2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
3/07/2023 | 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM | Blindspots and Barriers: Promoting Accessibility for DHH Children and Families with Disabilities | DECC 236
Blindspots and Barriers: Promoting Accessibility for DHH Children and Families with Disabilities
An estimated 40-60 percent of children who are Deaf or hard of hearing have additional health challenges outside of their hearing. (https://www.handsandvoices.org/resources/dhh-plus.html) Additionally, one in four adults in the United States live with a disability. With those statistics, it is practically a guarantee that your daily work will lead you to encounter people with disabilities outside of hearing loss, whether you know it or not. As active members in the D/deaf and hard of hearing community, we have a responsibility to promote accessibility for all forms of disability whenever possible for the children and families we serve.
This presentation, from a parent of a child who is Deaf with disabilities and a professional who lives with a disability herself, outlines some blindspots that may be unintentionally creating barriers to helping DHH children and their families get the level of support they need and deserve. Through personal, anecdotal, and research-based perspectives, the presenters will lead participants to consider various types of disabilities they may encounter and consider solutions to remove barriers to accessibility for those people.
- Participants will consider observable and unobservable disabilities and how they may impact an individual’s participation and inclusion in the service(s) they provide.
- Participants will gain a deeper understanding of the connection between deafness and additional disabilities and identify steps they can take to promote accessibility.
- Participants will leave with a checklist to take back to their workplace to start some conversations on promoting accessibility.
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
Amy Keslinke
(), Illinois Hands and Voices Guide by Your Side, akeslinke.gbys@gmail.com;
Amy Keslinke is an educator with experience teaching students from middle school into adulthood. When she learned during her second pregnancy that her son would be born with a congenital heart defect, she knew her life as a parent would be different than she expected. When he was diagnosed with severe-to-profound hearing loss at six months old and continued to pile on multiple other medical diagnoses before his first birthday, Amy’s passion for writing and teaching morphed into a special interest in empowering parents of children who are deaf with disabilities. Amy has presented at the state and national level and is a Parent Guide with Illinois Hands and Voices Guide By Your Side, where she provides unbiased support to parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing, many of whom have additional disabilities as well. She is also a Parent Facilitator with the Illinois Service Resource Library, where she helps plan and coordinate events to educate parents of children who are DHH and is an adjunct faculty member in the Adult Basic/Secondary Education program at Elgin Community College in Elgin, Illinois. She lives in Gilberts, Illinois, with her husband, Dan, and children, Emerie and Evan.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
Maddie Hinkle
(), CHS Youth and Family Connections, mhinkle@anixter.org;
Maddie Hinkle has been involved in the Deaf community for the past ten years and is fluent in American Sign Language. After receiving an undergraduate degree in English from Oberlin College, she went on to attend Gallaudet University to complete her MA in Deaf Studies: Early Language Advocacy. During her graduate degree, Maddie worked for the Northwestern Illinois Association in various deaf educator roles with a range of age groups, most recently with preschool students. Now, Maddie is the Youth and Family Connections Coordinator at CHS, working to provide access to support services and resources for families of children who are Deaf, DeafBlind, or Hard of Hearing. As a disabled person, she is especially passionate about accessibility and inclusivity. She specializes in the early development of Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing children. Her master's thesis focused on this specialty topic of positive representational literature in picture books aimed at young deaf audiences.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -