Every Voice, Every Child,
Every Battle for Equity
Our EHDI Director Stephanie Renart and her deaf son, Cole, are featured in "NJEA Review" magazine on page 24, which celebrates their remarkable journey to language and communication. Despite facing initial challenges, Cole's story is one of triumph and innovation. Recognizing the need for inclusive education, Stephanie's son Cole became a trailblazer as the first deaf baby in New Jersey and the nation to receive dedicated support from a deaf paraprofessional in daycare. This breakthrough not only empowered Cole with American Sign Language, a language he could naturally acquire, but also fostered his thriving bilingualism in both ASL and English. Cole's story exemplifies the power of accessibility and support in enabling every child to find their voice and succeed.
View Full Article
| | Amy Anderson (Teacher of the Deaf), Cole, and Stephanie standing together, signing ILY | | | | |
The Power of Connection
We are excited to share our former EHDI Director Pamela Aasen's latest article on "Making Connections" on page 18 of the June issue of Exceptional Parent magazine. It's especially timely as we head off to #USHthis camp in Sawyer, Michigan this year! Fostering those connections is an important part of what we do at camp.
Picture Description: USH mentors, from left to right: Ethan, Ava, and Gavin are wearing blue USHthis hoodies, standing in front of a stunning green landscape with a river flowing behind them. Ethan is wearing an USHthis toque.
View Full Article
| | | How Do I Read Aloud to My Deaf Child? | | |
Dr. Leala Holcomb, an expert in Deaf education and literacy, offers tips for making the reading experience fun and full of learning:
Use your most expressive reading voice
Bring your child's attention to key English words
Explain the differences between similar words
Point out different sized text and punctuation
Discuss words that have more than one meaning
Switch back and forth between English and ASL
Don't worry if you are still learning to sign — your enthusiasm will be contagious!
| | | Interactive Reading Workshop | | Language Building in the High Chair | |
Meal Mats
Sometimes learning a word is all about getting that one extra chance to hear it. Your baby's time in the high chair is a nice time to connect. These mats are for extra chances for talking and singing between bites. Playing with these sounds will provide a great foundation for learning words and saying them later.
Game: Use small bits of cereal or raisins and give them to your child one at a time. Ask "Do you want some more?" and then take the food and slowly take it to the mat while saying one of the sounds. Place the food on the object that matches the sound and say it again as your child picks it up. Have fun!
| | | Strategies of Cued Speech | |
Language In, Language Out
Just like any communication approach, the more language the child receives, the more language they express. With ideal access to language, whether it is through visual cues, speech sounds, or both, it is critical that the child receive as much language exposure as possible.
"Cueing builds language and an internal understanding of a spoken language. So when we cue to our children, we are providing the building blocks for language, communication and ultimately literacy."
| |
- Cue babble or whatever your child says – cueing it back reinforces what they are saying.
- Avoid baby language. A pacifier is a pacifier, not a ba-ba or a bo-bo or a paci.
| |  |
- Cue sounds in the environment, especially with cochlear implant children because it validates what they hear.
- Talk and cue about what you are doing – washing dishes, loading the dishwasher, cooking, brushing your teeth, and taking a bath.
| | |
Why Cued Speech?
"Some children may not qualify for cochlear implants or benefit from hearing aids. For example, they may have absent auditory nerves, but with Cued Speech children can learn English and you can talk to them without ambiguity, even if they hear nothing. Even if deaf children are implanted early, before the age of one year old, that is still up to a year when they are not learning language or understanding you. In order not to lose linguistic progress, visual access is essential.
When you learn to cue, and use it as you talk, your deaf child can learn sound-based English whether or not they are implanted. Because Cued Speech is visual English, it allows deaf children to understand the same sound-based language that they later hear through their implant. After their implant the cues will help them make sense of the words they hear – and help as they learn to listen."
| | | | | | | Described & Captioned Media Program |
DCMP educates students with sensory disabilities, along with their parents and teachers. Their major network-produced, educational content is carefully customized to serve the needs of K-12 students, as well as adult students studying to meet the needs of blind and deaf students.
| | |
Join our Facebook page to check out resources, videos, tips, and articles shared regularly with the group. Resources to support deaf children virtually are also shared as they become available. Click to join!
If you would like to receive information about the COVID-19 vaccine for your child(ren), please email mdujue@spanadvocacy.org.
| |
Contact kmakowski@spanadvocacy.org if you have any questions about our program.
| | |
SPAN Parent Advocacy Network Deaf Mentor Program
spanadvocacy.org/programs/ehdi
|
| | | |
