2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
2/27/2017 | 11:05 AM - 11:35 AM | Presenting Communication Opportunities to ALL Families | Grand Hall A
Presenting Communication Opportunities to ALL Families
Parents of children with varied hearing levels are faced with the challenge of choosing a form of communication for their child within weeks of a Deaf or hard of hearing diagnosis. They often make communication decisions without knowing the opportunities that are available to their child, based on their geographic location and proximity to trained professionals.
The Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing early interventionist use a novel, unbiased approach to educating families on their options, in conjunction with newborn hearing screenings and the intake process for the statewide early intervention services. All families of children who are Deaf or hard of hearing are given a chance to review the array of communication opportunities upon entry to early intervention services.
In this session you will learn how to present an overview of the continuum of communication and expose families to the basics of: Auditory Oral/ Auditory Verbal, American Sign Language, Bilingual Bimodal, Cued Speech, Pidgin Sign Language/ Manually Coded English and combined approaches. Significant importance is placed on the communication opportunities being presented in an unbiased way. This allows the families to make personal decisions, based on the needs of their family.
After the initial presentation- you will learn strategies for following the families lead on a more in depth look at each communication opportunity, including the requirements and resources needed for each to be successful. Such as, levels of auditory and visual access, expectations for family involvement, deaf mentors, and trained professionals.
With case studies, we will practice developing communication plans, and guiding families toward identifying necessary supports, providers, and resources to help meet their goals. We will identify tools for ongoing language assessments, to monitor progress in the chosen approaches, which provides the framework for reviewing the family communication plan semiannually.
- learn how to present an unbiased overview of the continuum of communication opportunities available to all families of children who are Deaf or hard of hearing and how to lead families to more in depth information.
- identify strategies for reviewing communication opportunities and updating a child’s communication plan semiannually.
- develop plans for ongoing language assessments and progress monitoring that can be used in conjunction with the continuum of communication to identify areas of strength and needed support.
Presentation:
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Presenters/Authors
Corri O'Brion Saunders
(), MECDHH, corri.saunders@mecdhh.org;
Corri O'Brion Saunders is a Teacher of the Deaf and Early Childhood Special Educator for Early Childhood and Family Services, at the Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. She works throughout Maine as an outreach specialist for families of children birth–5 who are Deaf or hard of hearing. After earning her M.E.D. from Smith College, Corri worked for two years at the Moog Center for Deaf Education before pursuing her M.Ed. in Special Education with a specialization in early intervention from the University of Maine and settling at MECDHH. She works closely with the state’s early intervention teams and is also teaching a graduate course on inclusion for the University of Maine’s Department of Special Education.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -