preschool/Kindergarten (ages 3 - 6) Auditory/Verbal program serves Deaf /HoH students and typical peers to facilitate academic goals meeting NY Standards. Teachers/therapists in this certified literacy collaborative program integrate literacy, listening and oral language skills throughout school day. Art, library, audiological services, daily music/speech/language therapies, related services and family-centered programming included.

Nassau BOCES Program for Hearing and Vision Services, 740 Edgewood Drive, Westbury, NY 11590 • 516-931-8507 (Voice) • 516-931-8596 (TTY) • 516-931-8566 (Fax) • www.nassauboces.org (Web) • [email protected] (Email). Dr. Judy Masone, Principal. Provides full day New York State standards - based academic education program for children 3-21 within district-based integrated settings. An auditory/oral or auditory/sign support methodology with a strong emphasis on auditory development is used at all levels.



Itinerant services including auditory training and audiological support are provided to those students who are mainstreamed in their local schools. Services are provided by certified Teachers of the Hearing Impaired on an individual basis.

The Infant/Toddler Program provides center- and home-based services with an emphasis on the development of auditory skills and the acquisition of language, as well as parent education and support. Center-based instruction includes individual and small group sessions, speech, parent meetings and audiological consultation. Parents also receive 1:1 instruction with teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing on a weekly basis to support the development of skills at home.

Comprehensive audiological services are provided to all students enrolled in the program, utilizing state of the art technology, FM assistive technology to maximize access to sound within the classroom, and cochlear implant expertise. Additionally, cochlear implant mapping support provided by local hospital audiology team will be delivered on site at the school.

New York Eye & Ear Cochlear Implant And Hearing & Learning Centers, 380 Second Avenue at 22nd Street, 9th floor, New York, NY 10010 • 646-438-7801 (voice). Comprehensive diagnostic and rehabilitative services for infants, children and adults including audiology services, amplification and FM evaluation and dispensing, cochlear implants, auditory/oral therapy, otolaryngology, and counseling, early intervention services, and educational services (classroom observation, advocacy, and in-service session).

Rochester School for the Deaf, 1545 St. Paul Street, Rochester, NY 14621; 585-544-1240 (voice/TTY), 866-283-8810 (Videophone); [email protected], www.RSDeaf.org. Harold Mowl, Jr., Ph.D., Superintendent/CEO. Serving Western and Central New York State, RSD is an inclusive, bilingual school where deaf and hard of hearing children and their families thrive. Established in 1876, RSD goes above and beyond all expectations to provide quality Pre-K through 12th grade academic programs, support 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 achive 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 CarolinaCASTLE- Center for Acquisition of Spoken Language Through Listening Enrichment, 5501-A Fortunes Ridge Drive, Suite A, Durham, NC 27713 • 919-419-1428 (voice) • www.uncearandhearing.com/pedsprogs/castle An auditory/oral center for parent and professional education. Preschool and Early intervention services for young children including Auditory Verbal parent participation sessions. Hands-on training program for hearing-related professionals/ university students including internships, two week summer institute and Auditory Verbal Modules.

n OhioAuditory Oral Children’s Center (AOCC), 5475 Brand Road, Dublin, OH 43017 • 614-598-7335 (voice) • [email protected] (email) • http://auditoryoral.googlepages.com (website). AOCC is a non-profit auditory and spoken language development program for children with hearing loss. We offer a blended approach by combining an intensive therapy-based pre-school program integrated into a NAEYC preschool environment. Therapy is provided by an Auditory-Verbal Therapist, Hearing–Impaired Teacher, and Speech-Language Pathologist. Birth to three individual therapy, toddler class, and parent support services also available.


Imagine making as many calls as you want, as often as you want, for as long as you want—all without having to rely on hearing friends and family members. Sorenson Video Relay Service® (SVRS®) does just that. It gives you the freedom and independence to converse with friends, family, co-workers, businesses and more—on your time, at any time, 24/7/365. And because Sorenson Communications® is one of the world’s largest employers of deaf individuals, you can count on us to continually develop new and exciting ways to improve your daily communication. Simply put, you’ll love life with SVRS.

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© 2009 Sorenson Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. For more information about local

10-digit numbers and the limitations and risks associated with using Sorenson’s VRS or IP Relay

services to place a 911 call, please visit Sorenson’s website at: www.sorenson.com/disclaimer.

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Millridge Center/Mayfield Auditory Oral Program, 950 Millridge Road, Highland Heights, OH 44143-3113 • 440-995-7300 (phone) • 440-995-7305 (fax) • www.mayfieldschools.org • Louis A. Kindervater, Principal. Auditory/oral program with a ful continuum of services, birth to 22 years of age. Serving 31 public school districts in northeast Ohio. Early intervention; preschool with typically developing peers; parent support; individual speech, language, and listening therapy; audiological services; cochlear implant habilitation; and mainstreaming in the general education classrooms of Mayfield City School District.

Ohio Valley Voices, 6642 Branch Hill Guinea Pike, Loveland, OH 45140513-791-1458 (voice) • 513-791-4326 (fax) • [email protected] (e-mail) www.ohiovalleyvoices.org (website). Ohio Valley Voices teaches children who are deaf and hard of hearing how to listen and speak. The vast majority of our students utilize cochlear implants to give them access to sound, which in turn, allows them to learn and speak when combined with intensive speech therapy. We offer birth-to-age three program, a preschool through second grade program, a full array of on-site audiological services, parent education and support resources.

n OklahomaHearts for Hearing, 3525 NW 56th Street, Suite A-150, Oklahoma City, OK. • 73112 • 405-548-4300 • 405-548-4350(Fax) • Comprehensive hearing healthcare program which includes pediatric audiological evaluations, management and cochlear implant mapping. Auditory-Verbal therapy, cochlear implant habilitation, early intervention, pre-school, summer enrichment services and family support workshops are also provided. Opportunities for family, professional education and consultations are provided. www.heartsforhearing.org

INTEGRIS Cochlear Implant Clinic at the Hough Ear Institute, 3434 NW 56th, Suite 101, Oklahoma City, OK 73112 • 405-947-6030 (voice) • 405-945-7188 (fax) • [email protected] (email) • www.integris-health.com (website) • Our team includes board-certified and licensed speech-language pathologists, pediatric and adult audiologists, as well as neurotologists from the Otologic Medical Clinic. Services include hearing evaluations, hearing aid fittings, cochlear implant testing and fittings, newborn hearing testing, and speech/language therapy. The Hearing Enrichment Language Program (HELP) provides speech services for children and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing. Our speech-language pathologists respect adults’ and/or parents’ choice in (re) habilitation options that can optimize listening and language skills.

n OregonTucker-Maxon Oral School, 2860 S.E. Holgate, Portland, OR 97202 • 503-235-6551(voice) • 503-235-1711 (TTY) • [email protected] (e-mail) • www.tmos.org (website) • Established in 1947, Tucker-Maxon is an intensive auditory-oral school that co-enrolls children with hearing loss and children with normal hearing in every class. Each class is taught by a regular educator or early childhood specialist and a teacher of deaf children. Programs for children with hearing loss start at birth and continue through 5th grade. Tucker-Maxon provides comprehensive pediatric audiology evaluations, cochlear implant management, habilitation and mapping, early intervention, and speech pathology services.

n PennsylvaniaBucks County Schools Intermediate Unit #22, Hearing Support Program, 705 North Shady Retreat Road, Doylestown, PA 18901 • 215-348-2940 x1240 (voice) • 215-340-1639 (fax) • [email protected] • Kevin J. Miller, Ed.D., CCC-SP, CED, Supervisor. A publicly-funded program serving local school districts with deaf or hard of hearing students (birth -12th Grade). Services include itinerant support, resource rooms, audiology, speech-language therapy, auditory-verbal therapy, C-Print captioning, and cochlear implant habilitation.


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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, Speech-Language 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 Rd., Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 • 610-525-9600 (voice/tty) • [email protected], www.clarkeschool.org. Judith Sexton, Director. Serving families with young children with hearing loss, services include early intervention, preschool, parent support, individual auditory speech and language services, cochlear implant habilitation, audiological services, and mainstream services (itinerant and consultation).

Delaware County Intermediate Unit # 25, Hearing and Language Programs, 200 Yale Avenue, Morton, PA 19070 • 610-938-9000, ext. 2277 610938-9886 (fax) • [email protected] • 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/TTY) • [email protected] (email) • www.speakmiracles.org (website). Lillian r. Lippencott, Outreach Coordinator. DePaul, western Pennsylvania’s only auditory-oral school, has been serving families for 101 years. DePaul is a State Approved Private School and programs are tuition-free to parents and caregivers of approved students. Programs include: early intervention services for children birth to 3 years; a center-based toddler program for children ages 18 months to 3 years; a preschool for children ages 3-5 years and a comprehensive academic program for grades K-8. Clinical services include audiology, speech therapy, cochlear implant mapping/habilitation services, physical and occupational therapy, mainstreaming support, parent education programs and support groups. AV services are also available.

Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, 300 East Swissvale Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15218 • 412-244-4207 (voice) • 412-244-4251 (fax) • [email protected] (email) • www.wpsd.org (website). The Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD) is a non-profit, tuition-free school with campuses in Pittsburgh and Scranton, PA. Founded in 1869, WPSD provides quality educational services and a complete extracurricular program in an all inclusive communication environment to over 320 deaf and hard-of-hearing children from birth through twelfth grade. WPSD is the largest comprehensive center for deaf education in Pennsylvania serving 138 school districts and 53 counties across the state.

n South CarolinaThe 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, [email protected]. • The center provides audiology services, speech-language therapy, adult aural rehabilitation 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 AVT 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 South dakotaSouth Dakota School for the Deaf (SDSD), 2001 East Eighth Street, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57103, 605-367-5200 (phone) or Video Relay or 605-367-5209 (Fax) [email protected] (website). South Dakota School for the Deaf (SDSD) serves children with hearing loss by offering services onsite for the Bilingual Program, with the Auditory Oral Program located at Fred Assam Elementary and Brandon Elementary with the Brandon Valley School District, and through its Outreach Program. Academic options include a Bilingual Program offering American Sign Language with literacy in English preschool through sixth grade and an Auditory/Oral Program for students using listening, language and speech for preschool through fifth grade. SDSD utilizes curriculum specific to meeting the needs of individual students with the goal of preparing students to meet state standards. Instructional support in other areas is available as dictated by the IEP, speech-language pathology, auditory training, dual enrollment and special education. Outreach Consultants provides support to families across the state with newborns and children through the age of three while continuing to work with the families and school district personnel of children through age 21 who may remain in their local districts. Any student in South Dakota with a documented hearing loss may be eligible for services through Outreach, Bilingual or Auditory Oral Programs including complete multidisciplinary assessments.

n TennesseeMemphis Oral School for the Deaf, 7901 Poplar Avenue, Germantown, TN 38138 • 901-758-2228 (voice) • 901-531-6735 (fax) • www.mosdkids.org (website) • [email protected] (email). Teresa Schwartz, Executive Director. Parent-infant program, auditory/oral day school (ages 2 to 6), speech-language and cochlear implant therapy, mainstream services.

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) • 615-936-1225 (fax) • [email protected] (email) • www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/VanderbiltBillWilkersonCenter (web). Tamala Bradham, Ph.D., Director. 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 speech-language pathology services. Specifically, the Service Division 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 TexasBliss Speech and Hearing Services, Inc., 12700 Hillcrest Rd., Suite 207, Dallas, TX 75230 • 972-387-2824 • 972-387-9097 (fax) • [email protected] (e-mail) • Brenda Weinfeld Bliss, M.S., CCC-SLP/A, Cert. AVT®. Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist® providing parent-infant training, cochlear implant rehabilitation, aural rehabilitation, school visits, mainstreaming consultations, information, and orientation to deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their parents.

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) • [email protected] (e-mail) • www.callier.utdallas.edu (website). Nonprofit Organization, hearing evaluations, hearing aid dispensing, assistive devices, cochlear implant evaluations, psychology services, speech-language 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 • 713-523-3633 (voice) • 713-874-1173 (TTY) • 713-523-8399 (fax) - [email protected] (email) www.centerhearingandspeech.org (website) CHS serves children with hearing impairments from birth to 18 years. Services include: auditory/oral preschool; Audiology Clinic providing comprehensive hearing evaluations, diagnostic ABR, hearing aid and FM evaluations and fittings, cochlear implant evaluations and follow-up mapping; Speech-Language Pathology Clinic providing Parent-Infant therapy, Auditory-Verbal therapy, aural(re) habilitation; family support services. All services offered on sliding fee scale and many services offered in Spanish.

Denise A. Gage, M.A., CCC, Cert. AVT© - Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist, Speech-Language Pathologist, 3111 West Arkansas Lane, Arlington, TX 76016-0378 • 817-460-0378 (voice) • 817-469-1195 (metro/fax) • [email protected] (email) • www.denisegage.com • Over 25 years experience providing services for children and adults with hearing loss. Services include cochlear implant rehabilitation, parent-infant training, individual therapy, educational consultation, onsite and offsite Fast ForWord training.

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.) State-of-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 of Cache Valley, Utah State University, 1000 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322-1000 • 435-797-0434 (voice) • 435-797-0221 (fax) • www.soundbeginnings.usu.edu • [email protected] (email) • Lauri Nelson, Ph.D., Sound Beginnings Director • [email protected] (email) • K. Todd Houston, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT, Graduate Studies Director. A comprehensive auditory learning 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, a weekly toddler group, pediatric audiology, and Auditory-Verbal Therapy. The preschool, housed in an innovative public lab school, provides self-contained Auditory-Oral classes for children aged three through five, parent training, and mainstreaming opportunities with hearing peers. The Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education offers an interdisciplinary graduate training program in Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology, and Deaf Education that emphasizes auditory learning and spoken language for young children with hearing loss.

Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind (USDB), 742 Harrison Boulevard, Ogden, UT 84404 - 801-629-4712 (voice) 801-629-4701 (TTY) • www.usdb.org (website) • Jennifer Howell EdD, Associate Superintendent for the Deaf, [email protected] (email). 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, full-day preschool and Kindergarten, intensive day programs, and related services including speech/language pathology and aural habilitation.

n WashingtonThe Listen For Life Center at Virginia Mason, 1100 9th Ave. MS X10-ON Seattle, WA 98111 - 206-223-8802 (voice) 206-223-6362 (TTY) 206-223-2388 (fax) [email protected] (email) http:// www.vmmc.org/listen (website) Non-profit organization offering comprehensive diagnostic and rehabilitation services from infancy through senior years. Audiology, Otolaryngology, hearing aids, implantable hearing aids, cochlear implants, assistive listening devices, Aural Rehabilitation, counseling, support groups, school consultations, professional training workshops, community days, library. Three sites: Seattle, Federal Way, Issaquah.

n WisconsinCenter 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., CC-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 an interactive long-distance therapy program. Pre- and post-cochlear implant training is provided for adults and communication strategies and speech reading is offered to individuals as well as in small groups.



InTernATIOnAl

n Australia

Telethon Speech & Hearing Centre for Children WA (Inc), 36 Dodd Street, Wembley WA 6014, Australia • 61-08-9387-9888 (phone) • 61-08-9387-9888 (fax) • [email protected] • www.tsh.org.au • Our oral language programs include: hearing impairment programs for children under 5 and school support services, Talkabout program for children with delayed speech and language, audiology services, Ear Clinic for hard to treat middle ear problems, Variety WA Mobile Children’s Ear Clinic, newborn hearing screening and Cochlear Implant program for overseas children.

University of Newcastle, Graduate School. GradSchool, Services Building, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia • 61-2-49218856 (voice) • 61-2-49218636 (fax) • [email protected] (email) • www.gradschool.com.au (website). Master of Special Education distance education through the University of Newcastle. Program provides pathways through specialisations in Generic Special Education, Emotional Disturbance/Behaviour Problems, Sensory Disability, Early Childhood Special Education. The Master of Special Education (Sensory Disability Specialisation) is available through the Renwick Centre and is administered by the Australian Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children. Program information and application is via GradSchool: www.gradschool.com.au, +61249218856, or email [email protected].

n CanadaMontreal Oral School for the Deaf, 4670 St. Catherine Street, West, Westmount, QC, Canada H3Z 1S5 • 514-488-4946 (voice/ tty) • 514-488-0802 (fax) • [email protected] (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.

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). Our auditory-oral program includes: on-site audiology, cochlear implant mapping, parent-infant guidance, auditory-verbal therapy, music therapy, preschool, K, Primary 1-3; itinerant services.

n englandThe 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) • [email protected] (email) • www.speech-lang.org.uk (website) • Assessment, nursery school and therapeutic centre for children under 5 with hearing impairment, speech/language or communication difficulties, including autism. • We have a Child Psychologist and a Child Psychotherapist. • Auditory-Verbal Therapy is also provided by a LSLS Cert. AVT.

Advanced Bionics ..................................................................................... Back Cover

Auditory-Verbal Center, Inc. (Atlanta)......................................................................... 5

Central Institute for the Deaf .................................................................................... 30

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech ................................................................ 39

DuBard School for Language Disorders .................................................................. 6

Ear Technology Corporation .................................................................................... 28

Fontbonne University ............................................................................................... 24

Harris Communications ............................................................................................ 20

Jean Weingarten Peninsula Oral School for the Deaf ............................................ 11

Moog Center for Deaf Education ...................................................................... 29, 42

National Cued Speech Association ........................................................................ 33

National Technical Institute for the Deaf/RIT......................................................... 4, 7

Oticon Pediatrics ............................................................................Inside Front Cover

St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf ......................................................................... 12, 31

Sorenson Communications ..................................................................................... 44

Sophie’s Tales ........................................................................................................... 19

SoundAid Hearing Aid Warranties .......................................................................... 21

Sprint CapTel ..............................................................................................................45

Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children ........................................................... 16

Tucker-Maxon Oral School ....................................................................................... 13

University of Newcastle ........................................................................................... 46

AG Bell – LOFT ...........................................................................................................25

AG Bell – LSL Symposium 2011.....................................................Inside Back Cover

AG Bell – LSL Workshop Series .............................................................................. 17

List of Advertisers

AG Bell

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2011 Symposium Ad_v3:Layout 1 7/16/10 12:25 PM Page 1

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