How do you make a holiday party at Chuck E. Cheese’s during the school day more special?

Jennifer Peters did it by sending her Lou Henry Elementary School students to the Cedar Falls restaurant in a limousine.

The deaf and hard of hearing class won a $500 grant from National Football League player Derrick Coleman Jr.’s No Excuse Foundation to hold the party. Ten kindergarten through fifth-grade students Monday piled into a white limo idling at the curb outside of their school. It brought them back to Lou Henry three hours later.

Link: http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/education/lou-henry-elementary-school-hard-of-hearing-and-deaf-students/article_f0a1a634-6b0d-5c17-9308-40d8c73bba70.html

Link: http://takeaction.asha.org/asha/app/write-a-letter?0&engagementId=155033&utm_source=asha&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_campaign=headlines

Horns, whistles, and sirens are just a few of the noises that come from children’s toys. Many of them will be received as Christmas gifts this week.

However, physicians like Dr. Katherine Layton, the chief of pediatrics at Peninsula Regional Medical Center, are warning parents the sounds some of these toys emit can be extremely harmful.

Dr. Layton says, “It can affect the sensory neuronal hearing loss and lead to hearing loss down the road.”

Link: http://www.wmdt.com/news/more-local-news/Noisy-toys-damaging-children-s-hearing/37074586

Early intervention improves outcomes by providing early, appropriate and intensive interventions. Children with physical, cognitive, adaptive, communicative or social/emotional delays may be eligible.

Link: http://www.steamboattoday.com/news/2015/dec/20/thoughtful-parenting-communication-and-without-hea/

From the cradle until your child graduates, you as a parent will be the one on the entire journey with your child. Choose to be a powerful parent on the IEP team.

Link: http://www.piccolouniverse.com/en/how-to-be-a-powerful-parent-on-the-iep-team/

Parents of children with hearing loss face the challenge of explaining their child’s deafness to extended family members all year long, but the holiday season, with its endless get-togethers and celebrations, often brings these conflicts to a head.  Even the most well-meaning family members can cause stress when they ask questions like, “Isn’t he talking yet?”  “Does he still need those hearing aids?”  “Didn’t the cochlear implant fix all of this?” or make other uninformed comments.  What’s a parent to do?

Link: http://auditoryverbaltherapy.net/2013/12/17/helping-extended-family-members-understand-hearing-loss/

Each year, speech-language-hearing and audiology students from Purdue University in Indiana travel to the African nation of Zambia. Weekly classes consist of presentations on various aspects of Zambia such as the history, economics, healthcare, and culture and language. Hands-on activities are included where students learn to perform clinical activities such as otoscopy and hearing screenings.

The preliminary agenda is also available to view online. Make plans to attend this fantastic meeting now!

Link: http://ehdimeeting.org

Link: http://www.fastcompany.com/3054050/elasticity/how-video-chat-app-glide-got-deaf-people-talking

For those in the hearing world, the holiday season is filled with joyous music, beautiful sounds and wishes for things special.

But for children who can’t hear, they often miss out on some of the magic, unless they get to sit on the lap of Santa, who communicates in their language.

At a special celebration on Dec. 8, Christmas wishes were signed directly to Santa at the Dolphin Mall, so deaf and hearing impaired children knew firsthand that Santa got their toy lists.

Link: http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Signing-Santa-at-Dolphin-Mall-Gets-Wish-Lists-From-Deaf-Children-361314501.html