2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
3/06/2023 | 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM | Hands & Voices: AFFIRM: Leaders of Color Training Initiative | DECC 230/231
Hands & Voices: AFFIRM: Leaders of Color Training Initiative
The AFFIRM: Leaders of Color Training Initiative was an idea put forth by a group of diverse leaders (parents and professionals) from Hands & Voices who saw a need to address Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) in the community which serve Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and their families. This diverse cultural group met over the course of 2 months and developed a unified mission to drive DEIA into the forefront of the organization.
The purpose of the AFFIRM: Leaders of Color Training Initiative is to acknowledge the value, importance, and necessity of diverse leadership. This is a space for leaders to feel empowered, share ideas and resources to create culturally and linguistically relevant information and actionable steps to move forward in the work of supporting families with children who are DHH. The goal is to put Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility at the center of all Hands & Voices initiatives and to create a sustainable diverse leader-to-leader support network thus providing continued support to underserved and underrepresented populations.
The flagship meeting at the 2022 Hands & Voices Leadership Conference, proved to be a successful initiative with overwhelming positive feedback from participants from diverse populations. This session examines the benefits of having a designated space for Multicultural & Diverse leaders to have open discussions with vital information needed for systematic change and continued work towards equitable services; by sharing culturally relevant resources. Building an understanding of the unique challenges and roadblocks of traditionally underserved and underrepresented populations is necessary to drive continued quality improvement efforts and to identify the gaps in systems that affect children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
- Learn about the importance of culturally and linguistic patient- and family-centered care rooted in Dignity and respect, information sharing, participation, and collaboration among community members.
- Identify strategies to engage diverse, traditionally underserved and underrepresented cultural group in dialogue to identify potential gaps in systems and drive systematic change.
- Understand the principles of Cultural Humility and the value of honoring safe spaces for members of diverse communities to share their experiences and its impact on quality improvement and increased family engagement.
Presentation:
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Handouts:
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Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Ana Brooks
(), Hands & Voices, ana@handsandvoices.org;
Ana is a mother of two children residing in Oregon. She is brought to this work due to her oldest child not passing their newborn hearing screening. She is grateful to have experienced guidance from a parent guide early in our journey which led to positive outcomes in her child’s D/HH journey and to have been able to provide that same service to many families herself as a former parent guide.
Her passion and drive is aiding our Hispanic/Latino/x communities from her own lived experience lens. She has experienced and seen the hardships many parents face when attempting to navigate services in a different language. Ana has a unique perspective necessary to identify the many common communication gaps in the D/HH community experience. She continuously seeks ways to collaborate with other family organizations and systems of care to provide outreach and support to D/HH children and their Spanish-speaking families and Latino/x communities . Her work is to assure all information being shared to families is culturally and linguistically appropriate.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Rosabel Agbayani
(), Hands & Voices, Rosabel@handsandvoices.org;
Rosabel is the Consultant for Underrepresented Populations for Hands & Voices Headquarters and volunteers her time as the President of the Board of Directors for California Hands & Voices. She is a mother of a child who is deaf/hard of hearing. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Human Development, Bachelor of Science in Communicative Disorders & Deaf Education, and a Masters in Public Health Specializing in Health Promotion. With her lived experience and her experiences working with low-income families and at-risk youth from a variety of cultural backgrounds, she understands the importance of family engagement and empowerment by building community capacity through education and advocacy. In all that she does, her spirit of collaboration is the driving force for creating a positive movement for the benefit of ALL children, especially those who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing. Her hope is to continue to build on the ideal of Family-Centered Care giving parents the access to comprehensive information from a wide variety of community resources. Rosabel hopes to bridge those essential connections within the community to enable children who are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing reach their highest potential
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Djenne-amal Morris
(), Hands & Voices HQ, djennemorris@gmail.com ;
Djenne-amal N. Morris brings passion, humor, and real-life experience to her role as a national and international
parent/professional trainer, facilitator, and motivational speaker whose view of the world is not as it is, but as it could be. As a mother of an amazing son with CHARGE Syndrome, she strives to build an atmosphere of support and empowerment for families of children with special needs and the professionals who serve them. This has led to her career working with families of children with special needs in various roles as Women’s Ministry Leader, and Family Specialist for the New England and North Carolina Deaf-Blind Projects, and
Parent Educator. Professionally, Djenne serves as Family Faculty/Multicultural Advisor for the NC-LEND program at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is a co-author of The Art of Collaboration: Lessons from Families of Children with Disabilities. Djenne holds a BA in Psychology from Clark University and holds a Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell University. Djenne and her husband Michael of 30 years have 3 children. Malik, 26, is a graduate of the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf. He is independent and living his best life in a group home for Deaf young men. Imani, 27, is a future MPH focusing on Maternal and Child Health. Her youngest Zakiya, 21, is
a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and a future Audiologist.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Michelle Hu
(), Mama Hu Hears, DrMichellehu@gmail.com;
Michelle has completed her Doctor of Audiology from the Northeast Ohio Audiology Consortium at the University of Akron. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio with a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and chemistry. She has been part of the Cochlear Implant and Hearing Aid Management Teams at Rady Children’s Hospital since 2009. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology and holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Having been identified with hearing loss when she was a toddler, Michelle is able to share her personal hearing loss journey with patients and peers - especially regarding use of hearing aids and now bilateral cochlear implants. She is also founder of Mama Hu Hears, a social media account where she shares both personal and professional experiences. Helping others realize their capabilities and strengths has been a long time passion of hers. She also feels that her personal struggles and overcoming of challenges lends to her abilities to help parents find their way throughout their DHH journeys. She created the online program, “My Child Has Hearing Loss, Now What?” with the goal to empower parents of DHH children to make choices best fit for their DHH family by giving them access to resources, insight and community. She is also a military spouse and mother of three.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Mariana Barquet
(), Indiana Hands & Voices, mbarquet@isdh.in.gov;
Mariana is the mother of two children, her youngest was born profoundly deaf. Her biggest passion is to ensure that every Hispanic child with hearing loss in Indiana has access to and receives qualified services to meet their needs and achieve successful outcomes.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Christine Yoshinaga-Itano
(), University of Colorado-Boulder, Christie.Yoshi@colorado.edu;
Dr. Christine Yoshinaga-Itano is a Research Professor in the Institute of Cognitive Science at the University of Colorado-Boulder, the Department of Otolaryngology and Audiology at the University of Colorado-Denver and the Marion Downs Center. In 1996 she developed the Marion Downs National Center. Since 1996, Dr. Yoshinaga-Itano has assisted many state departments of education and public health agencies, schools for the deaf and the blind, and early intervention programs throughout the United States and its territories. In addition, she has served as a consultant for many countries currently developing their early hearing detection and intervention programs, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, China, Korea, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Thailand, the Philippines, and South Africa.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.