March 11, 2011

What:The AG Bell Listening & Spoken Language Symposium is the premier professional development event dedicated to the fastest growing trend—the desire of families to seek a listening and spoken language outcome for their children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Hearing health professionals and educators of the deaf need better tools and new strategies to help families make the most of these advances. Professionals face new challenges and opportunities in meeting the needs of multiple cultures and generations, and in early diagnosis of additional learning or physical challenges.

General sessions will feature:

Melody Musgrove, Ed.D. Director, Office of Special Education Programs, United States Department of Education, Washington, D.C.

With education reform a key topic of both the Obama administration and Congress, AG Bell welcomes an update from the Director of the Office of Special Education Programs, Dr. Melody Musgrove. The Office of Special Education Programs is dedicated to improving results for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21 by providing leadership and financial support to assist states and local school districts.

Cultural and linguistic competence are approaches to family services and supports that are becoming more relevant every day—and their importance can define the success or struggles experienced among families of children who require intervention, and the professionals charged with providing support and guidance to those families. This session will delve into the foundations of cultural and linguistic competence and set the stage for attendees to explore this topic further in related workshops during the symposium.

Symposium highlights:

Six short courses that will build your knowledge on best practices for listening and spoken language skill development.

15 Workshop sessions that will provide research and innovative strategies to guide professional practice.

Access to products and technologies to support the families and children that you serve.

Networking opportunities with other listening and spoken language professionals.

January 31, 2011

What:In contrast to Family Learning Weekends, Enrichment Weekends are designed to create opportunities for students who are deaf & hard of hearing to interact with their peers, rather than providing information for parents and siblings. The theme of the weekend is “Finding Yourself” and activities are implemented to build confidence and a sense of responsibility in each participant. All school aged students are welcome; activities will be modified according to each child’s age and ability. Parents are encouraged to participate activities as appropriate.

January 11, 2010

Bal-A-Vis-X is a series of more than 200
Balance/Auditory/Vision exercises, of varied complexity, most of which are deeply
rooted in rhythm.These exercises
require full-body coordination and focused attention.The program utilizes beanbags, racquetballs,
balance boards, and multiple principles and activities from Educational
Kinesiology for crossing midline.It
demands cooperation, promotes self-challenge and fosters self-esteem….and it is
FUN!

This is a hands-on workshop and you will be moving and
learning.Participants will complete
Levels 1, 2, and Adaptive Bal-a-Vis-X instruction.

For more information, research and video
demonstrations visit their website at www.bal-a-vis-x.com

May 07, 2009

Link: Athlete Alfredo Castaneda reaches out with both hands and grabs a baton. He studies it with his fingers, learning its weight, its texture, its shape.
"Is it hollow?" he asks softly.
"Yes it is," comes the reply.
"How do you pass it?" Castaneda asks.
Two Glencoe High School runners search for the words to explain what they are unable to demonstrate for their teammate.
Castaneda is blind and hears only with hearing aids.
Assistant track coach John Carter steps in to describe the technique for one runner passing a baton to another. Castaneda tilts his head and smiles. He gets it.
"Do you see?" Carter asks, recognizing that Castaneda has made a mental picture of the movement he has described.
"Yeah." Castaneda, a 15-year-old freshman, came out for Glencoe's track team this spring. The 5-foot-4-inch 100-pounder runs and throws the discus. Teammates and coaches marvel at his outsized determination to be like everyone else.

May 06, 2009

Link: DeafMD.org DeafMD is an innovative website providing accurate, concise, and valuable health information in American Sign Language to the Deaf & Hard of Hearing population. Using health information created by two trustworthy and unbiased government sources—the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health, our team of healthcare providers, linguists, and educators translates this complex information into ASL.