https://wreg.com/greater-memphis-on-a-mission/mid-south-organization-empowers-deaf-hard-of-hearing-community/

Register here: https://usu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cApi36dXoLqVpPw

Webinar Description:

This coffee chat will share tips and resources on how to support families whose deaf or hard of hearing children may also have low vision or blindness, especially children who have additional disabilities. Since children who are deaf or hard of hearing rely on vision when trying to fill in missing sensory information, it is important to check their vision status.

We would like to highlight the need to investigate further to determine if children have combined hearing and vision loss (deafblindness). The Minnesota DeafBlind Project will discuss how they have built and continue to build partnerships with the Minnesota Department of Health for EHDI focus as well as the Minnesota Hands and Voices chapter to identify deafblind children at the earliest age possible. These partnerships have raised awareness about the impact of combined hearing and vision loss. This coffee chat will build upon the January 17, 2024, Coffee Chat when common etiologies and risk factors associated with deafblindness were covered.

Webinar Presenters:

Deanna Rothbauer is the project co-director of the Minnesota DeafBlind Project and has worked with the Project for the past 16 years. She previously held the position of project coordinator and family engagement coordinator. Deanna has a bachelor’s degree in healthcare and human services management. She is the parent of a young adult who is deafblind and has CHARGE syndrome. She is passionate about helping families navigate the joys and challenges that coincide with raising a child with complex needs including deafblindness. She has extensive experience with family involvement at a local hospital, having served as a family-to-family volunteer, a family advisory council member, and a past member of the ethics committee. In addition to her work with the MNDBP, she is the grant program manager for multiple low incidence disability grants held by the MNDBP fiscal host.

Ann Mayes has worked in the field of special education for almost 35 years. She was a teacher of deaf/hard of hearing in a variety of settings including self-contained classrooms, a bilingual-bicultural charter school, and as an itinerant teacher for the first 30 years. Ann is a deaf woman who is fluent in ASL, Cued English and is learning more about Protactile Language. During her time as a teacher, she also taught a range of students with deafblindness and supported interveners, educational interpreters, and was a lead teacher/mentor. In the field of deafblindness, Ann is currently the statewide DeafBlind specialist with the Minnesota Low Incidence Projects and the education specialist for the MN DeafBlind Project. When she’s not working, she is a proud grandmother of one granddaughter and will soon have another. She’s also an avid indoor gardener and knitter.

Brandy Sebera is the Family Engagement Coordinator (FEC) with the Minnesota DeafBlind Project. She has a bachelor’s degree in Community Psychology and a master’s degree in special education. Brandy has worked in both special education classrooms and as an in-home educator for children with complex needs, including those with deafblindness. As the FEC, Brandy supports families in MN who have a deafblind child through individual meetings, information and resource sharing, family education training which includes monthly virtual meetings, and hosting a variety of family events. She is a member of the MN Hands and Voices Advisory Council. In addition to her work with the MNDBP, Brandy serves as an adjunct professor with the University of South Dakota and oversees the Concentration in Deafblindness series which includes four 3-credit graduate courses in deafblindness.

The Earworm podcast features conversations with a wide array of professionals, family members, advocates, and scientists whose experiences, ideas, curiosities, and activities are committed to ensuring that all children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can thrive. The Earworm podcast is available for streaming anywhere you listen to podcasts, as well as on www.earwormpodcast.org.

Register at this link: https://usu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eLQh3rjWFOgu6JU

Webinar Description

Since the implementation of universal newborn hearing screening, the number of very young children diagnosed with hearing loss in just one ear has dramatically increased. However, the etiology, technology needs, and therapy requirements of each child can vary. In this session, five unique profiles of unilateral hearing loss will be discussed. Each profile is based on the etiology of hearing loss and will include a description of the amplification and habilitation for listening and spoken language that Sunshine Cottage School Parent Infant Program has adopted. Case studies of each profile will also be presented.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Categorize unilateral hearing loss based on the five profiles presented.

Identify unique aspects of each profile of unilateral hearing loss and how they impact amplification and therapeutic needs.

Develop amplification and intervention plans for very young children with unilateral hearing loss based on the profiles presented.

Webinar Presenters:

Ana Sei: Ana Laura Sei graduated from The University of Texas at San Antonio with a degree in Interdisciplinary Studies; specializing in Bilingual Education. Growing up bilingual in a border town, she felt the necessity to maintain children’s native language and use it as an educational tool to foster second language acquisition. Shortly after earning her Bachelor’s degree, she pursued her Master’s Degree in Deaf Education and Hearing Sciences from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, graduating in May 2012. She has been a part of Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children since August 2010, where she has worked as a graduate assistant, teacher assistant, and now serves families as a bilingual Parent Infant Advisor.

Logan Horner: Dr. Horner has been working as a licensed audiologist since 2009. She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Speech and Hearing Sciences in May of 2005 and her Doctorate of Audiology in May of 2009. Both of her degrees were from Texas Tech University Health Science Center. She is clinically certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She first began her career at Sunshine Cottage as an audiology intern. After completion of her internship, she was blessed with being able to stay on as a full-time audiologist for eight years. In July of 2016, she decided to spread her professional wings and worked at a cochlear implant clinic in San Antonio. She enjoyed working with adults and children at this clinic, but her wings carried her back to Sunshine Cottage. Dr. Horner was humbly excited for the opportunity to return to Sunshine Cottage in July of 2017. She will provide the full range of diagnostic rehabilitative services, including Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) testing for infants, Cochlear Implant assessments and mapping, Bone Anchored Hearing Aid assessment and programming, and traditional hearing aid programming. Dr. Horner is also an Adjunct Professor with the Deaf Education and Hearing Science Program in the School of Medicine at the UT Health-San Antonio. She feels privileged to help future deaf educators understand the intricacies of audiology. Dr. Horner truly feels blessed to be working with the families and staff of Sunshine Cottage. She believes walking alongside parents and children with hearing loss at Sunshine Cottage is a gift from above.

Register at this link: https://aap.webex.com/webappng/sites/aap/meeting/register/3444702d402f4cfe9c2b49d9d50352d1?ticket=4832534b000000070e4968e32f53a13f911b22389ff2187ab2245a260ca1c0985890a8382ba5d86f&timestamp=1707259220589&RGID=rdf5ba81d6c7322148c02e45f59bf5ac0

Join the American Academy of Pediatrics Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program for a 4-part series of virtual office hours. Each session includes a recorded didactic presentation available for viewing anytime, followed by a live Q/A with the audience members. Whether you’re a pediatric health care provider (PCP), seeking to optimize language outcomes for children that are d/Deaf or Hard of Hearing or another member of the EHDI community, this session provides an invaluable chance to enrich your understanding of the EHDI system.

In our second session on February 22nd, we will explain the EHDI 1-3-6 benchmarks and learn the pivotal role of pediatric PCPs in their advancement. Discover collaborative strategies for PCPs and EHDI system partners to achieve these crucial benchmarks. All are welcome to participate!
Feel free to submit any questions you may have on this topic through the registration form. Join us for real-time technical assistance on key EHDI topics!

Access slides here: https://players.brightcove.net/6056665225001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6346020935112

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2024-super-bowl-pregame-performers-daniel-durant-will-perform-national-anthem-in-american-sign-language/

Nominees must meet all of the following criteria:

1. Is a parent or family member of a child who is DHH

2. Is actively involved in their state’s EHDI system

3. Has made important contributions to EHDI-related policies, procedures, and/or improved services

Nominations must be sent to Laura Gramer at laura.gramer@wahandsandvoices.org by February 2, 2024 and include:

1. Nomination form

2. A 500-word essay that describes publications, policies or guidelines that improved the effectiveness of EHDI system, development and dissemination of educational materials, development and dissemination of effective public awareness campaigns, establishment of a successful family-to-family support program or other accomplishments that describe why this person should receive the Family Leadership Award. Please save the essay file with nominator’s initials (example: name: Eddie Dee- save file as “ED Nomination essay”).

https://people.com/grammys-2024-michael-cleveland-is-blind-mostly-deaf-up-against-willie-nelson-8553487

Register at ehdiconference.org/reg.cfm