With the COVID-19 Pandemic continuing to surge, many government employees under travel restrictions, and public health officials pleading for us to avoid in-person meetings of even small groups of people, the co-organizers of the National EHDI Meeting (American Academy of Pediatrics, Hands & Voices, HRSA, and NCHAM) have made the difficult decision to replace the in-person EHDI Meeting that was scheduled for February 28th through March 2nd, 2021 in Cincinnati, Ohio with a virtual meeting that will take place March 1-5, 2021.
The main conference will be spread over three days (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) from noon – 5 PM (Eastern time).
Conference activities will be similar to past EHDI Meetings with plenary sessions; breakout sessions; posters; small group networking opportunities; exhibitors; special sections and activities for parents, students, and health care providers; instructional sessions; and, awards. In short, everything you have come to love about the National EHDI Meeting! We have spent a lot of time talking with people who have done virtual meetings during the last 4 months and have benefitted from their experience and insights about what worked well and what didn’t work well so that we will be able to bring you an EXCELLENT conference.
Continuing education credits will be offered for all the sessions and recordings of every session will be available for on-demand viewing for three months following the conference. This means that you will be able to participate in sessions that you would have missed at an in-person meeting because they were happening at the same time as another session you were attending.
There will a be a large number of optional instructional sessions offered in the mornings and on the Friday following the conference. These will offer continuing education credit and will be recorded for later on-demand viewing so don’t have to miss an instructional session you wanted to attend because of scheduling conflicts.
The virtual format will mean that many people who have not been able to attend the conference in the past because of travel costs and time, work conflicts, and childcare responsibilities will be able to attend the virtual conference. We are particularly excited about the potential for having a record number of health care providers, parents, and Part C providers and administrators
The decision to change the in-person meeting to a virtual conference was made after carefully considering the results of a national survey of past EHDI Meeting attendees, extensive consultation with the EHDI Meeting Planning Committee, advice from other organizations who have held virtual meetings of a similar size during the last 4 months, and discussions with many EHDI coordinators and other stakeholders. We know that many of you consider the in-person National EHDI Meeting as the highlight of the year and the source for many ideas for how to continually improve your EHDI program. Thus, we did not make this decision lightly. But with the pandemic continuing to surge in almost all states, we knew many of you would not be able to travel to attend the meeting and many of those who could travel would have to quarantine after returning home.
We are excited to be able to participate with you in the 2021 National EHDI Virtual Conference and are convinced it will be a great experience for all attendees. Please watch the website at https://ehdimeeting.org/ and our EHDI Annual Meeting Facebook page beginning next week for updated and additional information.
Many families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) use cued speech to enable their child who is DHH to attain age-appropriate English language and literacy skills. Cued speech can also be used to complement the use of sign language for families that have the goal of English and ASL bilingualism for their child. As a result of collaborative work with NCHAM, Cue College now has online resources that are free for families of infants and young children who are DHH. The Cue Family Program provides free access for one year to the online Cue College course, “CS100 – Introduction to Cued American English – Self Study”, for parents, guardians, additional family members, and caregivers of a child who is DHH or has other communication challenges.
You can visit http://infanthearing.org and click on the Cue College box to learn more and see what is being offered.
Hands & Voices announced the release of The Hands & Voices Parent App, an app designed to provide daily support to families with Deaf and Hard of hearing children.
“This app was designed in collaboration with Deaf and Hard of hearing students from National Technical Institute of the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology,” said Karen Putz, Co-Director of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infusion at Hands & Voices. Putz worked with a team of students over the course of a year to develop an app that provides four key resources on a day by day basis. Parents and caregivers of Deaf and Hard of hearing children who download the app receive a daily prompt with resources that provide a quote from a seasoned parent, a quote from a Deaf/Hard of hearing adult, an article to read, and a website/resource to explore.
“I wish I had an app like this when my daughter was first diagnosed,” said Janet Des Georges, Executive Director of Hands & Voices. “I love that this app provides 90 days of wisdom from parents and Deaf and Hard of hearing adults as well as articles to read and websites and resources. The app is perfect for busy parents and they can literally use it for 60 seconds or 60 minutes in a day. For a parent or caregiver who is new to the journey of having a Deaf/Hard of hearing child, this daily app is a wonderful way to empower parents with the knowledge they need to navigate the journey with confidence.”
The Hands & Voices Parent App is available to download at no cost via the Apple Store or Google Play.
Hands & Voices is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing support without bias to families with Deaf and Hard of hearing children. We’re a parent-driven, non-profit organization providing families with the resources, networks, and information they need to improve communication access and educational outcomes for their children. Our outreach activities, parent/professional collaboration, and advocacy efforts are focused on enabling DHH children to reach their highest potential.
When was the last time you looked at the American Society for Deaf Children’s ASL Stories Directory? There are many great books (even sorted by age group) that are signed and captioned!
The Hands & Voices Military Project, https://handsandvoices.org/resources/military/index.html will be presenting via Zoom: BOOTS ON THE GROUND: Supporting Families of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children in the Context of the Military Lifestyle. Open to all family leaders and professionals who work with families of D/HH children living the military lifestyle! Families are welcome, as well! This one hour event will be on November 11, 2020, Veteran’s Day, at 11am MT (adjust to your current time zone). Feel free to share any of your specific questions in your registration form, or reach out to the parent leaders at handsandvoicesmp@gmail.com .
Learn how challenges for D/HH children and their families are compounded by the military lifestyle and vice versa.
Through an interactive exercise, obtain a sense of how the military lifestyle compounds the challenges of repeatedly establishing medical & educational homes for families with D/HH children.
Learn how to best support military families with D/HH children through local resources, military programs, and the Hands & Voices network.
