2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
3/04/2019 | 3:35 PM - 4:05 PM | Supporting Homeless Families | Heathrow A/B
Supporting Homeless Families
Do you work with families who seem to just disappear? Who repeatedly no show for appointments? Whose phone number is out of service or always has a full voicemail? Who seem to live in a house with 20 people so you wonder how in the world they could create a good listening environment? You may be working with homeless families without even knowing it.
The legal definition of homeless children encompasses more children and families than you might expect. Nationally, fewer than a quarter of homeless children are stereotypically homeless- sleeping in a car, in the open, or in homeless shelters. Federal law defines homeless children and offers both protection and support for them to access education. This law also applies to children below school age if they have an IFSP or IEP.
School-based homeless liaisons may not be aware of the need to serve families of infants and toddlers who are experiencing homelessness or how to best support that age group. Those of us working with deaf and hard of hearing infants, toddlers, and preschoolers may work closely with homeless families without realizing they are considered homeless or what resources are available to help them.
Families of deaf or hard of hearing infants and toddlers who are experiencing homelessness experience additional barriers to accessing early intervention supports, including participating in home visits; staying in contact; attending audiology/therapy appointments; using hearing aids; and meeting the family’s basic needs so they have the ability to attend to their child's language, listening, and developmental needs.
This presentation will help you identify homeless students, describe the benefits of formally designating them as homeless, discuss barriers and strategies for serving families with deaf or hard of hearing infants or toddlers who are experiencing homelessness, and provide information to access local resources.
- Define who legally qualifies as
- Identify laws related to serving families experiencing homelessness.
- Describe barriers to serving families experiencing homelessness and strategies and resources to overcome those barriers.
Presentation:
18878_10342KimberlyLeong.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
18878_10342KimberlyLeong.docx
Presenters/Authors
Kimberly Leong
(), West Contra Costa Unified School District , Kimberly.Leong@wccusd.net;
Kimberly Leong teaches deaf and hard of hearing infants, toddlers, and their families in the West Contra Costa Unified School District in the San Francisco Bay Area. She works with diverse families with a wide range of incomes, ethnicities, languages, abilities, hearing levels, needs, and experiences. She is a Teacher of the Deaf who received her Master’s degree from Gallaudet University in Deaf Education: Family-Centered Early Education. She has worked with young deaf or hard of hearing children and their families both in the United States as well as in Kenya.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -