This webcast provides an evidence-based rationale for supporting language acquisition in both American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English for young children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Experienced professionals in deaf education discuss the important ingredients essential to learning language as well as common misconceptions that tend to drive language and communication practices. Designed for professionals involved in early intervention, this webcast highlights how evidence points to use of an ASL and spoken English bilingual approach (sometimes referred to as a bimodal bilingual approach) as beneficial for young children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Accompanying the webcast is a comprehensive reference list to support the information shared.

This webcast may be viewed in the Clerc Center’s Online Learning Community any time after 1 p.m. (EST) on May 24, 2016. Please register for the webcast now.

Link: http://www.gallaudet.edu/clerc-center/learning-opportunities/webcasts/maximizing-language-acquisition-webcast.html

Registration is open for the 2016 Congenital Cytomegalovirus Public Health & Policy Conference. To register, go to the link below.

Don’t forget to register for one of the three pre-sessions being offered on Sunday, 9/25 and the post-session being held on Wednesday, 9/28 – the inaugural Congenital CMV Community Engagement Forum. The purpose of the meeting on 9/28 is to accelerate progress toward defining the most effective prevention and treatment options through patient-centered outcomes research. For more information on the pre-sessions and post-session, please click here – http://www.cmvconference.org/pre-post-sessions.html.

Link: http://www.cmvconference.org/registration.html

Link: http://www.cmvconference.org/registration.html

Week after week on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars,” Nyle DiMarco pulls off flawless performances to music he can’t hear.

For students at the Mississippi School for the Deaf, that’s normal.

“Here everybody is deaf. It’s who we are. It’s what we do,” school superintendent Sandra Edwards said.

Link: http://www.wapt.com/news/central-mississippi/jackson/mississippi-deaf-students-dance-to-music-they-cant-hear/39573372

When a baby’s hearing is tested, the results are presented in the form of a graph known as an audiogram. Do you know how to read one?

Link: http://hearingfirst.org/blog/2016/04/28/fruit-and-string-bean

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program has developed a comprehensive resource detailing individual state-based laws and regulations regarding hearing screening. This online resource utilizes a question-and-answer format and provides links to information including the following:

• Laws / regulations in states regarding hearing screening
• Current hearing screening guidelines in each state
• Whether or not the state utilizes the AAP Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Guidelines for Pediatric Medical Homes
• Screening results reporting requirements for pediatricians in each state
• Oversight for the state EHDI program

If you have any questions or would like more information on the EHDI program in your state, including contact information for your AAP EHDI Chapter Champion, contact AAP EHDI Program staff, Sarah Nau.

Link: https://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/state-advocacy/Documents/EHDI%20State%20Requirements%20%282016%29.pdf

Parenting a child with a hearing loss can be very similar, but also very different to parenting a hearing child.

May is Better Hearing and Speech Month (BHSM) and the Office of Special Education Programs and the Offices of Head Start and Child Care are partnering to join the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in celebrating this year’s theme – “Communication Takes Care.”  Join  the BHSM Coffee Break Webinar series, May 16-20, 2016 form 2:00 – 2:15 pm ET to learn more about hearing screening and the use of assistive technology to support young children with disabilities and their families.  No registration is required to join the webinars.

 

May 16, 2:00 – 2:15 pm ET

Debunking Common Myths about Using Assistive Technology with Young Children

https://ncham.adobeconnect.com/ncham/

Captioning Services:  http://www.streamtext.net/player?event=NCHAM

 

May 17, 2:00 – 2:15 pm ET

Don’t Wait to Communicate! Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC)

https://ncham.adobeconnect.com/ncham/

Captioning Services:  http://www.streamtext.net/player?event=NCHAM

 

May 18, 2:00 – 2:15 pm ET

Quality Hearing Screening Practices for Children Birth to Five Years of Age

https://ncham.adobeconnect.com/ncham/

Captioning Services:  http://www.streamtext.net/player?event=NCHAM

 

May 19, 2:00 – 2:15 pm ET

Using a Multi-modal Approach To Support Children with Hearing Loss

https://ncham.adobeconnect.com/ncham/

Captioning Services:  http://www.streamtext.net/player?event=NCHAM

 

May 20, 2:00 – 2:15 pm ET

Center on Technology and Disability: Free Resources to Support the Use of Assistive Technology in Young Children with Disabilities

https://ncham.adobeconnect.com/ncham/

Captioning Services:  http://www.streamtext.net/player?event=NCHAM

The name of the group that is home to the Catalyst Center has changed. The Catalyst Center, the national center dedicated to improving health care coverage and financing for children and youth with special health care needs, is now run by the Center for Advancing Health Policy and Practice (CAHPP, formerly the Health & Disability Working Group) at Boston University School of Public Health. The new name better reflects the group’s focus on advancing policies and practices that improve the well-being of vulnerable populations, including children with special health care needs. The Catalyst Center URL at http://catalystctr.org will continue to bring you to the Catalyst Center website, which is now part of the new CAHPP website at http://cahpp.org/project/the-catalyst-center/.

Read about sociologist, Dr. Laura Mauldin’s, book, Made to Hear: Cochlear Implants and Raising Deaf Children.

Link: https://disabilityvisibilityproject.com/2016/05/01/interview-with-dr-laura-mauldin-cochlear-implants-and-deaf-children/

Over the last two decades, substantial resources have been dedicated toward the goals of early identification and intervention for children with hearing loss. Notable successes have occurred, including lowering the age of identification and the age of amplification from two years down to a few months of age (Holte. Am J Audiol 2012;21[2]:163-174). However, the evidence to suggest that the early provision of amplification has a positive impact on developmental outcomes in children with hearing loss has been more challenging to document.

Link: http://journals.lww.com/thehearingjournal/Fulltext/2016/05000/Do_Hearing_Aids_Support_Language_Development_in.3.aspx