2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
Broadening Perspectives: A Collaboration Between Traditionally Divisive Ideological Camps on Deaf Education
In Fall 2016, the Moog Center, a private oral school in St. Louis, Missouri that teaches children with hearing loss to talk, joined with DEAF, Inc., a non-profit organization that focuses on advocacy and communication access for the deaf community, to pilot a program to broaden perspectives for children with hearing loss and their families.
DEAF, Inc. and The Moog Center recognize that choices regarding methodology of deaf education can be divisive and there is a need to collaborate with parents and families along with their children to understand that this does not have to be the case. Through the creation of safe spaces for dialogue, parents have provided feedback indicating that there is a strong interest in understanding the possible contribution of sign language and the deaf community as a part of social identity development in the deaf child’s future as a tool to develop language and social identity along with the importance of Spoken English. Together, these organizations began offering an after-school program for the school students and their parents in an effort to break down barriers and misconceptions, including sign language, and expose children and their parents to the broader deaf community. The collaborative program in which the Moog Center and DEAF, Inc. have engaged have shown promise in bridging often divisive perspectives into the shared pursuit of providing early intervention and language choices for the deaf child and their families.
Presenter: Judy Schlesinger
Judy has been in the field of deaf education for more than 25 year. She has worked as a supervisor of other teachers, has extensive experience working with student teachers, has lectured for graduate courses, and is an experienced teacher in the field of Early Intervention. In addition to teaching in the Family School program at the Moog Center where she provides direct service to children, helping them to develop spoken language skills, Judy has also taught in the preschool and in the primary department working to enhance the students' academic skills. She works with families, helping parents develop strategies and techniques for teaching their children with hearing loss to talk. Judy participates in the Moog Center for Deaf Education Teleschool program and provides services to families via the internet. Judy has extensive experience serving children who are deaf or hard of hearing who present with secondary complicating factors.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Dr. Thomas Horejes received his PhD in Justice Studies at Arizona State University and is currently Gallaudet University’s Associate Provost of Student Success & Academic Quality. Prior to his position at Gallaudet, he was former Executive Director of DEAF, Inc.— based in St. Louis—that provides advocacy and interpreting services to the deaf/hard of hearing community. During his role, he collaborated with Moog Center for the Deaf on a successful program to empower parents to understand language choices for their child. He has numerous publications, including a book entitled, Social Constructions of Deafness: Examining Deaf Languacultures in Education. He is also former professor of sociology at Gallaudet University.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.