2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
3/07/2023 | 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Will My Son Be Able to Speak Spanish? Our Multilingual Journey to Becoming Family Leaders | DECC 206
Will My Son Be Able to Speak Spanish? Our Multilingual Journey to Becoming Family Leaders
My son David was born with bilateral sensorineural hearing loss. He didn’t pass the newborn screening hearing test. Spanish is my first language and things were moving very fast for us after that first test. Doctors scheduled a final, more detailed, test; one that required him to be asleep. When David was 2 months old, we received his diagnosis and were referred to early intervention. At three months old, he started using hearing aids and receiving speech therapies at home. It was hard for me to understand and accept the situation. I felt sad, overwhelmed, and hopeless. I wanted to know if my son would ever speak Spanish. Every week the therapist came to the house and gave us a new goal. I did everything I could to help him. When David turned 3 years old, he started going to school and started having therapies in English. I continued talking in Spanish to him at home and he started learning English at school. He learned English much faster than he learned Spanish! I started getting involved and helping families that are living the same situation I lived with my son – families who also wanted to know if their deaf or hard of hearing child would ever speak Spanish. I became a Family Partner with our state Title V Maternal and Child Health program. Recently, I have become a Parent Consultant with the NC Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program, with a focus on the Hispanic population. With my increased involvement, David, my son, has also become an advocate for other children like him. In this session we will share our journey together and encourage you to become family leaders!
- Participants will be able to name at least 3 challenges faced by multilingual households when a child is identified as DHH
- Participants will be able to list at least 3 leadership skills parents can develop during their own journey with their DHH child
- Participants will be able to identify ways DHH children can become family leaders
Presentation:
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Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Keila Armas-Velasquez
(), NC DHHS, Keila.armasvelasquez@dhhs.nc.gov;
Keila Armas-Velasquez is originally from Guatemala and is the mother of a deaf/hard of hearing son. She works as the Hispanic Parent Consultant for the North Carolina Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Marcia Fort
(), NC DHHS, marcia.fort@dhhs.nc.gov;
Dr. Fort is the Genetics and Newborn Screening Unit Manager in the Children and Youth Branch of the North Carolina Division of Public Health and serves as the NC EHDI Coordinator. She has worked with the NC EHDI program since 2002. Dr. Fort has 32 years of experience as a pediatric audiologist in hospital, private practice, ENT office and public school settings.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.