2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
3/07/2023 | 1:45 PM - 2:45 PM | Changing Old Mindsets: The Truth About Unilateral Hearing Loss | DECC 200
Changing Old Mindsets: The Truth About Unilateral Hearing Loss
A short time ago, single-sided deafness (unilateral hearing loss) was not a major concern of hearing health professionals, educators, pediatricians or parents. Traditional thinking and old theories led us to believe that strong speech and language development could be achieved with one typical-hearing ear. Today’s research tells us otherwise, but adjusting the mindset and improving identification rates of children with unilateral hearing loss and convincing families, educators, and various professionals to acknowledge our new understanding and to consider the benefits of amplification, visual language options, and other support services has been a slow-moving dial. In this presentation, Robin Bliven (Director of Outreach Services for the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind) and Valerie James Abbott (parent-advocate and Chair of the Virginia EHDI Advisory Committee) will describe how today’s research contradicts our prior understanding of how unilateral hearing loss can impact speech, language acquisition and general childhood development. Additionally, they will share how unilateral hearing loss can change neurological pathways within the brain, the long-lasting impact those changes can have on a child’s development, and how to discuss these facts and impacts with family members and uninformed professionals.
- Participants will be able to recite how today’s research contradicts our prior understanding of how unilateral hearing loss impacts language acquisition and general childhood development
- Participants will be able to explain how unilateral hearing loss can change neurological pathways within the brain
- Participants will be able to provide examples of how to discuss the facts and impacts of unilateral hearing loss with families
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Presenters/Authors
Robin Bliven
(), Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind, robin.bliven@vsdb.k12.va.us;
Robin Bliven is the Director of Outreach at the Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind. Born and raised in Atlanta, GA, Robin attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where she earned both her Bachelors and Master degrees in Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She has taught PreK - 12 students with disabilities, using multiple communication modalities, in schools in Georgia, Florida, Nevada and North Carolina. Prior to joining VSDB, Robin was the lead teacher for the Deaf/Hard of hearing in Pitt County Schools (Greenville, NC). Primary areas of interest in the field of hearing loss include: language/vocabulary development (including valid assessment and tracking measures), unilateral hearing loss, mentoring, and transition skills.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Valerie Abbott
(), Center for Family Involvement at VCU; Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness Campaign, valeriejamesabbott@gmail.com;
Valerie James Abbott is a parent-advocate, an award-winning author, and an EHDI-champion who serves as co-chair of the Virginia EHDI Advisory Committee. She works at the Center for Family Involvement at Virginia Commonwealth University, supporting the needs of families of children who are deaf and hard of hearing and leading projects that support the goals and objectives of Virginia EHDI. She has served on the board of Virginia Hands & Voices and in 2021 she founded the National Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness Campaign with Justin Osmond, CEO of the Olive Osmond Hearing Fund. Valerie has published several articles online and in print about raising a child with a disability that have gained nationwide attention. Her children’s book Padapillo won (bronze) in the Moonbeam Children’s Book Award and is based on the true story of how her family discovered and came to terms with their daughter's late onset hearing loss.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Royalty options or other ownership interest for Other activities from Self - Valerie James Abbott.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.