2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference
March 13 - 15, 2022
THE ANTONIA BRANCIA MAXON AWARD FOR EHDI EXCELLENCE
Kate Gilliat
I would like to nominate Kate Gilliat, for the 2022 Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence.
Kate was born with a severe rising to mild sensorineural hearing loss in the early 1980s, before the advent of universal newborn hearing screening programs nationwide. She was identified as being hard of hearing at age 5 or 6. Kate was raised in the parochial school system in Chicago, without access to IEP services.
Kate was raised using spoken language, and discovered American Sign Language by attending Deaf camps as a teenager. She dove head-first into this new world. She pursued a masters in Speech-Language Pathology from Gallaudet University in Washington, DC. Kate is now employed as an early intervention SLP, working to support deaf and hard of hearing babies and toddlers (and their families) in Chicago. She is a consistent user of hearing devices, and is a great role model for her students and their families for what a deaf and hard of hearing person can do.
Kate helps families presume competence for their deaf and hard of hearing children. Dr. I. King Jordan, the first Deaf president of Gallaudet University, was famous for saying, "Deaf people can do anything. . .except hear," and Kate embodies that every day. She doesn't let people (parents, caregivers, teachers, other service providers) ever assume that her deaf or hard of hearing students can't do something just because they are deaf. She also makes sure they can hear, for families who have chosen listening and spoken language as goals for their child. She is in constant communication with her students' audiologists and other service providers to share feedback or make suggestions. She is always working hard to make sure the children and their families have the tools they need to succeed each and every day.
Kate gives back to her community every day. She is considered an expert in speech-language therapy for deaf and hard of hearing babies and young children. She is a lead therapist for the private practice where she works, providing mentoring for new clinicians and clinical fellows.
She serves as a clinical preceptor, guiding graduate students in speech-language pathology to learn best practices for working with deaf and hard of hearing students. Many of her graduate students have never worked with a deaf or hard of hearing child before. She often serves as a guest lecturer for university SLP training programs in the Chicago area, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and workshops in the Midwest.