March-April - Alexander Graham Bell Association

Real Life ChallengesHow can you make surehe is hearing what she’s saying?The most efficient way to help children overcome noise and distance and focus inclassrooms is by providing good quality instruments and FM solutions. But whatconstitutes good? If a child has wide-bandwidth instruments, and the FM systemcannot exploit this bandwidth, precious high frequency sounds may be lost.While some systems use valuable bandwidth on transmitting data rather thanspeech, Oticon Amigo transmitters focus their power on capturing and deliveringvital high-frequency details. So you needn’t be in any doubt as to which systemprovides more speech cues.Oticon Amigo FM – wider bandwidth for more speechA difference in sound quality“With the new digital hearing aids,the frequency response is going outso much farther. Being able to hearyour ‘s’ and ‘t’ is so important forspeech. When we add the FM to it,we don’t want it to interfere with the good way thehearing aids have been fit. Now the FM systems aregoing out to a higher frequency that’s just beenwonderful.”Sandy Waters, MA, CCC-AEducational AudiologistTXLet’s make it easier – together!For a copy of a new comparative study showing improvement in speech perception in children withhearing loss when using Amigo FM, contact pediatrics@oticonusa.com. And to see how we can helpyou solve other Pediatric challenges, visit www.making-it-easierusa.com.

V O L T AVOICESAdvocating Independencethrough Listening and Talking— Adopted by the Alexander Graham Bell Associationfor the Deaf and Hard of HearingBoard of Directors, November 8, 1998Alexander Graham BellAssociation for the Deafand Hard of Hearing3417 Volta Place, NW, Washington, DC 20007ListeningandSpokenLanguage.orgvoice 202.337.5220tty 202.337.5221 | fax 202.337.8314Volta Voices StaffDirector of Communications and MarketingSusan Boswell, CAEEditorAnna Karkovska McGlewAdvertising, Exhibit andSponsorship SalesThe Townsend GroupDesign and LayoutEEI CommunicationsAG Bell Board of DirectorsPresidentDonald M. Goldberg, Ph.D.,LSLS Cert. AVT (OH)President-ElectMeredith K. Knueve, Esq. (OH)Immediate Past PresidentKathleen S. Treni (NJ)Secretary-TreasurerTed Meyer, M.D., Ph.D. (SC)Executive Director/CEOAlexander T. Graham (VA)Joni Y. Alberg, Ph.D. (NC)Corrine Altman (NV)Rachel Arfa, Esq. (IL)Evan Brunell (MA)Holly Clark (VA)Wendy Ban Deters, M.S., CCC-SLP (IL)Kevin Franck, Ph.D., MBA, CCC-A (MA)Catharine McNally (VA)Lyn Robertson, Ph.D. (OH)Want to Write for Volta Voices?Submissions to Volta VoicesVolta Voices welcomes submissions fromboth AG Bell members and nonmembers.The magazine is published six timesannually. Its audience consists of individualswho are deaf or hard of hearing, parentsof children who are deaf or hard of hearingand professionals in fields related tohearing loss (audiology, speech-languagepathology, psychology, otology, socialservices, education).Visit the Volta Voices page atListeningandSpokenLanguage.orgfor submission guidelines and tosubmit content.Subjects of Interestn Technology – related to hearing loss,new technology, improvements to orproblems with existing technology, orhow people are using existing technology,accommodations.n Education – related to public or privateschools through post-secondary education,new approaches and teaching methods,legal implications and issues, etc.n Advocacy – information on legislation,hearing health, special or mainstreameducation, and accessibility.n Health – audiology issues relating tochildren or adults with hearing loss and/ortheir families and friends.n Action – stories about people with hearingloss who use spoken language as theirprimary mode of communication; deafnessneed not be the focal point of the article.Editorial GuidelinesThe periodicals department reserves theright to edit material to fit the style and toneof Volta Voices and the space available.Articles are selected on a space-availableand relevancy basis; submission of materialsis not a guarantee of use.Transfer of CopyrightThe revised copyright law, which went intoeffect in January 1978, provides that fromthe time a manuscript is written, statutorycopyright is vested with the author(s). Allauthors whose articles have been acceptedfor publication in Volta Voices are requestedto transfer copyright of their articles to AGBell prior to publication. This copyright canbe transferred only by written agreement.Without copyright ownership, the AlexanderGraham Bell Association for the Deaf andHard of Hearing cannot issue or disseminatereprints, authorize copying by individualsand libraries, or authorize indexing andabstracting services to use material fromthe magazine.Art Submission GuidelinesVolta Voices prefers digital images over originalartwork. When submitting electronic files,please provide them in the following formats:TIF, EPS or JPG (no BMP or GIF images). Digitalimages must be at least 300 dpi (at size).Submit Articles/Items to:Volta VoicesAlexander Graham Bell Association for theDeaf and Hard of Hearing3417 Volta Place, NW • Washington, DC 20007Email: editor@agbell.orgSubmit online at ListeningandSpokenLanguage.orgV O L T AVOICESLetters to the EditorLet us know how we are doing. Write a Letter to the Editor,and you could see your comment in the next issue.Media KitVisit ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org and select“About AG Bell” for advertising information.VOLTA VOICES Volume 20, Issue 1, January/February (ISSN 1074-8016) is published 6 times per year in J/F, M/A, M/J, S/O, and N/D for $50 per year by Alexander Graham Bell Associationfor the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 3417 Volta Pl, NW, Washington, DC, 20007. Periodicals postage is paid at Washington, DC, and other additional offices. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges to Volta Voices, Subscription Department, 3417 Volta Pl., NW, Washington, DC 20007, 202/337-5220 (voice) or 202/337-5221 (TTY).Claims for undelivered issues must be made within 4 months of publication. Volta Voices is sent to all members of the association. Yearly individual membership dues are $50. Volta Voicescomprises $30 of membership dues. Subscriptions for schools, libraries and institutions are $115 domestic and $135 international (postage included in both prices). Back issues, whenavailable, are $7.50 plus shipping and handling.Copyright ©2013 by the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc., 3417 Volta Pl., NW, Washington, DC 20007. Articles published in Volta Voices do notnecessarily reflect the opinions of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.Acceptance of advertising by Volta Voices does not constitute endorsement of the advertiser, their products or services, nor does Volta Voices make any claims or guarantees as to theaccuracy or validity of the advertisers’ offer.PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT NO. 40624074Return Undeliverable Canadian Addresses to:P.O. Box 503, RPO West Beaver Creek, Richmond Hill, ON L4B 4R6On the cover: Donna Sorkin and Poppy Kellmeyer enjoy music with the pre-kindergarten class at The River School in Washington, D.C.Credit: Terrie Kellmeyer, mother of Poppy Kellmeyer

VOICES FROM AG BELLtremendous therapeutic effectiveness andbenefits of bilateral cochlear implantsfor children and adults who are deaf andhard of hearing.One of these children was EvanGordon, who was identified withprofound bilateral hearing loss at age 2months after he did not pass a newbornhearing screening. Although he worehearing aids consistently and his parentswere engaged in helping him to developlanguage, observations and assessmentsshowed that he had limited auditoryabilities and significantly limited speechand language development.Evan celebrated his first birthdayby hearing his first sounds through hisbilateral cochlear implants. From thenon, his communication skill developmentwas on a fast track. At 2 years of age, justlike other toddlers, Evan was saying twowordphrases like “Where’s Daddy?” Andno auditory-verbal session ends without arendition of his favorite song, “Wheels onthe Bus.”For Evan—and many other children—bilateralcochlear implants,early identification and interventionare opening up the opportunity toachieve language on par with their peers.Cochlear implants and follow-up servicesare providing the opportunity for manyrecipients to be educated with accommodationsand support in mainstreamenvironments, alongside their siblingsand peers with typical hearing.Despite these advances, there is still atremendous need to educate the public andpolicymakers about this technology andto advocate for access to cochlear implantsand related services under public andprivate health plans. AG Bell will continueto advocate in the year ahead. Lookfor periodic news on AG Bell’s advocacyefforts in upcoming issues of Volta Voicesand in other communications vehicles.Sincerely,Donald M. Goldberg, Ph.D.,CCC-SLP/A, FAAA, LSLS Cert. AVTPresidentQUESTIONS?COMMENTS?CONCERNS?Write to us:ag Bell3417 Volta Place, NWWashington, DC20007Or email us:info@agbell.orgOr online:ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org4 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

Greetings! This marks myinaugural column as editor ofVolta Voices. It is with delightand excitement that our editorialteam looks forward to hearing fromyou with story ideas and articles for futureissues. I encourage you to write aboutwhat you want to read and submit it forconsideration.The March/April issue of Volta Voicesfocuses on advocacy efforts on behalf ofthe community of individuals who aredeaf and hard of hearing. Our featurestory about a young advocate, 16-yearoldGabriel Brainson, describes howthe teenager’s search for better captioningpropelled him to conduct extensiveresearch and ultimately brought him toWashington, D.C., where he advocated forimproved captions in a meeting with theFederal Communications Commission.The accompanying piece, written by JimHouse from Telecommunications for theDeaf and Hard of Hearing, describes howorganized citizen advocacy led to greateravailability of television captions and howsimilar efforts are making captions a realityon the Internet.Our regular column, “Tips forParents,” features Catherine Fries Vaughn,mother of 10-year-old Lily who has bilateralsensorineural cookie bite hearing loss.Catherine wrote “Things the Mother of aChild with Hearing Loss Wishes PeopleKnew,” in which she highlights the importanceof helping children find their voiceand advocate for themselves.In “Auditory-Verbal Therapy inTelepractice: A Practical, Philosophicaland Musical Perspective,” K. ToddHouston and Laura L. Van Antwerp providea powerful case for how telepracticecan assist families in obtaining servicesfrom a Listening and Spoken LanguageSpecialist and how these professionals canuse concepts from other methodologiesto assist parents in becoming their child’sEDITOR’S NOTEImproving Our WorldThrough Advocacyfirst teacher in developing listening andspoken language.The “Hear Our Voices” columnfeatures the story of a teen who shares herjourney growing up with bilateral cochlearimplants, writing a book and serving as amentor for other families.This issue marks the launch of a newcolumn “Up Front of the Back Page” whichwill profile the interesting people thatmake up the AG Bell community of adults,parents, and professionals who share theirinterests, perspective, and knowledge ontheir journey with hearing loss.A short introductory note about myprofessional background. My professionalpath has provided me with aneclectic and diverse bundle of skills andexperiences. I started my career organizingprofessional exchange study toursfor Department of State guests underthe auspices of the International VisitorLeadership Program, part of the U.S.government’s public diplomacy efforts.I then served as a membership managerat a corporate trade association, whichrepresents software and digital contentcompanies where I focused on memberinvolvement and retention. I was aresearcher for a law firm which specializesin corporate compliance for federallyfunded health centers and Head Startprograms, where I provided research anddata analysis as well as content managementfor websites. Most recently, I wasthe marketing, communications andmembership coordinator at the HeartRhythm Society in Washington, D.C.,where I edited and produced the weeklymembership e-newsletter, providededitorial support for print and electronicmaterials, and assisted with the society’spublic awareness campaigns.Please submit your story ideas, articlesfor publication, comments and suggestionsto editor@agbell.org. I encourageyou to visit the Volta Voices section ofthe Listening and Spoken LanguageKnowledge Center to learn more aboutthe many columns, topics of interest, andways that you can write for the publication.AG Bell is actively seeking contributorsfor 2013, and we are eager to hearfrom you.Kind regards,Anna Karkovska McGlewEditor, Volta VoicesVOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 5

Hearing loss can’t keep meout of my bakery...CapTel ® makes sureI catch every order!Make sure you are getting everyword of the phone conversation –at work or at home – withthe CapTel CaptionedTelephone.Don’t miss another word!Includesbuilt-inansweringmachineCaptioned Telephonewww.captel.com1-800-233-9130CapTel®840iSee what CapTel users are sayingabout this remarkable free service!Visit CapTel.com

SOUNDNEWS BITESLeading TechnologyCompanies SponsorKnowledge CenterThree leading telecommunications andhearing technology organizations—CapTel ® , MED-EL Corporation andOticon—have become major sponsorsof the Listening and Spoken LanguageKnowledge Center, the Internet resourcefor adults and children with hearing loss,their families and the professionals whosupport them. The “Partners in Hearing”sponsorship will advance the organization’scommon goals of providingresources and information that raiseawareness of new technology optionsthat support individuals who use listeningand spoken language.Each sponsor is identified with aspecific area or information channel forthe Knowledge Center and their sponsorshipis identified on the landing pagefor these channels—Learn, Connect,Advocate—and they are featured in theweekly AG Bell e-newsletter that sharescontent related to these themes.About the KnowledgeCenter SponsorsCapTel is the supporter of the Learnsection of the Knowledge Center and theLearn edition of the AG Bell e-newsletter.For people with hearing loss, the CapTelCaptioned Telephone works like anyother telephone with one important addition:it displays captions of every wordthe caller says. You can listen to thecaller and read captions so you nevermiss a word! Visit www.captel.com.MED-EL Corporation is the supporter ofthe Connect section of the KnowledgeCenter and the Connect edition ofthe AG Bell e-newsletter. Founded byindustry-leading scientists and engineers,MED-EL provides innovativesolutions for those dealing with hearingloss. By advancing the field of hearingimplant technology, MED-EL’s peopleand products connect individualsaround the globe to the rich world ofsound. Visit www.medel.com.Oticon is the supporter of the Advocatesection of the Knowledge Centerand the Advocate edition of the AGBell e-newsletter. Oticon’s pediatricphilosophy reflects our commitment tooffering children with hearing loss everyopportunity to achieve their full potential.By addressing their needs with themost child-friendly solutions available,we can lay a solid foundation toempower them to communicate freely,interact naturally and participate activelyin life. Visit www.oticonusa.com.Legal Case Paves the Wayfor StudentsAG Bell applauds the decision of the 8thU.S. Circuit Court of Appeals which hasruled in favor of the plaintiff in Argenyiv. Creighton University. AG Bell filed anamicus brief in this case in support ofArgenyi.Michael Argenyi, who recentlyreceived a cochlear implant, has beendeaf since infancy and grew up usinglistening and spoken language. He hadused Communication Access RealtimeTranslation (CART) interpreting formany years in school and enrolled inCreighton University Medical School inOmaha, Neb.Argenyi requested CART interpretingso he could understand whatwas being said in classes and duringmedical rounds. However, Creightonrebuffed Argenyi’s request for CARTand Argenyi spent nearly $100,000 ofhis own money to pay for the accommodation.In the amicus brief, AGBell argued that the Americans withDisabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) clearlyrequires universities to provide accommodationsto ensure that students withdisabilities have equal access to classroommaterials. The U.S. Departmentof Justice (DOJ) also filed a brief in thiscase largely agreeing with AG Bell’sarguments.In a unanimous decision, the 8thCircuit agreed with the plaintiff, AG Belland the DOJ that Creighton had violatedfederal accessibility statutes by denyingCART to Argenyi. The Court stated thataccommodations are “necessary” ifthey “ensure that all people have ‘fulland equal enjoyment’ of public accommodations[i.e., schools] regardless ofdisability.” The 8th Circuit remandedthe case to the district court for a trialunder the proper standards. AG Bell willcontinue to monitor the case.Text -to-911:Coming Your WayThe Federal CommunicationsCommission (FCC) recently publishedan update regarding “text-to-911,”or the ability to send a text messageto 911 from a mobile phone or handhelddevice. The four largest wirelesscarriers have voluntarily committed tomake texting to 911 possible by May 15,2014. Because most 911 centers are notcurrently able to accept text messages,the FCC has proposed an interimrequirement for 911 centers to instituteautomated “bounce-back” errormessages by June 30, 2013, which willinform you that you need to reach 9118 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

BITESCOMPILED by:in another way. The three facts that youneed to be aware of for now are: (1) inan emergency, always make a voice,relay, or TTY call to 911 if possible; (2) inmost cases, you cannot currently reach911 by sending a text message; and (3)in the future, you may be able to sendtext messages to 911 – but you shouldstill make a voice or TTY call if you can.Visit the FCC webpage at www.fcc.gov/text-to-911.Alice SinclairNorth Carolina Chapter of AG BellCHAPTErsMobile App for Childrenwith DisabilitiesResearchers from Spain performeda pre-experimental study with 39students with disabilities using amobile application and the resultsof their work were published in theFebruary 2013 issue of Computers& Education. Picaa, the applicationemployed in the study, is a systemdesigned for the development ofHear Indiana Hosts 10th Annual Talk Walk RunOn April 27, 2013, Hear Indiana will host the 10th Annual Talk Walk Run. Theevent raises awareness about listening and spoken language development inchildren who are deaf and hard of hearing. In 2012, the event raised $70,000to support Hoosiers with hearing loss through Hear Indiana’s ongoing programming:advocacy, support, an educational conference, and a summercamp. With over 700 attendees the event continues to grow each year. Forthose living in surrounding states, hotel rooms have been reserved and akick-off dinner will be held Friday, April 26.Joey BlansetteIn honor of the 10th anniversary, the chapter is addinga 10K distance to the traditional 5K and Kids Runoptions. The 2013 Talk Walk Run Ambassador is JoeyBlansette, whose team came in first place raising atotal of $6,375. Joey and his mother, Elizabeth, bothhave auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder. Elizabethreceived a cochlear implant last year, and after amazingresults she encouraged Joey to get one too. Justone month after activation, Joey understands speechthrough his implant alone, and he says that it soundsmuch clearer than his aided ear. Check out the eventand online auction at www.TalkWalkRun.com.North Carolina Chapter Honors Beth WhitfieldThe North Carolina chapter of AGBell honors the legacy of Dr. DanielLing by recognizing a professional forhis or her contributions to the fieldof education for the deaf and hard ofhearing in North Carolina. On November8, 2012, the chapter recognizedAG Bell member, Beth Whitfield, LSLSCert. AVT, with this award. Beth hasbeen making a difference in the livesof children with hearing loss and theirBeth Whitfieldfamilies since 1993.Anna KarKOVsKA McGlewlearning and communication activitiesto be performed in class that can beused on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.Aimed at children and teenagers withsome kind of cognitive, visual or hearingimpairment, it includes a numberof activities enhancing perception,vocabulary acquisition, and phoneticand syntactic performance. The applicationhas been translated into severallanguages from Spanish, includingEnglish and Arabic, and has beendownloaded 20,000 times from theiTunes App Store. More on the study,“Mobile Learning Technology Basedon iOS Devices to Support Studentswith Special Education Needs,” canbe found at www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131512002199.Designing Antibiotics ThatDon’t Damage HearingDesigning antibiotics that kill drugresistantbacteria is at the forefrontof global health efforts. However,some of the most powerful diseasefightingdrugs bring an unwantedside effect – ototoxicity or permanenthearing loss – which makes doctorshesitant to prescribe them. In a paperpublished online in the Proceedings ofthe National Academy of Sciences, ateam from Switzerland, England andthe University of Michigan showed– through a broad range of tests inanimals – that an antibiotic already usedin veterinary medicine is highly efficientagainst bacteria with a low potential forcausing hearing loss.The paper outlines a rationalapproach to designing drugs to combatbacterial threats such as multidrugresistanttuberculosis without ototox-VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 9

SOUND BITESicity, based on a theoretical frameworkthat emerged from the work of the threelaboratories and centers around the roleof ribosomes, the structures inside thecell that “read” DNA and translate thegenetic message into proteins. The aimis to protect the delicate cochlear haircells in the inner ear. Once destroyedcochlear hair cells cannot be re-grown.Visit http://finance.boston.com/boston/news/read/21545384/kill_the_germs.Hearing Aid Law forChildren Goes into EffectLast fall, the Massachusetts HearingAids for Children Coalition championedand secured passage of the HearingAid Law for Children. The coalition is astatewide network of families of childrenwho are deaf and hard of hearing andprofessionals that worked toward thepassage of legislation in Massachusettsthat would compel insurance companiesto cover the cost of hearing aids forchildren.The Hearing Aid Law for Children wentinto effect in Massachusetts on Jan. 1,2013. The new law requires that healthinsurers include coverage of hearing aidsfor children who are 21 years of age oryounger, up to $2,000 per hearing aidfor each hearing impaired ear in each36-month period, and who are coveredunder the Health Plan. The coalition hasprovided answers to some of the mostcommonly asked questions about thenew law at http://masshafcc.blogspot.com/2013/01/childrens-hearing-aid-laweffective.html.LG ElectronicsAccessibility ConsumerAdvisory BoardJohn Stanton, chair of the AG BellPublic Affairs Council (PAC), wasrecently asked by LG Electronicsto join their Accessibility ConsumerAdvisory Board. The group bringstogether representatives from organizationsserving the disability communityto provide consumer input into LGAG BELL MEMBErs in the MediaYoung Cochlear Implant Recipient Featured in Ohio,Michigan and Minnesota MediaA young bilateral cochlear implant recipient Mason Henoch and his familywere featured on Cleveland’s Channel 19 Action News (WOIO), Dayton’sABC 22 News and other local networks in Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota.The child and family participate in auditory-verbal therapy at the ClevelandClinic with Donald Goldberg, Ph.D., CCC-SLP/A, LSLS Cert. AVT, AGBell president. Henoch was diagnosed with severe hearing loss in bothears right around his first birthday. After testing, the boy was deemed tobe an excellent candidate for cochlear implants. “Every time when I seethe surgeon with his or her skill put in the electrode array, I actually havechills up my arms, thinking, ‘that’s going to bring access to sound,’” Goldbergsaid. Henoch started forming his first words just a few weeks after hisimplants were activated. Watch the story on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr9_8iRGPq0.Challenging Fears to Gain StrengthAG Bell Board member Rachel Arfa challenged herself with a Fear Experimentby taking a stepping dance class despite not being able to hear themusic well because of her deafness. “I’m not a dancer. I don’t have any training,but I realized when I went to an information meeting about this, nobodyhad any experience,” said Arfa. Dance instructor Queen Meccasia Zabriskiesaid she was worried about having a student who is deaf. “It’s a process.We’re still working on it, but I’m completely inspired by her,” said Zabriskie.Rachel Arfa’s story appeared on ABC 7 Chicago at http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/disability_issues&id=8918979.AG Bell Supporter Published in Scientific AmericanLydia Denworth, a freelance journalist, author, and the mother of a childwith hearing loss, recently had an article published in Scientific AmericanMind. The piece, titled “Brain-Changing Games,” summarizes a body ofrecent research, which shows that playing certain video games improvesvision, attention, spatial reasoning and decision making. Perhaps surprisingly,the games that have the most powerful neurological effects are theones parents hate the most: violent first-person shooters. “With a house fullof video game players, it was particularly interesting to work on this story,”Denworth said. She is the author of two books, “Toxic Truth: A Scientist,A Doctor, and the Battle Over Lead” (Beacon Press, 2009) and the forthcoming“I Can Hear You Whisper” (Dutton). Readers can view a portionof this premium content article at www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-video-games-change-brain.On Being a Deaf MomLisa Goldstein shares her memories of what it was like being a new momwho also is deaf. Read about how she learned to communicate with her childrenat the various stages of their language development at the Hearing LikeMe website, which is sponsored by Phonak, at http://www.hearinglikeme.com/living/relationships/being-deaf-mom.10 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

Electronics’ present and future productdesigns, and will meet several timesa year. At the group’s first meeting inDecember 2012, LG executives anddesigners made presentations for theirlatest televisions and cell/smart phones.Other organizations represented at themeeting included: American Foundationfor the Blind, Hearing Loss Associationof America, and Northern VirginiaResource Center for Deaf and Hard ofHearing Persons, among others.AG Bell Parent-InfantFinancial Aid AwardsDistributedThe AG Bell Parent-Infant Financial AidCommittee is pleased to announce a totalof $118,849.96 was recently awardedto 140 families that are committed to alistening and spoken language outcomefor their infants and toddlers who are deafand hard of hearing. Awards ranged from$600 to $1,200. Award recipients reside in31 U.S. states and Canada. The Parent-Infant Financial Aid Program is for familiesof infants and toddlers from birth throughage 3 who have been diagnosed with amoderate to profound hearing loss whoare in pursuit of spoken language outcomefor their child. Awards are intended toassist with expenses for services suchas auditory support services, speechlanguagetherapy, tuition, etc.Earn CEUs ReadingThe Volta ReviewAG Bell is excited to announce that youcan now receive CEUs through the AG BellAcademy for reading The Volta Reviewmonograph as well as future journal issues.Starting with “Current Knowledge and BestPractices for Telepractice” you will be ableto receive up to two credit hours dependingon the length and scope of the publication.Visit ListeningandSpokenLanguage.com/TVRCEU to learn more and beginearning CEUs now!Single-Unit SoundProcessor ApprovedMED-EL received approval from theU.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA) for a single-unit audio processor,the RONDO TM . This innovative andcompact design combines the microphone,battery pack and coil into asingle externally-worn processor. TheRONDO can be used with all MED-ELcochlear implants. MED-EL cochlearimplant users will now have the option ofselecting a sound processor without anear hook and separate coil and cable.VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 11

WorkingTogether toAdvance Access:The American CochlearImplant AllianceBy Susan Boswell and Nancy GibsonCochlear implants have beenapproved by the U.S. Foodand Drug Administration fornearly 30 years. Yet, only halfof eligible children in the United Statesreceive them. The general public may bemore familiar with the controversy relatedto the technology than the benefits that itcan bring. On the public policy front, thereare challenges in obtaining reimbursementfor the technology as well as habilitationservices needed to use the device.There are a number of national organizationsin the field of hearing loss thatrepresent consumers, parents and professionals,but there is no comprehensive organizationthat brings together all of thesegroups with a focus on cochlear implants.In 2010 a group of professionals, surgeons,audiologists, speech-language pathologistsand representatives from three cochlearimplant companies met to determine howthey could improve the acceptance of andaccess to cochlear implants. A year later theAmerican Cochlear Implant Alliance (ACIAlliance) was born. The organization’smission is to focus on eliminating barriersto cochlear implantation through research,advocacy and awareness for people of allages throughout the U.S. and its leadershipand board include representatives from allits constituents.The ACI Alliance is led by twoindividuals whose paths crossed twentyyears ago. John K. Niparko, M.D.,chairman of the Board of Directors ofthe Alliance and recently appointedprofessor and chair of the Departmentof Otolaryngology-Head and NeckSurgery at the Keck School of Medicineof USC, and Donna L. Sorkin, executivedirector of the Alliance and cochlearimplant recipient, met when Sorkinvisited Niparko’s cochlear implant centerlooking for help to speechread moreeffectively. Little did she know then howher life would change. Sorkin says she isprivileged to have experienced first-handthe power of the evolving technology.Niparko notes that, “Though I havea different vantage point as a cochlear12 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

Terrie KellmeyerWith the nation’s health care systemchanging, the Alliance hopes to ensurethat the continuum of care for cochlearimplants is appropriately covered forpeople of all ages. There are some toughchallenges ahead, but by bringingtogether such a diverse group of professionals,consumers and parents, theAlliance appears to be more than readyto meet these challenges. We invitedDonna Sorkin and John Niparko to sharewith the AG Bell community detailsabout the organization, its missionand goals.Volta Voices: What was the inspirationbehind the creation of the AmericanCochlear Implant Alliance?Donna Sorkin: In 2010, a group ofsurgeons, audiologists, speech-languagepathologists and representatives of thethree cochlear implant companies metto discuss the low utilization of cochlearimplants and the barriers to access. Themeeting attendees agreed that a neworganization was needed that wouldoperate in an inclusive and collaborativemanner with existing organizationsin the field of hearing loss while at thesame time providing a focus on cochlearimplants. While there are a number oforganizations in the field of hearing lossrepresenting professionals, consumersand parents, there is no comprehensiveorganization that seeks to bringtogether the various parties and interestswith a focus on cochlear implants. TheAmerican Cochlear Implant Alliance wasformed to bring together the expertiseand passion that these professionals andconsumers share about the benefits ofthis extraordinary intervention as well asits underutilization in America.Volta Voices: What is the unique roleof the ACI Alliance in promotingcochlear implants as well as listeningand spoken language?John Niparko: Awareness of cochlearimplantation and its benefits in overcomingthe effects of severe to profound hearingloss is still low among the generalpopulation and even among health careprofessionals. We want to change that.Too often, parents are not told of theirchild’s potential candidacy and how acochlear implant would facilitate thedevelopment of spoken language. Atthe present time, only about 50% ofU.S. children who have the appropriateaudiological profile receive cochlearimplants compared with over 90% ofeligible children in many Europeancountries. In the United States, pediatricutilization rates in the under 3 years ofage demographic group are believed tobe even lower than 50%.Children who do not have cochlearimplants and could benefit from theauditory access that they provide arehampered in their efforts to developspoken language. Hearing technol-implant surgeon, I share Donna’s perspective.Like many of you, I witnessedfirst-hand the life changing impactof cochlear implants for thousands ofchildren and adults. Yet, despite theextraordinary benefits, we continue to befrustrated by roadblocks that interferewith appropriate provision of implantsand the clinical services that supporttheir full use. That is why I joined withother clinicians and representatives of thecochlear implant companies to establisha not-for-profit organization to focuson advancing access through research,advocacy, and awareness.”The Alliance is stepping onto thenational stage at an opportune time.John Niparko and a young patient.Johns Hopkins HospitalVOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 13

ogy is one of the nine domains ofknowledge that are central to the AGBell Academy’s Listening and SpokenLanguage Specialist certification. If achild’s hearing is not properly amplified,that child will experience significantlimitations in developing spoken language.Because we know that childrenwho received a cochlear implant at orunder 18 months of age have the bestoutcomes, the fact that families arestill coming to the cochlear implantprocess late is an issue that needs to beaddressed. These statistics and the factorscontributing to low utilization ofcochlear implants will be the subject ofa forthcoming March 2013 specialissue of the peer-reviewed publicationCochlear Implants International. Thesupplement is supported by the ACIAlliance and will be published online inMarch 2013 and in print the followingmonth. This is an example of one waythat we can highlight and address issuesimportant to our community.Donna L. Sorkin may be a familiarface to many in the AG Bell communityas she was executive director ofthe AG Bell Association from 1999-2001. She was recently appointedthe first executive director of thenewly established ACI Alliance, anon-profit organization focusedon eliminating barriers to cochlearimplantation through research,advocacy and awareness for peopleof all ages in the United States. Asa cochlear implant recipient herselfand one who has been a tirelessadvocate for children and adults withcochlear implants for many years,she is in a unique position to lead theACI Alliance.Sorkin is a past vice presidentof consumer affairs for CochlearAmericas, where she developedlegislation and advocacy programsto expand reimbursement ofcochlear implantation via private andgovernmental insurance programs.She created the HOPE program, aprogram that provides support toprofessionals in educational andMeet Donna SorkinVolta Voices: What will the ACIAlliance focus on in the upcoming year?Donna Sorkin: The ACI Alliance wasestablished as a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization in October 2011. Ourmission is to “advance access to thegift of hearing provided by cochlearimplantation through research, advocacyand awareness. ” The organizationis governed by a board of directors,which includes renowned professionalsin the field of hearing loss and cochlearimplants. Currently the board is comprisedof five cochlear implant surgeons,three audiologists, two speech-languagepathologists, an educator, parent of achild with a cochlear implant, and aconsumer recipient. A number of ourboard members are also active membersof AG Bell.Our funding is derived from anumber of sources including membershiprevenues, donations from individuals,grants from the three cochleartherapeutic settings who work withchildren with cochlear implants.She also was executive directorof Self Help for Hard of HearingPeople, now known as Hearing LossAssociation of America.Sorkin is a graduate of HarvardUniversity Kennedy School ofGovernment where she receivedher masters in city planning. Herleadership on numerous boardsand councils include GallaudetUniversity Advisory Board, HearingLoss Association of America,U.S. Access Board (appointedby President Clinton), Council ofOrganizational Representatives,WGBH Center for Accessible Media,National Institute on DeafnessAdvisory Council, Knowles Center,Northwestern University, andColorado Neurological Institute,Center for Hearing. She has lecturedand published widely on hearing lossand cochlear implants. Sorkin hasoften spoken of her own first-handknowledge of “the extraordinarypower of the evolving technology.”implant companies and foundations,and conferences.The ACI Alliance is committed toeliminating barriers to cochlear implantationby sponsoring research, promotingincreased awareness and advocating forimproved access to cochlear implants forpatients of all ages. To do this, the ACIAlliances aims to:ʶʶConduct awareness activities aimed atthe general public, patients, and themedical communityʶʶʶʶʶʶDevelop and/or sponsor clinical trialsand research documenting benefitsand demonstrating links to health andwellnessEducate health care plan executivesand government officials aboutcochlear implant technology, itseconomic and social benefits and therelative value associated with coverageOrganize collaborative efforts tofoster new research and encouragebest clinical practices for standardizedoutcomes.An important element of the waywe will operate is inherent to the word“alliance” in our name. We are workingcollaboratively with the major organizationsin the field of hearing loss as wellas with individual clinicians, educators,consumers, parents, public officials, andthe cochlear implant companies. We arevery fortunate to have received start-upsupport from all three cochlear implantcompanies operating in the United States.We view our role at the ACI Alliance tobe one of collaboration and encouragementto the wide-ranging interests incochlear implants.Volta Voices: What public policy initiativeswill the ACI Alliance undertakein the next year? What are the challengesin the public policy arena relatingto access to cochlear implants?Donna Sorkin: Health care is in tremendousflux right now and it is importantthat we safeguard access by being proactiveabout health insurance coverage.The ACI Alliance submitted detailedcomments on cochlear implant coveragein response to the proposed rule onthe Essential Health Benefits under theAffordable Care Act. We want to do our14 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

ihear ®online therapyRobert RockDonna Sorkin and students in the 3rd grade class at The River School in Washington, D.C., whichhas many students who are deaf and hard of hearing.best to ensure that the entire continuumof care for cochlear implants is appropriatelycovered for people of all ages. Wewant to be proactive about prohibitingthe new state exchanges that are developedas part of the Affordable Care Actfrom including unreasonable and arbitraryvisit and dollar limits on cochlearimplant services. At present, we knowthat some health plans have such dollarlimits and that they can prevent an individualfrom receiving bilateral cochlearimplants, which are now the standard ofcare for children with profound hearingloss to allow them to develop languagethat is as close as possible to that of theirtypically hearing peers.The ACI Alliance will develop guidancematerials for professionals in thefield of cochlear implants, includingeducators and therapists, as well as parentsand consumers to enable them to getinvolved in the new health care exchangesat the state level. States will have considerableflexibility in developing their ownhealth exchanges. We strongly encourageour entire community to work together atthe state level to ensure appropriate coveragefor the continuum of care associatedwith cochlear implantation.ACI Alliance will remain as a resourcethroughout the implementation of theAffordable Care Act. As health careevolves in the years ahead, we want tostay on top of these changes and the needto demonstrate important societal as wellas patient benefits from this extraordinaryintervention. As AG Bell members know,cochlear implantation involves more thanjust having the surgery. It is an interventionthat has allowed children whoare deaf and hard of hearing to developage-appropriate language—if all of theneeded supports are in place. The ACIAlliance will provide guidance on how toadvocate for cochlear implant coverageunder the Affordable Care Act, what tolook for, and how to provide input.The ACI Alliance would also like tobe involved in Medicaid policies as theyaffect access to care. At present, somestate Medicaid programs are not coveringsound processor upgrades or replacements.As a consequence, some childrenwho have Medicaid insurance coverageare using 10-year-old processors that areheld together with duct tape. Clearlythis is not satisfactory and we believe itis in conflict with congressional intentregarding state Medicaid programs.There are other examples of states thatlimit the number of therapy sessions thata child may receive under Medicaid.An increasing number of states do notcover cochlear implants for adults underMedicaid. We are interested in all ofthese issues as public affairs concerns thatimpact on access to appropriate care. TheACI Alliance will collaborate with otherorganizations to address these issues.family centered,convenient,outcomes oriented,HIPAA compliantonline therapyusing a computer,webcam and highspeed internetconnection.ihear ischanging livesareyou ready?ihearlearning.org636.532.2672A program by St. Joseph Institute for the DeafVOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 15

Volta Voices: How is the ACI Allianceworking to develop a standard of care?Donna Sorkin: All of our activitieswill advance efforts to make cochlearimplantation the standard of care fordeafness. One of the critical areas wewant to address is the lack of awarenessthat currently exists among the generalpopulation, among primary physicianssuch as pediatricians and internists, andeven among some hearing health careprofessionals. Often we find that the publicand medical professionals have limitedknowledge about the empowering natureof the intervention.Having cochlear implant surgeons andother clinicians on our board will provideus with greater opportunity to workcollaboratively with professional societiesto address the misinformation that iscurrently impacting referrals for childrenand adults alike.Volta Voices: How does the ACIAlliance foster research related tocochlear implants?John Niparko: The first research projectbeing undertaken by the ACI Alliancewill evaluate cochlear implant candidacyfor adults. At present, the candidacycriteria for Medicare beneficiaries aremore stringent than the FDA guidelines.Individuals age 65 and older facesignificant communication difficultiesand experience serious life impacts whenthe hearing loss is so advanced that itlimits the benefit derived from traditionalamplification. While we believe that thesenior population should be carefullyevaluated for any surgical intervention,we believe that there are importanthealth-related and quality-of-life benefitsthat accrue from providing cochlearimplants to this population.Our study will examine 90 adultstudy participants who experiencedhearing loss after learning languageto evaluate the safety and efficacy ofcochlear implants. We will specificallyexamine and assess the level of, inseveral domains, cochlear implantationunder revised guidelines in seniors. Webelieve that this study will also contributeto the general body of literatureon outcomes in adults when cochlearimplants are provided to those withmore residual hearing.An innovative element of the studyinvolves the creation of a new patient registrythat will house the patient data forthe Medicare study. In future years, theregistry will provide a means to conducta range of research projects relating tocochlear implantation in patients of allages. The registry, which will be operatedby the ACI Alliance, will provideclinicians and scientists with importantresearch opportunities.Volta Voices: How can professionals,parents of children who have cochlearimplants, and adults who use cochlearimplants become involved in the ACIAlliance?Donna Sorkin: We hope all of thosegroups will be members and supportersof the ACI Alliance. We have a membershipstructure that allows organizationssuch as cochlear implant clinics, hearingMom’s ChoiceAwardsGold Winner!Please visit us atwww.almigal.comand on Facebook!Meet Almigal, a spunky little girl with a BIGpersonality who’s determined to hear “every single soundin the whole entire universe!” Almigal’s spirit and hercotton-candy pink cochlear implants will have everyoneshouting “Let’s Hear It For Almigal!”5% of sales supportsdeaf childrenTo purchase a personalized, autographed copy of the book,please visit www.almigal.com. Let’s Hear It For Almigal isalso available through Amazon, Barnes&Noble.com andIndependent Publishers GroupContact Wendy to inquire about speaking engagements,school visits and book signings.P: 561.654.8680 E: wendyk@almigal.com“This is the cutest book for kids!”“You can’t help but fall in lovewith Almigal.”“Parents...get this!”“Almigal is a great role model.”16 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

Terrie KellmeyerDonna Sorkin dances with Poppy Kellmeyer at The River School in Washington, D.C.centers, schools and others to join. Eachorganizational member can then provide10 free individual memberships to itsstaff. There is also an individual professionalmembership category as well as aparent/consumer membership. We willbe looking to our members to participatein our organization as advocates andstrong voices for appropriate access tocochlear implants in diverse ways. Forexample, in December we sent out analert to our membership asking themto submit comments on the AffordableCare Act. A number of clinics andindividual members used our guidanceto do that.The ACI Alliance website will be theorganization’s primary communicationvehicle but our members will be hearingfrom us regularly. A strong membershipwill provide us with the strength andcredibility that we need to communicatein a convincing way with governmentofficials, insurance companies, primarycare physicians, and others in the healthcare arena.Free Services!Help Your Baby Talk and HearThe Moog Center Family Teleschool is undertaking a national project designedto evaluate the effectiveness of tele-therapy for children with hearing loss frombirth to age three.• Expert teleschool teachers will provide instruction over the internetfor you and your child.• Learn through our proven curriculum and teaching strategies.• A study of children enrolled in the Moog Center Family School programindicates by age 3-4 years, over 80% achieve vocabulary scores withinthe average range.• These services are FREE.For more information and to find out if your family is eligiblecontact Betsy Moog Brooks at (314) 692-7172or email to bbrooks@moogcenter.orgwww.moogcenter.orgThe Moog Center for Deaf EducationSt. Louis, MOVOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 17

GabrielBrainsonA YoungAdvocate’s Questfor Better CaptioningBy Anna Karkovska McGlewAs many high school studentsdo, Gabriel Brainson settledin to watch a TV showonline, but quickly realizedthat it was not captioned. He knew theshow was captioned on television—butwhy wasn’t it captioned on the Internet?Brainson wears bilateral cochlearimplants and finds that closed captioninghelps him follow dialogue on television.When watching live broadcasts,the 16-year-old noticed that the captionswere delayed, paraphrased or justplain inaccurate. His quest for answersand the search for better captioningpropelled him to conduct extensiveresearch and ultimately brought him toWashington, D.C., where he advocatedfor improved captions in a meetingwith the Federal CommunicationsCommission (FCC), the federalagency responsible for regulatingclosed captioning.The FCC established closed captioningrequirements for video programmingdistributors with theTelecommunications Act of 1996 (televisionbroadcast stations and multichannelvideo programming distributors suchas cable, satellite, and other televisionservice providers). Since then, the agencyhas established rules and a schedule ofincreasing amounts of required captioningover a period of eight years. As ofJanuary 1, 2006, all new, non-exempt,English language video programmingmust have closed captions.However, as Brainson found out,these rules didn’t necessarily apply toonline content. He wanted to know whysome things were captioned online, andothers were not.The Quest BeginsOver the course of many months,Brainson spent a lot of his free timeabsorbing all that he could find aboutclosed captioning. There was a tremendousamount of material on thesubject: he learned about the varioustechnologies used to caption and decode18 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

David and Gabriel Brainsonat the Volta Bureaucaptioning, the companies and organizationsinvolved in providing captioningservices, and the efforts of Congress andthe FCC to bring more closed captioningto online content. “I never thoughtmy initial interest in closed captioningwould become a pastime that consumedalmost all my free time for almost ayear,” Brainson said.The more Brainson found out, themore interested he became. He beganto have his own ideas on how to makecaptioning better and more available.With the encouragement of his dad,David Brainson, the teenager decided totry and change the way things are done.He knew from his research that theSusan BoswellFCC had been working on captioning ofonline content for some time, and hadrecently finalized an initial, comprehensiveand lengthy round of rulemaking onthe subject.Without any idea about who theappropriate contact would be at theCommission, Brainson reached for thetop. The teenager spent two monthsresearching and writing a letter to FCCChair Julius Genachowski, in whichhe offered to come to Washington todiscuss his research and suggestions withthe chairman and staff at the FCC.Two months later, Gabriel receivedan email, followed by a letter, withChairman Genachowski’s response,which also contained an invitation toWashington. The chairman offered toarrange a meeting for him and seniorstaff members at the FCC if Brainsonwas able to visit Washington, D.C. “Icouldn’t believe that the chairman’sresponse was so comprehensive and thoroughlyresearched. I was very happy thatmy letter had clearly made a favorableimpression, and that I would have anopportunity to follow up,” Brainson said.Meeting at the FCCThe meeting, which occurred inNovember 2012, included Gabriel andDavid Brainson, and six FCC staffmembers: Karen Peltz Strauss, deputychief of the Consumer and GovernmentAffairs Bureau; Gregory Hlibok, chiefof the Disability Rights Office (DRO);Rosaline Crawford, an attorney in theDRO; an intern who is hard of hearingworking in the DRO; and two signlanguage interpreters.The deputy chief, the senior most staffmember at the meeting, congratulatedGabriel for having gotten the attention ofthe chairman regarding closed captioning.“It was intimidating and took me awhile to get comfortable with the grandsurroundings, and the process of a businessmeeting,” Brainson recalled.The teenager gradually relaxed ashe started describing the research hehad done over the past year and sharedhis insights and views on the issues heidentified. Brainson also learned a lotabout the history of captioning rules,how they came about, and how the rulesDavid BrainsonGabriel Brainson visits his Congressionalrepresentatives to raise awareness of issueswith captioningare enforced. He started understandingwhy captioning is almost universalon broadcast television and how theeventual implementation of the 21 stCentury Communications and VideoAccessibility Act of 2010 (CVAA) woulddo the same for content delivered online.“After all the research I had done,including studying the provisions ofthe CVAA, it was incredible to sit atthe same table with a whole team ofpeople who were actually involved inhelping draft the CVAA, as well asdraft the FCC rulemaking on the Act,”Brainson said. “I was truly moved by theexperience.”Issues with ClosedCaptioningBrainson feels that one of the greatestproblems with closed captioning isthe poor quality of captions during livebroadcasts. The closed captioning mayinclude grammatical errors, spellingmistakes, and sometimes, the captionermay paraphrase parts of the conversations.To add to the issue of quality, thecaptioning will lag several seconds ormore behind the real-time feed.VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 19

Federal Communications CommissionGabriel Brainson meets with Greg HlibokThe meeting at the FCC leftBrainson with lasting impressions andnew insights. “I felt that all my workand effort were finally beginning to payoff,” he said. “The meeting was informative,interesting and, above all, heartwarming.It made me realize how manysmart, dedicated and hard-workingpeople are putting in tremendous effortto help the deaf and hard of hearingcommunity as a whole. On a personallevel, I was particularly pleased thatone of my ideas was met with some realenthusiasm.”Brainson shared his simple andstraightforward solution for all livebroadcasts—he suggested that the FCCshould mandate a requirement for atime delay on all live broadcasts, andthat networks should allow the captioneraccess to the actual, live video/audio feed, thus giving the captionera much needed few extra seconds toimprove the quality of captions for thedelayed feed. Currently, at the broadcaster’sdiscretion, there is a short timedelay only for certain live broadcaststo make sure they comply with FCCdecency rules. For these broadcasts, thecaptioners get access to the time delayedfeed rather than the live one, deprivingthem of the few extra seconds theycould use to significantly improve thequality of captions.Making captions more ubiquitousand accurate provides broad soci-Created with the same high quality you’ve come toexpect from the family of Dry & Store ® products.It’s the “next-best” thing to a Dry & Store.• Kit includes 1Dry Caddy jarplus 6 Dry-Discs,providing a year ofprotection againstmoisture damage.• Easy to use• Powerful molecularsieve desiccant capturesmoisture and odor.• Portable–great for travel• No recharging orreactivating, no batteries,no electricity• Safe–does not containany hazardouschemicals.Visit our website or contact us for more information.www.dryandstore.com/drycaddy / 800.327.8547 / info@drycaddy.com20 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

Federal Communications Commissionetal value. Captions not only benefitindividuals who are deaf and hard ofhearing; they are useful for all patronsin noisy environments such as restaurants,train stations, and airports; theymay prove indispensable in emergencysituations; and they are tremendouslyvaluable to people trying to learn a newlanguage, as it allows them to betterunderstand written language.Karen Peltz Strauss, Gabriel Brainson, and Julius Genachowski at the FCCBrainson was born with a severe toprofound hearing loss that was diagnosedwhen he was around five monthsold. He was fitted with hearing aids andhas attended mainstream schools. As hishearing gradually got worse, Brainsonbecame a candidate for cochlearimplants. He received his first implantin 2007 and his second in early 2012.Brainson enjoys having two implants, asthey have allowed him to hear soundshe had never heard before, communicatewith people whose voices he had neverunderstood, and start enjoying music forthe first time in his life.“For anyone, life can have its challenges,”Brainson noted. “If you are deafor hard of hearing, there can be greaterobstacles. For me, being deaf allows meto look in the mirror and see not onlythe reflection of who I am, but whereI’ve been and how far I have come. I seethe challenges I have faced in the past,and realize that no obstacle will be toobig for me in the future.”Listen, Talk,and Grow.Preschool programs at Clarkeenhance children’s listening,speech, language and pre-literacyskills while fostering their social,emotional, cognitive, and creativedevelopment.To learn more, emailinfo@clarkeschools.org or visitclarkeschools.org/preschool.Boston • Jacksonville • New York • Northampton • PhiladelphiaClarke Schools for Hearing and Speech provides children who are deaf and hard ofhearing with the listening, learning and spoken language skills they need to succeed.“ When I first observed a Clarke classroom, I sawimmediately that the children were really involvedand asking thoughtful questions. I couldsee there was an emphasis not just on language,but on thinking and being confident. I knewthis would be the place for my daughter becauseI saw how accepting and wonderful the teacherswere. I knew she would blossom at Clarke.”—Parent, Boston campusclarkeschools.org VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 21

The Rise of Internet CaptioningBy James HouseWe all take closed captioningon television for grantedregardless of hearingability. But that wasn’talways the case. The older generation mayrecall a time when captioning was nowhereto be found. By contrast, the youngergeneration has always had access to captioningif they knew where to look. TDI, orTelecommunications for the Deaf and Hardof Hearing, has been at the forefront of captioningadvocacy since its inception in 1968.TDI was founded by H. LathamBreunig, his wife Nancy from theAlexander Graham Bell Association, andJess Smith from the National Associationof the Deaf. Their united goal was simple:people who are deaf and hard of hearingneeded equal access to telecommunicationsand they needed it every day; therefore,they needed access to technology.Back then, the only accessible mediawere captioned theatrical movies andeducational films on 16mm reels that wereloaned by the U.S. Department of Health,Education and Welfare (HEW) to organizationsand schools around the country.People who were deaf and hard of hearingeagerly waited for the “latest” accessibleHollywood blockbuster to come out six ormore months after it had swept the movietheaters around the country. This programstill functions today as the Described andCaptioned Media Program (DCMP).Forty-five years have passed since theorganization was founded. Captions ontelevision are ubiquitous and they are morethan an accommodation for a small sectionof the population. Bars and other publicplaces display captions on their TV setsfor the benefit of all customers. Captionedmovies are also undergoing a similar evolution:resistance is crumbling and morepeople are embracing captions as “curbcuts,” similar to a ramp that provides accessto the sidewalk. Today, we enjoy captionedmovies at the theater with mega-cups ofpopcorn and drinks within arm’s reach.Some of us choose to wait the few weeksuntil the release of captioned DVDs andBluRays, so we can enjoy many of the sameblockbusters in the privacy of our homes.Make Your Voice HeardDuring his trip to Washington, GabrielBrainson also met with two membersof Congress and discussed captioningand some of the issues surroundingthe subject. If you are interestedin advocating for better and moreaccessible captioning, he suggestsvisiting your elected representativesthe next time you are in the nation’scapital, or writing a letter to yourcongressman or senator.Brainson has created a Facebookpage, The Closed CaptioningAlliance, https://www.facebook.com/Captioning for television is a great successstory that provides lessons for extendingcaptioning to other media. The idea for captioningcame about in the early 1970s, whengovernment officials, public broadcasters,and other industry engineers began testingways to carry extra data in television signals.Dr. Malcolm “Mac” J. Norwood, knownas the “Father of Closed Captioning” anddeaf himself, was head of the HEW at thetime. The department, since renamed theU.S. Department of Education, providedfunding with the creation of the NationalCaptioning Institute in 1979.On March 16, 1980, the Sundayevening broadcast programs on the ABC,CBS and PBS networks included closedcaptioning, a giant milestone in the historyof television. Live captioning was developedshortly after that in 1982 and privatecaptioning businesses proliferated. Fastforward to the Telecommunications Actof 1996, which, along with many accessibilityprovisions, required the FederalCommunications Commission (FCC) todraft regulations mandating captions innearly all television programming by 2006.As full captioning on television wasbeing realized, the rise of the Internet inthe 1990s brought a new dimension to thequest for universal captioning and openeda whole new area of need for full and equalaccess. According to the DCMP, the firstlive cyber-cast to be captioned was in 1994when Vice President Al Gore presented hispages/The-Closed-Captioning-Alliance/323998277704654?ref=hl, toencourage people to share problemsthey encounter with closed captioning,or offer their suggestions/ideas,which will be shared with the FCC.You can also share your thoughts oncaptioning via Twitter, https://twitter.com/TheCCAlliance.Complaints about closed captioningcan also be filed directly with theFCC using the complaint form at thebottom of the page at www.fcc.gov/guides/closed-captioning.“Information Superhighway” speech. In1995, the Discovery Network’s “Live! WithDerek McGinty” show became the firstregularly captioned Internet program. In1997, President Clinton’s second inaugurationspeech was the first live event to becaptioned online simultaneously with TV.Online tools now make it mucheasier for do-it-yourselfers and professionalsalike to provide accessibility forthe masses. Google saw captioning onYouTube as a gold mine, where text withinthe captions can provide keywords forsearch engines of the future. At the pressconference announcing its new service inlate 2009, Google statistics illustrated thescale of supply and demand challengeswith its autocaptioning tool for insertingtime code in videos. For every minute ofstreaming video you download to watch,thousands of other users are uploading 20hours of video.The demand for captioned videoscontinued to rise. By 2008, the numberof U.S. broadband households watchingpremium online content, includingmovies and TV shows, had reached 25million. While the Internet makes it easierto orate on any topic, the onus is on videocreators to make their content accessible toeveryone.In the 2000s, it became apparent thata new law was needed: one that providedequal access to the new telecommunicationsand media technologies. This led to the22 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

founding of the Coalition of Organizationsfor Accessible Technology (COAT) in2007. From a handful of organizationsthat included TDI and AG Bell, COATnow speaks for more than 300 national,local and international affiliates. OnOctober 8, 2010, President Barack Obamasigned a bipartisan bill, the 21 st CenturyCommunications and Video AccessibilityAct of 2010 (CVAA), telling the world thatit is time to make the Internet accessible.Now, more than two years later, we arebeginning to see results of our advocacyfor captioning on the Internet. CurrentCVAA regulations call for captioningonline televised content according to thefollowing schedule:ʶʶSeptember 30, 2012 – New, prerecorded,full-length TV programmingdisplayed online must be captioned.ʶʶʶʶMarch 30, 2013 – The same requirementkicked in for live TV programmingdisplayed online.September 30, 2013 is the effective dateof captioning for prerecorded programsedited for the Internet.ʶʶMarch 30, 2014 is when archival programsmust be captioned after showingon television again.The CVAA updates the DecoderCircuitry Act of 1990, which requiredthat all TV sets – above 13 inches andmanufactured or imported into the U.S.– must support captioning. Now, alldevices that display video must be ableto support captioning. Due to advancesfrom analog to digital technologies, captionsare much easier to read on smallscreens such as smartphones, computermonitors, tablets, glasses, as well ason big jumbo screens. Video programmingdistributors are required to enablecaptions to be rendered or displayedon browsers and smartphone apps. Therequirement for all devices that displayvideo kicks in on January 1, 2014, whenthey must include captions with the capabilitiesto change color, font, backgroundand size.The FCC has deemed that the CVAAdoes not cover video clips. This is an areawhere TDI and other national consumergroups for deaf and hard of hearing peoplehave petitioned for reconsideration. Suchclips include important information fromnews stories and interviews are self-containedvideos that can stand alone withits own story. Many shows are cut up intobite-sized pieces and end up as a series ofshort videos on the web. The FCC rulesalso do not cover direct-to-Internet videothat has never been on television.Captioning for downloaded movies isalso seeing some progress. As the resultof a recent lawsuit that was settled inOctober 2012, Netflix is committed toproviding captioning for all videos in itsonline library within two years.Captions on the Internet are not universalyet. But important steps have beentaken to make it a reality. You can also bepart of the solution by getting involvedand filing a complaint with the FCC everytime you see a program with poor or nocaptions. See the sidebar on page 22 forinstructions. Making your voice heardand asking for access to captioning is howwe can all make a world of difference.St. Joseph Institute for the DeafAt St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf (SJI), we believe that children with hearingloss deserve the opportunity to listen, speak and read.As international leaders in listening and spoken language (LSL) based education, our highlytrained staff of certified deaf educators, speech therapists and audiologists help children developoral language without the use of sign language. SJI is the only school for the deaf to be fullyaccredited by the prestigious Independent Schools Association of the Central States (ISACS).Visit us at sjid.org & ihearlearning.orgfor more information on our locations and servicesIndianapolis Campus ihear- Internet Therapy St. Louis Campus9192 Waldemar Rd.Indianpolis, IN 46268(317) 471-8560ihearlearning.org(636) 532-26721809 Clarkson RdSt. Louis, MO 63017(636) 532-3211AGBELLAD.indd 14/4/2012 8:37:08 AMVOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 23

Auditory-Verbal Therapyin Telepractice:A Practical, Philosophicaland Musical PerspectiveBy Laura L. Van Antwerp, M.Ed. andK. Todd Houston, Ph.D., CCC-slp, LSLS Cert. AVTAuditory-verbal therapy deliveredthrough telepractice is anideal solution for many familiesthat meets many practicalneeds. Parents can receive the guidanceand coaching they need to be effectivelanguage facilitators, and deliveringservices at a distance through telepracticeputs parents at the center of the sessionin developing their child’s listening andspoken language skills. Professionals whodeliver services through telepractice needto have a strong understanding of adultlearning styles and in developing theseskills, insight can be gained from othermethodologies such as the Suzuki methodfor musical learning.Telepractice can assist families overcomingsome of the tremendous obstaclesin obtaining services from listening andspoken language specialists. For example,the mother of an 8-year-old with bilateralprofound sensorineural hearing loss wasconsidering discontinuing traditional therapysessions because of the time demandsand the impact on the entire family.She described her typical scenario:she needed to drive an hour and a half tothe nearest location for services becauseauditory-verbal therapy was not availablein her community. She and her child spentmore than an hour at each session, includingbathroom and food breaks and talkingwith the practitioner after the session. Thenthere was the cost of a babysitter for herother children and the need to bring thechild directly from school, tired and withhomework needing to be completed. Whilethis mother is committed to developing herchild’s listening and spoken language abilities,the traditional, in-person sessions werebeginning to take a huge toll.“Telepractice saves time and is soconvenient,” she said of her son’s auditoryverbaltelepractice sessions after just sevenweeks of participation. The mother said shewas able to be more actively involved in herchild’s daily life, and she often looked foropportunities to apply what she learned intherapy. “I feel like I am learning the skillsto be a better advocate for those with hear-24 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

Laura Van Antwerp in a telepractice sessioning loss, as well as a lifetime advocate formy son,” she said.Auditory-Verbal Therapy& TelepracticeFor this family, auditory-verbal therapydelivered through telepractice was theanswer. The mother could receive the parentcoaching that she needed to facilitateher son’s listening and spoken languagedevelopment. Her son was able to directlyinteract with a practitioner knowledgeableabout listening and spoken languageacquisition. These services were providedthrough the Telepractice and eLearningLaboratory (TeLL) in the Schoolof Speech-Language Pathology andLaura L. Van AntwerpAudiology at the University of Akronwhich uses distance learning technologyto deliver listening and spoken languageservices to both children and adults whobenefit from a range of hearing technology.Providing auditory-verbal therapythrough telepractice can meet one of themost significant needs for children withhearing loss and their families—accessto services. With a limited number ofListening and Spoken Language Specialists(LSLS) available to provide services in theUnited States and worldwide, finding anexperienced therapist can be a challenge.Telepractice is a viable way to meet theneeds of families, but requires professionalsto be cognizant of adult learning stylesin working with families to promote theirability to facilitate their child’s listeningand spoken language development.Facilitating AdultLearning ThroughCoachingAccording to the AG Bell Academy forListening and Spoken Language (AG BellAcademy, 2012), most of the principles ofLSLS auditory-verbal practice put the guidanceand coaching of the parents front andcenter in their child’s intervention. Thisis especially true when providing therapythrough telepractice, when the clinicianand parent are working at a distance. Inthe case of auditory-verbal therapy, theparents are active participants in eachsession’s activities, therefore, an effectivepractitioner must possess knowledge aboutadult learning strategies. Professionals canbe more effective in providing guidance toparents when they understand how adultslearn and process new information. Thisknowledge is critical to guiding the parentsto become their child’s primary facilitatorof listening and spoken language.Adults typically lean toward one of thegeneral learning styles identified by mostteachers and clinicians: auditory, verbal orkinesthetic, but they often exhibit manymore variations and combinations of theselearning styles. Just as with a child, theclinician should discern the learning styleof the parent and provide multiple methodsand opportunities to acquire skills.Additionally, there are three key elementsof the adult learning process that cliniciansshould keep in mind. For adults to learnbest, they need to know the why, the how,and the where of what they’re learning.Consider the following factors:ʶʶWhy: Because of their life experiencesand problem-solving skills, the adultlearner needs to understand the underlyingprinciples and reasons why they’redoing something, and why they aredoing it in a particular way or order.ʶʶʶʶHow: Regardless of differences inlearning style, most adults acquire skillsthrough experience, critiqued (i.e.,coached) performance and affirmation.Where: The adult learner needs tounderstand and be able to easily keepin mind where each task is going—the“big picture” goal for the activity.In working with adult learners, professionalsshould recognize the signs that indicatewhen one or more of the above elementsare missing. In conversations, a parent mayexhibit a great deal of head nodding, toomany “yes’s, mm-hmm’s and uh-huh’s” are acommon indicator. Sometimes, it’s simply aglazed or quizzical look.Adults may initially be high-maintenancelearners; however, once they havetaken ownership of their role in theirchild’s therapy and understand the why,how and where of the process, the clinicianis able to step back and move to the positionof coach/trainer.Teaching adults includes giving thema framework of words and phrases to use,as well as specific outcomes to watch andlisten for with their child in a therapy sessionor in the home. It also is helpful forthe practitioner to ensure that the parentdemonstrates understanding of conceptsthrough their verbal expression and performanceduring the session before introducingadditional skills or concepts. As timegoes on, the clinician assumes more of acoaching role during the session as the parenttakes the lead in facilitating the child’slanguage and learning.The Suzuki MethodThe concepts of parent responsibility,encouragement, repetition, and guidedpractice are central to auditory-verbalpractice. In reflecting on these principlesof auditory-verbal practice, it’s useful toexamine the well-respected and widelyutilized methodologies of other disciplines.Consider the following:VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 25

ʶʶEvery child can learnʶʶAbility develops earlyʶʶEnvironment nurtures growthʶʶChildren learn from one anotherʶʶSuccess breeds successʶʶParental involvement is criticalʶʶEncouragement is essentialThe preceding list could easily bemistaken for a supplement to the principlesof LSLS auditory-verbal practice.However, it’s actually a list of the keyconcepts of an internationally renownedmethod of teaching music known as themother-tongue approach, or the SuzukiMethod (Suzuki, 1983).Briefly, the pedagogy of the Suzukimethod applies the basic principles oflanguage acquisition to the learning ofmusic, in essence, the language of music.Ironically, it began around the same timethe field of speech-language pathology wasdeveloping its own therapeutic approaches.In the early 1940s, a talented Japaneseviolinist, Shin’ichi Suzuki, was studyingviolin in Germany and made the simple,but astute observation that young childrenlearned to speak fluent German, just as allchildren around the world absorbed theirnative language by listening to the adultsand children in their natural environment.EnvironmentParentFigure 1. Suzuki Triangle. Adapted from Suzuki Association of Americas (1998).The underpinning of his pedagogicalmodel was that with focused listening,repetition, guided practice, praise andperformance, a child could assimilate their“mother tongue” with 100% success, but itencompassed much more than just teachingchildren to successfully play a musicalinstrument. Suzuki recognized the uniquecontribution the language of music couldmake to the learning process and, morebroadly, to a child’s life. Unlike traditionalteacher/student music lessons, the foundationof instruction lies in what teachers ofthe method call the Suzuki Triangle, whichPracticeChildTeaCHerLessonis a model of the relationship between thechild, parent and teacher that emphasizesparental involvement and is shown inFigure 1. In fact, the parent often learns toplay the instrument before or along withtheir child, so the parent understands whattheir child is expected to do.While guiding and coaching parentsis central to auditory-verbal practice itwas – and remains – a revolutionary andsometimes controversial conceptual modelamong music educators. Consider thephilosophical similarities between severalof the principles of the two methodologies:Principles of Listening & Spoken Language Suzuki Method Core Principles (Suzuki, 1983)Guide and coach parents to help their childintegrate listening and spoken language into allaspects of the child’s life.Guide and coach parents to create environmentsthat support listening for the acquisition of spokenlanguage throughout the child’s daily activitiesGuide and coach parents to help their child selfmonitorspoken language through listening.Guide and coach parents to become the primaryfacilitators of their child’s listening and spoken languagedevelopment through active consistent participationin individualized auditory-verbal therapy.Guide and coach parents to use natural developmentalpatterns of audition, speech, language,cognition, and communication.Promote education in mainstream schools withpeers who have typical hearing and with appropriateservices from early childhood onward.LISTEN: Children listen to recordings at home and observeother students and parents playing the instrument in lessonsand classes.MASTERY: The teacher guides the student toward increased accuracy,giving the parent clear guidelines on how to practice at home.RECOGNITION: Listening to music every day is important,especially listening to pieces in the Suzuki repertoire, so the childknows them immediately.REPETITION: Constant repetition is essential in learning to playan instrument. Children do not learn a word or piece of musicand then discard it. They add it to their vocabulary or repertoire,gradually using it in new and more sophisticated ways.GRADED REPERTOIRE: Children do not practice exercises tolearn to talk, but use language for its natural purpose of communicationand self-expression. Pieces in the Suzuki repertoireare designed to present technical problems to be learned in thecontext of the music rather than through dry technical exercises.LEARNING WITH OTHER CHILDREN: In addition to private lessons,children participate in regular group lessons and performanceat which they learn from and are motivated by each other.26 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

Hear theDifferenceAnne FlemingTodd Houston at the Telepractice and eLearning Lab at The University of AkronMaking an analogy between musicallanguage and spoken language isboth worthwhile and informative. Usingthe lens of the Suzuki method of musicinstruction helps to reveal an unexpectedcommonality in both adult learning andchild development. Both approachesunderscore the need for parent engagementin a child’s later success.The comparison also illuminates anexpanded potential for learning and applicationof these concepts. Just as the musicteacher sends her student and parent homewith guidance and instruction, so shouldthe LSLS practitioner. For families servedthrough the Telepractice and eLearningLab, this is occurring. Parents are receivinga high level of coaching and guidance thatensures increased engagement in their child’slistening, speech, and language development.Parents are integrating developmental andlanguage learning goals into their child’sdaily routines and in the community. And,most importantly, parents are becomingtheir child’s primary language facilitators –which is music to everyone’s ears!ReferencesAG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language(2012). 2012 certification handbook. Available atwww.ListeningandSpokenLanguage.orgSuzuki Association of the Americas. (1998).Suzuki Twinkler. Retrieved August 1, 2012, fromSuzuki Association of the Americas: http://suzukiassociation.org/Suzuki, S. (1983). Nurtured by Love: A ClassicApproach to Talent Education. (W. Suzuki,Trans.) Miami, FL, USA: Suzuki MethodInternational Summy-Birchard.Use Domino Pro in theclassroom, duringmeetings or with friendsand hear loud andclear—even when there’sa lot going on around you.Learn More:www.harriscomm.com/domino_by_bellmanFreeShipping!Receive free shipping onDomino Pro when youuse the link above, oruse promo code:DominoNoShippingExpires 5/31/13.(800) 825-6758Request aFREE Catalog!Laura Van AntwerpVOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 27

La terapiaauditivo-verbalen la telepráctica:una perspectiva práctica,filosófica y musicalPor Laura L. Van Antwerp, M.Ed. yK. Todd Houston, Ph.D., CCC-slp, LSLS Cert. AVTLa terapia auditivo verbal suministradamediante telepráctica esuna solución ideal para muchasfamilias ya que atiende a muchasnecesidades prácticas. Los padres puedenrecibir la orientación y el entrenamientoque necesitan para poder ser facilitadoresdel lenguaje efectivos. Proveer servicios adistancia mediante la telepráctica pone alos padres en el centro de la sesión paradesarrollar las habilidades de escucha yoralidad del lenguaje de su hijo. Los profesionalesque prestan servicios mediantetelepráctica deben tener un sólido entendimientode los estilos de aprendizaje deladulto y al desarrollar esas habilidades,pueden adquirir conocimientos de otrasmetodologías, como el método Suzuki deaprendizaje musical.La telepráctica puede ayudar a lasfamilias a superar algunos de los tremendosobstáculos de obtener servicios de especialistasde escucha y oralidad del lenguaje. Porejemplo, la madre de un paciente de 8 añoscon pérdida de la audición neurosensorialprofunda bilateral estaba considerandointerrumpir las sesiones de terapia tradicionalespor el tiempo que exigen y el impactoque tienen en toda la familia.Describió su situación típica: tenía queconducir una hora y media hasta el lugarmás cercano porque no había servicios deterapia auditivo-verbal disponibles en sucomunidad. Ella y su hijo estaban durantemás de una hora en cada sesión, incluyendopausas para ir al baño y comer algoy hablar con el terapeuta después de cadasesión. Además tenía el costo adicional deuna niñera para sus otros hijos y la necesidadde llevar al niño directamente desde laescuela, cansado y con tarea para el hogarque tenía que hacer. Aunque la madre estácomprometida con el desarrollo de lashabilidades de escucha y oralidad de suhijo, las sesiones en persona tradicionalesempezaban a ser una gran complicación.“La telepráctica ahorra tiempo y esmuy conveniente,” comentó sobre lassesiones de telepráctica auditivo-verbalde su hijo después de participar tan solosiete semanas. La madre afirmó que podía28 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

involucrarse más activamente en la vidadiaria de su hijo, y que con frecuenciabuscaba oportunidades para aplicar loque había aprendido en la terapia. “Sientoque estoy aprendiendo habilidades parapoder abogar mejor por las personas conpérdida de la audición, y también parapoder abogar mejor por mi hijo para todala vida,” agregó.La terapia auditivoverbaly la teleprácticaPara esta familia, la terapia auditivoverbalsuministrada mediante teleprácticafue la solución. La madre pudo recibir elentrenamiento para padres que necesitabapara facilitar el desarrollo de la escuchaLaura L. Van Antwerpy oralidad del lenguaje de su hijo. El hijopudo interactuar directamente con unterapeuta idóneo en la adquisición de laescucha y oralidad del lenguaje. Estosservicios fueron prestados mediante elLaboratorio de Telepráctica y AprendizajeVirtual (TeLL, por sus siglas en inglés)de la Facultad de Patología del Hablay el Lenguaje y de Audiología de laUniversidad de Akron, EE. UU., que usatecnología de aprendizaje a distancia paraprestar servicios de escucha y oralidad aniños y adultos que se benefician de unavariedad de tecnología para la audición.Ofrecer terapia auditivo-verbal portelepráctica satisface una de las necesidadesmás significativas de los niños con pérdidade la audición y sus familias: tener accesoa esos servicios. Debido a la disponibilidadde una cantidad limitada de Especialistasde Escucha y Oralidad del Lenguaje(LSLS, por sus siglas en inglés) para prestarservicios en los Estados Unidos y en todoel mundo, encontrar un terapeuta experimentadopuede ser un desafío. La teleprácticaes un método viable de satisfacer lasnecesidades de las familias, pero requiereque los profesionales tengan amplios conocimientossobre los estilos de aprendizajedel adulto al trabajar con familias parapromover su habilidad de facilitar el desarrollode la escucha y oralidad del lenguajede su hijo.Facilitar el aprendizajedel adulto medianteentrenamientoSegún la AG Bell Academy for Listeningand Spoken Language (AG Bell Academy,2012), la mayoría de la práctica auditivoverbal con LSLS pone en el centroy hace hincapié en la orientación y elentrenamiento de los padres en la intervencióncon su hijo. Y esto es inclusomás cierto al ofrecer terapia mediantetelepráctica, cuando el clínico y el padreestán trabajando a distancia. En el casode la terapia auditivo-verbal, los padresson participantes activos en las actividadesde cada sesión, por eso, un terapeutaefectivo debe tener conocimiento sobreestrategias de aprendizaje del adulto. Losprofesionales pueden ser más efectivos albrindarles orientación a los padres cuandocomprenden cómo aprenden los adultosy cómo procesan la información nueva.Este conocimiento es crítico para guiar alos padres para convertirse en el facilitadorprincipal de escucha y oralidad del lenguajede su hijo.Los adultos normalmente se apoyan enuno de los estilos de aprendizaje generalesidentificados por la mayoría de los maestrosy clínicos: auditivo, verbal o cinestésico,pero con frecuencia muestran muchas másvariantes y combinaciones de estos estilosde aprendizaje. Tal como con un niño, elclínico debe discernir cuál es el estilo deaprendizaje del padre y brindar múltiplesmétodos y oportunidades para adquirirhabilidades. Asimismo, hay tres elementosfundamentales del proceso de aprendizajedel adulto que los clínicos deben tenerpresentes. Para que los adultos aprendanmejor, necesitan saber el porqué, el cómoy el dónde de lo que están aprendiendo.Considere los siguientes factores:ʶʶPor qué: debido a sus experiencias devida y sus capacidades de resolución deproblemas, el adulto necesita comprenderlos principios y las razones subyacentesde por qué están haciendo algo,y por qué lo están haciendo de determinadamanera o en determinado orden.ʶʶʶʶCómo: independientemente de lasdiferencias de estilo de aprendizaje,la mayoría de los adultos adquierehabilidades mediante la experiencia, eldesempeño analizado desde un puntode vista crítico (es decir, evaluado por suentrenador) y la afirmación.Dónde: el alumno adulto necesitaentender y ser capaz de tener en mentecon facilidad hacia dónde apunta latarea: el objetivo de la “visión global”para la actividad.Al trabajar con alumnos adultos, losprofesionales deben reconocer las señalesque indican cuando falta uno o más de loselementos mencionados. Durante las conversaciones,el padre puede afirmar con lacabeza con mucha frecuencia, demasiados“síes y ajáes” son un indicador común. Aveces, es simplemente una mirada luminosao inquisitiva.Al principio los adultos pueden seralumnos complicados, sin embargo, unavez que adquieren el dominio de su rol enla terapia de su hijo y entienden el porqué,el cómo y el dónde del proceso, el clínicopuede retraerse y trasladarse a la posiciónde entrenador/capacitador.VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 29

Enseñar a adultos incluye darles unmarco léxico y frases a emplear, como asítambién resultados específicos a esperar very escuchar de su hijo en la sesión de terapiao en el hogar. También es útil que el profesionalse asegure de que el padre demuestreque entiende los conceptos mediante suexpresión oral y desempeño durante lasesión antes de presentar habilidades oconceptos adicionales. Mientras pasa eltiempo, el clínico asume más el papel deentrenador durante la sesión mientras queel padre lidera la facilitación del lenguaje yaprendizaje del niño.EntornoPrácticaNIÑOPADRES MaestroLecciónEl método SuzukiLos conceptos de responsabilidad de lospadres, estímulo, repetición y prácticaguiada es el centro de la práctica auditivoverbal.Al reflexionar sobre estos principiosde la práctica auditivo-verbal, es convenienteexaminar las metodologías tan respetadasy ampliamente utilizadas de otrasdisciplinas. Considere lo siguiente:ʶʶTodo niño/a puede aprenderʶʶLa capacidad se desarrolla tempranoʶʶEl ambiente alimenta el crecimientoFigura 1. Triángulo de Suzuki. Adaptado de la Suzuki Association of Americas (1998).ʶʶLos niños aprenden de otros niñosʶʶEl éxito fomenta el éxitoʶʶLa participación de los padres es críticaʶʶEl estímulo es esencialLa lista anterior con facilidad sepuede confundir con un suplemento a losprincipios de la práctica auditivo-verbalde LSLS. Sin embargo, en realidad esuna lista de los conceptos claves de unmétodo reconocido a nivel internacionalde enseñanza de la música conocido comoel enfoque de la lengua materna o métodoSuzuki (Suzuki, 1983).En pocas palabras, la pedagogía delmétodo Suzuki aplica los principios básicosde adquisición del lenguaje al aprendizajede música, en esencia, el lenguaje dela música. Irónicamente, comenzó casi enel mismo momento en que el campo de lapatología del habla y del lenguaje desa-Principios de escucha y oralidad del lenguajeOrientar y entrenar a los padres para ayudar a sushijos a integrar la escucha y oralidad del lenguaje entodos los aspectos de la vida del niño.Orientar y entrenar a los padres para crear ambientesque soporten la escucha para la adquisición del lenguajehablado en todas las actividades diarias del niño.Guiar y entrenar a los padres para que ayuden a suhijo a autocontrolar el idioma hablado mediante laescucha.Orientar y entrenar a los padres para que se conviertanen los facilitadores principales del desarrollo de laescucha y oralidad del lenguaje de su hijo medianteuna participación activa y sistemática en la terapiaauditivo-verbal individualizada.Orientar y entrenar a los padres a usar patrones dedesarrollo natural de la audición, del habla, del lenguaje,de cognición y comunicación.Promover la educación en las escuelas comunes conlos pares que tienen audición normal y con serviciosapropiados a partir de la infancia temprana.Principios fundamental del método Suzuki(Suzuki, 1983)ESCUCHA: los niños escuchan grabaciones en el hogary observan a otros alumnos y padres tocar el instrumentodurante las lecciones y clases.DOMINIO: el maestro guía al alumno hacia una exactitudincrementada, y le da al padre lineamientos claros sobrecómo practicar en el hogar.RECONOCIMIENTO: escuchar música todos los días esimportante, especialmente escuchar obras del repertorio deSuzuki, para que el niño las conozca inmediatamente.REPETICIÓN: la repetición constante es fundamental paraaprender a tocar un instrumento. El niño no aprende unapalabra ni una obra musical y luego la desecha. La agrega asu vocabulario o repertorio y gradualmente la utiliza de nuevasmaneras más sofisticadas.REPERTORIO GRADUADO: los niños no hacen ejercicios depráctica para aprender a hablar, pero usan el lenguaje parasu propósito natural de comunicación y auto-expresión. Lasobras del repertorio Suzuki están diseñadas para presentarproblemas técnicos a aprender en el contexto de la músicamás que mediante ásperos ejercicios técnicos.APRENDIZAJE CON OTROS NIÑOS: además de las leccionesprivadas, los niños participan en lecciones y tocan engrupo donde aprenden de sus pares y se motivan entre sí.30 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

Anne Flemingrrollo sus propios enfoques terapéuticos. Aprincipios de la década de 1940, un talentosoviolinista japonés, Shin’ichi Suzuki,estaba estudiando violín en Alemania ehizo una simple pero astuta observación deque los niños pequeños aprendían a hablaralemán con fluidez, del mismo modo quetodos los niños del mundo absorbían suidioma natal al escuchar a los adultos yniños en su ambiente natural.Este modelo pedagógico se cimentabaen que con escucha enfocada, repetición,práctica guiada, reconocimiento y desempeño,el niño puede asimilar su “lenguamaterna” con un éxito del 100%; peroabarcaba mucho más que solo enseñarle aniños a tocar un instrumento musical conéxito. Suzuki reconoció la contribuciónúnica que el lenguaje de la música podíahacer al proceso de aprendizaje y, en unsentido más amplio, a la vida del niño.A diferencia de las lecciones maestroalumno,la base de la enseñanza se basaen lo que los maestros del método llamanTriángulo de Suzuki, que es un modelo derelación entre el niño, el padre y el maestroque enfatiza la participación de los padrescomo ilustra la Figura 1. En realidad, elpadre con frecuencia aprende a tocar elinstrumento antes o junto con su hijo,para que el padre entienda qué se esperaque haga el niño.Mientras que orientar y entrenar a lospadres es fundamental para la prácticaauditivo-verbal, fue – y sigue siendo– un modelo conceptual revolucionarioy a veces controversial entre los educadoresmusicales. Considere las similitudesfilosóficas entre varios de los principios delas dos metodologías:Hacer la analogía entre el lenguajemusical y el lenguaje oral es informativo yvale la pena. Usar la luz del método Suzukide enseñanza musical ayuda a revelar lainesperada comunidad tanto del aprendizajedel adulto como del desarrollo delniño. Ambos enfoques subrayan la necesidadde que los padres participen en el éxitoulterior del niño.La comparación también ilumina elpotencial expandido del aprendizaje y laaplicación de estos conceptos. Tal como lamaestra de música manda a sus alumnosy a los padres al hogar con orientación einstrucciones, el LSLS profesional debehacer lo mismo. Esto está ocurriendocon las familias atendidas mediante elLaboratorio de Telepráctica y AprendizajeVirtual. Los padres están recibiendo entrenamientoy orientación de alto nivel queaseguran que su participación aumentaráen el desarrollo de la escucha, el habla yel lenguaje de su hijo. Los padres estánintegrando los objetivos de desarrollo yaprendizaje del lenguaje en las rutinas diariasde su hijo y en la comunidad. Y, lo quees aún más importante, es que los padresse están convirtiendo en los facilitadoresprincipales de su hijo – ¡eso es música paratodos los oídos!ReferenciasAG Bell Academy for Listening andSpoken Language (2012). Manualde certificación 2012. Disponible enwww.ListeningandSpokenLanguage.orgSuzuki Association of the Americas. (1998). SuzukiTwinkler. Recuperado el 1º de agosto de 2012de la Suzuki Association of the Americas:http://suzukiassociation.org/Suzuki, S. (1983). Alimentados por el amor:un enfoque clásico a la educación de talentos.(W. Suzuki, Trad.) Miami, FL, EE. UU: SuzukiMethod International Summy-Birchard.Laura L. Van AntwerpVOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 31

WHAT’s NEW in the KNOWLEdGE cENTErUpdate Your AG Bell Profileand Maximize Your InvolvementBy Elizabeth Reed-MartinezAs part of the launch ofthe Listening and SpokenLanguage Center, AG Bell ispleased to introduce a newdatabase, which stores and protects informationabout your AG Bell membership,transaction and donation history, and yourrole within the community.Your secure AG Bell profile offers anumber of new features! Once logged in,you can personalize your profile and setyour preferences:ʶʶUpdate your contact information tomaintain an accurate membershipdirectory listing and ensure yourpublications get sent to the correctmailing address;ʶʶʶʶʶʶSelect the e-communications you wishto receive from AG Bell, includingweekly e-newsletter, announcementsand notifications;Receive notices and updates from yourlocal chapter;View your payment transactions anddonation history and print receipts foryour records.You will need to login and update yourpassword to customize your new profile.Login InstructionsTo login to your profile, visit the Listeningand Spoken Language Knowledge Center(ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org) andclick on the ‘Login’ button in the right cornerof the page below the search field. Yourusername is your email address. If you cannotremember the email address on file withus, simply click the ‘Forgot your usernameor password?’ link under the passwordfield, call (202-337-5220), or emailinfo@agbell.org, and our staff will assist you.By updating your profile, you can connectmore fully with us and the community.Thank you in advance for updatingyour profile today!Connect wiTH members:Melanie Ribich, Noah’s momNoah is a typical 4 ½ year old boy in every respect [with bilateral cochlearimplants]. His progress has been remarkable. There are no limits to whatNoah will be able to do in his life. As Melanie was writing an article for AGBell, she recalls, “my little boy who is deaf came running in the room at topspeed, looked me in the eye, and said in the most perfect little voice: ‘I loveyou, Mommy.’”Wendy Kupfer, Ali’s mom“In January of 1977, our beautiful daughter Ali was born prematurely atJefferson Hospital in Philadelphia; 10 months later, our baby was diagnosedwith a severe to profound hearing loss and the doctors predicted that shewould “never” speak. Needless to say, that was devastating news![34 years ago] doctors at a very prominent hospital said [Ali] would neverspeak, today [she is] a remarkable and accomplished young woman, and isoften known as a ‘chatter-box.’”Ben Case, college student with hearing lossBen is a history major and is following a pre-med educational track. Heaspires to be an otolaryngologist. Ben loves being around people andcaring for them. He works in a research laboratory at the Kresge HearingResearch Institute in Ann Arbor, Mich., as an undergraduate lab assistant.Additionally, he is studying photography and enjoys ultimate Frisbee andtraveling in his free time.Jenna Voss, M.A., Ced, LSLS Cert. AVEdJenna Voss is a fellow with the National Leadership Consortium in SensoryDisabilities. Her research interests include early intervention and evidencebasedpractice in listening and spoken language programs. She is especiallyinterested in serving children and families living in poverty. Voss holdsteacher of the deaf and hard of hearing and early childhood/special educationcertifications; she is credentialed with the early intervention programsin Missouri and Illinois.Kate Reedy, Ryan’s mom“Our daughter, Ryan, is 5 months old. She has a bilateral profound hearingloss and is scheduled to receive her cochlear implants in the next fewmonths. Cochlear implants were a no-brainer for our daughter right fromthe start, and we look forward to the day she can not only hear, but shecan understand us when we say ‘I love you.’ For more information, you canalways check out my blog: www.ourreedyfamily.blogspot.com.”32 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

"With my cochlearimplant, I was ableto happily attendmainstream schools andsuccessfully achievemy own personal andcareer goals."HOLLY M. –Cochlear Nucleus ® Implant UserGrowing up with Cochlear!Holly received her Cochlear implant at four years old. One implantand five sound processor upgrades later, Holly continues to enjoy thebenefits from new technological advancements.Have it all!With the world’s most chosen,most trusted 1cochlear implant systemCochlear implants are covered by most insurance plans and may be covered by Medicaid.Request your free information packet from the Cochlear Concierge today.Click: Concierge@Cochlear.comChat: www.CochlearAmericas.com/SupportCall: 1 800 483 3123You should talk to your physician about who is a candidate for cochlear implantation, the associated risks and benefits, and CDCrecommendations for vaccination. Cochlear implantation is a surgical procedure, and carries with it the risks typical for surgery. Foradditional information please refer to the Nucleus Package Insert available at www.CochlearAmericas.com/NucleusIndicationsFUN1669 ISS1 SEP121. Data on file, March 2012©2012 Cochlear Limited. All rights reserved. Hear Now. And Always and othertrademarks and registered trademarks are the property of Cochlear Limited.Follow us on

tips for parENTsThings the Mother of a Child withHearing Loss Wishes People KnewBy Catherine Fries VaughnIdon’t like the word disability. I’drather use any other word that applies.I tell my 10-year-old that she is different.I tell her that we’re all different.I’m short. Some people are tall. Wecome in all colors, shapes and sizes. I tellmy child that she has a “physical challenge.”Most of us have some sort of physicalchallenge to address. Our daughter,Lily, has bilateral cookie bite hearing loss.She can hear, but she misses out on midrangefrequencies where speech occurs.Lily was adopted from GuanxiProvince in China. She was 15 months oldwhen we traveled to China to adopt herand, at the time, we did not realize thatshe had hearing loss. Despite all of ourresearch prior to adopting, my husbandand I were not aware that a hearing testshould be administered as soon as wereturned to the states. Although we tookLily to wonderful pediatricians, a hearingtest was not immediately performed.My husband and I would like to stressthat parents should have their children’shearing tested as soon as they return fromadopting in another country.Lily picked up English very quickly,but a couple of years later we realized shewas not always responding when spokento. Since our daughter had chroniccongestion and enlarged tonsils, thedoctors surmised that the tonsils might bepressing on the Eustachian tubes and causingloss of hearing. After a tonsillectomy,our daughter was not sick as much, but itbecame evident that she had permanenthearing loss. We turned to The Children’sHearing Institute in Manhattan for help.Lily was diagnosed at age 4 and wearsbilateral hearing aids.The following are things that we wishpeople knew about hearing loss:Hearing loss affects the wholeperson. My husband and I stronglyrecommend a whole-child approach. TheChildren’s Hearing Institute offers thiskind of comprehensive mode of care. TheInstitute has helped us not only with audiology,but also with speech therapy as wellas assistance with Lily’s educational andemotional needs. My husband and I tryto teach our daughter not to focus on theloss, but we also realize the importance ofaccepting the loss, and even grieving thatloss, so that she can move forward andgrow into a proud woman who happens tohave hearing loss.My daughter hears, but she oftendoes not overhear. I wish that peoplecould really understand the informationthat is gleaned from overhearing otherstalk. We could then put ourselves in theshoes of people with hearing loss andimagine what it would be like for them.Sometimes people address Lily, and shedoesn’t answer them. People think she isignoring them, and I know that she simplydidn’t hear them.Speaking in a loud voice doesn’talways help. Well-meaning people are notalways aware that speaking louder is nothelpful, but looking directly at someonewho is deaf or hard of hearing may be betterfor communication. It hurts my daughter’sears when someone raises their voice.Help children find their voice. Lilyhas been working on finding her ownvoice, and she has been speaking up morewhen she doesn’t understand people. It’sa process. I advocate for my daughter, butmore importantly, I am teaching her toadvocate for herself.When her hearing loss was first diagnosed,Lily was reluctant to let teachersand friends know that she didn’t hearLily Vaughn at the 2011 Walk4Hearing in NewYork Citythem. As time goes by, she feels more comfortablesaying “I didn’t hear you,” ratherthan “What?” or “Huh?”. This helps othersrealize that Lily was paying attention tothem, but she didn’t hear them.In previous years, Lily was getting goodgrades, but she was often confused abouther assignments. Even though the assignmentwas written on the board, I believeLily was not hearing the details. This year,Lily speaks up more when she doesn’tunderstand an assignment. She tells momand dad when she is having a problem, orshe calls a friend for clarification. I havestarted suggesting to Lily’s teachers to seather close to the assignment board so thatshe can hear any explanation the teachermight give.Lily studies Kung Fu at EdgewaterKung Fu in New Jersey. She is part of aleadership training program taught byGeoff Vaughn34 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

Sifu Karl Romain. In addition to theirphysical training, the children learn toovercome fear of speaking in front of agroup. Recently, Lily was asked to read abrief essay in front of her class and take afew questions. Without looking to me forhelp, Lily was able to politely let the otherchildren know when she couldn’t heartheir question, and she moved right on. Iwas very happy to see this growth in Lily’sconfidence. Lily has been fortunate to finda sport that she feels she can excel at underthe guidance of caring instructors. Thishas helped her to gain confidence and toadvocate for herself.Networking with parents can bea great comfort. Meeting parents ofother children with hearing loss can be agreat comfort for both parent and child.Along the way, Lily has made friendswith another child who also has bilateralhearing loss. Their friendship has helped tosustain them as they navigate this tenderage in their lives. They share a special bondbecause they can relate to what the otherone is going through. They laugh. Theytalk. They are just kids together. Hearingloss is not the focus of their conversations.Lively discussions of Harry Potter are theorder of the day.Mainstream educators need to betrained and informed about childrenwho are deaf and hard of hearing.I would like to see more seminars andprograms that would help teachers gainknowledge about the particular journey ofour children in the classroom. I would alsolike to see substitute teachers receive moretraining in hearing loss and other types ofdisabilities so that children don’t lose valuableclass time when their regular teacheris absent. I don’t know how to implementthese programs in the school system, butthis is on my wish list.Know the law and remain calm. Irecommend familiarizing yourself with theIndividuals with Disabilities EducationAct (IDEA). When you are knowledgeableabout the law and your parental rights,you will be able to advocate for yourchild. When discussing an IndividualizedEducation Program (IEP) for your child,take your time to examine it carefully, askquestions, and request meetings/teacherconferences in order to understand it fully.As parents, it is easy to become emotionalabout matters that concern yourchild. My husband and I have found thatit is important to remain calm in meetings.We realize that our administrators,teachers and other professionals have ourchild’s best interest at heart too, and weknow that working together as a team is inthe best interest of our child.Support from professionals who aredeaf or hard of hearing. My daughterwould like to see professionals who are deafand hard of hearing in the field of audiologyor who specialize in disorders of the ear,nose and throat. She feels that these professionalscan relate to what other patientswith hearing loss are going through. Mydaughter raises a valid point and she wouldlike to make her thoughts known.I wish that my daughter were writingthis herself. I hope that she will continueto confidently speak up for herself, and beproud of all that she is.A Listening and Spoken Language SchoolServices and Programs:• Newborn Hearing Evaluation Center• Parent-Infant Cottage• Early Childhood and Elementary Programs• Outdoor and Discovery classrooms• Music and Art classrooms• Speech Language Pathology• Audiology Center with five testing booths• Cochlear Implant Programming• Placement site for Graduate Program inDeaf Education and Hearing Sciencethough UTHSCSASunshine Cottage provides the very best earlyidentification and intervention services for infants andchildren with hearing loss.The day-school program offers a comprehensiveeducational environment for children, preschoolthrough fifth grade, with state-of-the-art technologytaught by master-level educators.(210) 824-0579603 E. Hildebrand Ave.San Antonio, Texas 78212www.sunshinecottage.orgSunshine Cottage, a listening and spoken language school, is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Council on Accreditation and School Improvement,OPTIONschools International, and is a Texas Education Agency approved non-public school. We accept students of any race, color, national or ethnic origin.New 2012 BW ad.indd 19/14/2012 2:51:27 PMVOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 35

Hear Our VoicesReflections on Growing up withBilateral Cochlear ImplantsBy Regan BradyIwas born into a silent world.My profound bilateral hearingloss went undetectedfor the first nine months ofmy life. I received my first pairof high-powered hearing aids atthe age of one. My parents haddecided early on that the bestthing to do for me would be tocultivate the remaining hearingthat I had using the auditory-verbalapproach to teach me listeningand spoken language. AlthoughI was doing well with my hearingaids, my parents and the professionalsworking with me thoughtthat I could do even better if I hadbetter access to sound throughthe use of cochlear implants. Ireceived my first cochlear implantwhen I was 20 months old. Atthat time, it was common practiceto only implant one ear and savethe other for future technology.Years later, my parents felt thatwaiting any longer would diminishany chances of my left ear everresponding well to stimulation,so I received my second implantthe summer after second grade. Iam happy to say that I have doneextremely well with my cochlearimplants, and I simply cannotimagine my life without them!I have attended mainstream schools mywhole life, and I am currently in eighthgrade. I have excelled academically andhave held high honor status for all fouryears of middle school. I participate inmany extracurricular activities such asJunior Model United Nations, Mock Trialand school musicals. Recently, I was chosenas one of 15 recipients of the Caroline D.Regan BradyBradley Scholarship, a prestigious nationalscholarship awarded by the Institute forEducational Advancement. I enjoy playingsports and have served as the captain formany of my school teams including volleyball,swimming and lacrosse. Currently,I am serving as class president. None of myfriends are deaf or hard of hearing, but theyall accept my cochlear implants. Everyoneknows that my hearing loss is just one partof who I am.I realize that I am very successfulwith my implants, whichis why I want to share my storywith others. A few years ago, Iwrote a book titled “Listening tothe Waves,” which is about mylife growing up with cochlearimplants. My book has advicefor implant users and parents,anecdotes about living withhearing loss, experiences I havehad with my cochlear implants,and some funny stories. Themain purpose of the book is toshow parents who are thinkingabout an implant for theirchild that their child can leada successful, normal life withcochlear implants. I have hadthe opportunity to travel topromote my book and havemet with so many great familiesat AG Bell conventions acrossthe country. I enjoy beinga mentor for the AdvancedBionics Corporation and meetingwith families consideringcochlear implantation. I alsomaintain a website www.listeningtothewaves.comto shareinformation with others abouthearing loss.I feel that it is important to sharemy story with others, and I enjoy teachingfamilies about hearing loss and thepower of cochlear implants. I hope that byproviding unbiased information to othersI can help a parent make an educated decisionfor their child’s future. Most importantly,I want to give parents hope anda sense that everything will be just fine!Hearing is just a small part of who we are.Dream big!Corey Brady36 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

AG BellListeningand SpokenLanguageSymposiumDelivering QualityServices to FamiliesHIGHLIGHTS:HigHligHts:• General sessions to inspire and enlighten your work with families• Seven pre-symposium workshops offering in-depth knowledge on current trends• Learn about products, programs, and technologies to support families and children• Workshop sessions that will provide evidence-based strategies for intervention• Explore Los Angeles, a city known for its culture, art, and numerous attractions!SympoSIum symposium attendees aTTendeeS will: wILL:• Learn from the leaders in the field• Enrich your skills with practical strategies that can be implemented immediately• Get new ideas for effectively serving diverse children and families• Network and exchange ideas with peers during interactive sessions• Earn up to 18 hours of continuing education from the AG Bell Academy,AAA and ASHAVisit ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org today to registerHearing and HearingTecHnologyaudiTory FuncTioningSpoken languagecommunicaTioncHild developmenTparenT guidance,educaTion, andSupporTSTraTegieS ForliSTening andSpoken languagedevelopmenTHiSTory, pHiloSopHy, &proFeSSional iSSueSeducaTion2013emergenT liTeracyJULY 18-20, 2013Omni Los Angeles Hotelat California Plaza

DIRECTORY of ServicesDirectory of ServicesThe Alexander Graham Bell Associationfor the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is notresponsible for verifying the credentials ofthe service providers below. Listings do notconstitute endorsements of establishmentsor individuals, nor do they guarantee quality.• CaliforniaAuditory-Verbal Services, 10623Emerson Bend, Tustin, CA 92782. 714-573-2143 (voice) - KarenatAVS@aol.com (email).Karen Rothwell-Vivian, M.S.Ed., M.A., CCC-A,LSLS Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist(LSLS Cert.AVT). Auditory-Verbal Therapyand audiological consultation for childrenwith hearing loss from infancy. Expertisewith hearing aids, cochlear implants, FMsystems, and mainstreaming support. AuditoryRehabilitation both pre-lingual and postlingualhearing loss for children and adults.Children’s Choice for Hearing andTalking, CCHAT Center – Sacramento,11100 Coloma Road, Rancho Cordova, Ca 95670• 916-361-7290 (voice). Laura Turner, Principal.An auditory/oral day school educating childrenand their families from birth through earlyelementary grades. Other programs include adultcochlear implant support, parent-infant program,on-site audiological services and mainstreamingsupport services. The school is staffed withcredentialed teachers, licensed speech-languagepathologists and a licensed audiologist.Echo Center/Echo Horizon School,3430 McManus Avenue, Culver City, CA 90232• 310-838-2442 (voice) • 310-838-0479 (fax)• 310-202-7201 (tty) • vishida@echohorizon.org (email) • www.echohorizon.org (website)• Vicki Ishida, Echo Center Director. Privateelementary school incorporating an auditory/oralmainstream program for students who are deafor hard of hearing. Daily support provided bycredentialed DHH teachers in speech, language,auditory skills and academic follow-up.HEAR Center, 301 East Del Mar Blvd.,Pasadena, CA 91101 • 626-796-2016 (voice)• 626-796-2320 (fax) • Specializing inaudiological services for all ages. Auditory-Verbal individual therapy, birth to 21 years.HEAR to Talk, 547 North June Street, LosAngeles, CA 90004 • 323-464-3040 (voice) •Sylvia@hear2talk.com (e-mail) • www.hear2talk.com • Sylvia Rotfleisch, M.Sc.A., CED, CCC,Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist®, LSLSCert. AVT, Licensed Audiologist, CaliforniaNPA Certified. Trained by Dr. Ling. Extensiveexpertise with cochlear implants and hearing aids.John Tracy Clinic, 806 West AdamsBoulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007 · 213-748-5481 (voice) · 800-522-4582 · PALS@JTC.org ·www.jtc.org & www.youtube.com/johntracyclinic.Early detection, school readiness and parentempowerment since 1942. Worldwide ParentDistance Education and onsite comprehensiveaudiological, counseling and educationalservices for families with children ages birth-5years old. Intensive Summer Sessions (childrenages 2-5 and parents), with sibling program.Online and on-campus options for an accreditedMaster’s and Credential in Deaf Education.Listen and Learn, 4340 Stevens CreekBlvd., Suite 107, San Jose, CA 95129 • 408-345-4949 • Marsha A. Haines, M.A., CED, Cert.AVT, and Sandra Hamaguchi Hocker, M.A.,CED • Auditory-verbal therapy for the childand family from infancy. Services also includeaural habilitation for older students and adultswith cochlear implants. Extensive experienceand expertise with cochlear implants, single andbilateral. Mainstream support services, schoolconsultation and assessment for children in theirneighborhood school. California NPA certified.No Limits Performing Arts Academyand Educational Center, 9801Washington Boulevard, 2nd Fl, Culver City,CA 90232 – 310.280.0878, 800.948.7712• www.kidswithnolimits.org. • Providesfree speech, language, literacy and supportservices to dhh children and their familiesbetween the ages of 3 and 18 through its NoLimits Educational Center. Additionally,No Limits offers a national performing artsprogram for schools and the community thatbuilds the self confidence and communicationskills of children with a hearing loss.Training and Advocacy Group (TAG)for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Childrenand Teens, Leah Ilan, Executive Director• 11693 San Vicente Blvd. #559, Los Angeles,CA 90049 • 310-339-7678 • tagkids@aol.com •www.tagkids.org. TAG provides exciting socialopportunities through community service,field trips, weekly meetings, college prep andpre-employment workshops, guest speakers andparent-only workshops. site in the community.Group meetings and events offered to oral D/HoHchildren in 5th grade through high school seniors.• ColoradoBill Daniels Center for Children’sHearing, Children’s Hospital Colorado,Department of Audiology, SpeechPathology and Learning Services,13123 East 16th Avenue, B030 Aurora, CO80045 • www.childrenscolorado.org (website)• 720-777-6531 (voice) • 720-777-6886 (TTY)• BillDanielsCenter@childrenscolorado.org(email). We provide comprehensive audiology,speech-language and pediatric otolaryngologyservices for children who are deaf or hard ofhearing (ages birth through 21 years). Ourpediatric team specializes in family-centeredcare and includes pediatric otolaryngologists,audiologists, speech-language pathologists, anda deaf educator, family consultant and clinicalsocial worker. Therapy services include individual,group and parent support designed to meet eachfamily’s goals for their child’s development.We also provide advanced technology hearingaid fitting and cochlear implant services.Rosie’s Ranch: Ride! Listen! Speak!303-257-5943 or 720-851-0927 •www.rosiesranch.com • RosiesRanch@comcast.net • Our mission: To provide a family centeredatmosphere where children with deafness or orallanguage challenges will expand their listening,verbal and reading skills by engaging in activitieswith horses, under the guidance of a highlytrained and qualified staff. Our programs: Momand Tot: A 90-minute parent and tot group ponyactivity; ages 1-5. Pony Camp: Daily ridingand camp activities; age 6-13. Saturday RidingClub: For riders of all skill levels; ages 6-16.Out of state families welcome to experienceranch life; accommodations will be arranged!• ConnecticutCREC Soundbridge, 123 Progress Drive,Wethersfield, CT 06109 • 860- 529-4260 (voice/TTY) • 860-257-8500 (fax) • www.crec.org/soundbridge (website). Dr. Elizabeth B. Cole,Program Director. Comprehensive audiologicaland instructional services, birth through postsecondary,public school settings. Focus onproviding cutting-edge technology for optimalauditory access and listening in educationalsettings and at home, development of spokenlanguage, development of self advocacy – all tosupport each individual’s realization of social,academic and vocational potential. Birth toThree, auditory-verbal therapy, integrated preschool,intensive day program, direct educational andconsulting services in schools, educationalaudiology support services in all settings,cochlear implant mapping and habilitation,diagnostic assessments, and summer programs.38 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

DIRECTORY of ServicesNew England Center for HearingRehabilitation (NECHEAR), 354Hartford Turnpike, Hampton, CT 06247 •860-455-1404 (voice) • 860-455-1396 (fax) •Diane Brackett. Serving infants, children andadults with all degrees of hearing loss. Speech,language, listening evaluation for children usinghearing aids and cochlear implants. Auditory-Verbal therapy; Cochlear implant candidacyevaluation, pre- and post-rehabilitation, andcreative individualized mapping. Post-implantrehabilitation for adults with cochlear implants,specializing in prelingual onset. Mainstreamschool support, including onsite consultationwith educational team, rehabilitation planningand classroom observation. Comprehensiveaudiological evaluation, amplification validationand classroom listening system assessment.• FloridaClarke Schools for Hearing andSpeech/Jacksonville, 9803 Old St.Augustine Road, Suite 7, Jacksonville, FL32257 • 904-880-9001(voice/relay). info@clarkeschools.org • www.clarkeschools.org.Alisa Demico, MS, CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert AVT,and Cynthia Robinson, M.Ed., CED, LSLSCert. AVEd, Co-Directors. A member of theOptions School network, Clarke Schools forHearing and Speech provides children who aredeaf and hard of hearing with the listening,learning and spoken language skills they needto succeed. Comprehensive listening and spokenlanguage programs prepare students for success inmainstream schools.Services include early intervention, toddler,preschool, pre-K, kindergarten, parent support,cochlear implant habilitation, and mainstreamsupport. Summer Listening and Spoken languageProgram provides additional spoken languagetherapy for toddler and preschool-aged children.Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech haslocations in Boston, Bryn Mawr, Jacksonville,New York City, Northampton and Philadelphia.University of Miami Debbie School,Auditory Oral Education Program,1601 Northwest 12th Avenue, Miami, Florida33136 • 305-243-6961 (voice) • Kathleen C.Vergara, Director, Debbie Institute (kvergara@med.miami.edu) and Lynn W. Miskiel, Directorof Ancillary Services (lmiskiel@med.miami.edu). Our auditory-oral education programprovides early intervention and primaryeducation services in a nurturing, inclusivelistening and spoken language environment.Classrooms include early preschool, preschool,kindergarten and primary. Services include earlyintervention, family education, individualizedsmall group instruction, audiology and speechlanguagepathology. Staff consists of credentialedteachers, a credentialed service coordinator,licensed therapists and a licensed audiologist.Join the Summer Fun!Family CampMay 31st - June 2ndMalibu, CaliforniaRegister at www.houseresearch.org orEmail info@houseresearch.orgVOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 39

DIRECTORY of Services• GeorgiaAtlanta Speech School – KatherineHamm Center, 3160 Northside Parkway,NW Atlanta, GA 30327 • 404-233-5332 ext.3119 (voice/TTY) • 404-266-2175 (fax) • scarr@atlspsch.org (email) • www.atlantaspeechschool.org (website). A Listening and Spoken Languageprogram serving children who are deaf or hardof hearing from infancy to early elementaryschool age. Children receive language-richlessons and highly individualized literacyinstruction in a nurturing environment.Teachers and staff work closely with parentsto instill the knowledge and confidencechildren need to reach their full potential.Early intervention programs, audiologicalsupport services, auditory-verbal therapy,mainstreaming opportunities and independenteducation evaluations. Established in 1938.Auditory-Verbal Center, Inc – Atlanta,1901 Century Blvd. Suite 20, Atlanta Georgia30345 • (voice) 404-633-8911 • (fax) 404-633-6403 • (email) listen@avchears.org • (website)www.avchears.org. Auditory-Verbal Center– Macon, 2720 Sheraton Drive, Suite D-140,Macon, Georgia 31204 • (voice) 478-741-0019 •(fax) 478-742-1308 • (email) listen@avchears.org• (website) www.avchears.org. A comprehensiveauditory-verbal program for children who aredeaf or hard of hearing and their families. Alsoprovide audiological services for birth to geriatric.Provide adult cochlear implant rehabilitation.• IllinoisChild’s Voice School, 180 Hansen Court,Wood Dale, IL 60191 • (630) 595-8200 (voice)• (630) 595-8282 (fax) • info@childsvoice.org(email) • www.childsvoice.org (website). MicheleWilkins, Ed.D., LSLS Cert. AVEd., ExecutiveDirector. A Listening and Spoken Languageprogram for children birth to age 8. Cochlearimplant (re) habilitation, audiology services andmainstream support services provided. Earlyintervention for birth to age three with parentinfantand toddler classes and home basedservices offered in Wood Dale and Chicago areas.Parent Support/Education classes provided.Child’s Voice is a Certified Moog Program.The University of Chicago, ComerChildren’s Hospital Pediatric HearingLoss and Cochlear Implant Center,5841 S. Maryland Avenue, DCAM 4H, Chicago,IL 60637 • 773-702-8182. Program Director, SallyTannenbaum, M.Ed., CED, LSLS Cert. AVT,stannenbaum@surgery.bsd.uchicago.edu. Dr.Dana Suskind, dsuskind@surgery.bsd.uchicago.edu. Website: www.uchicagokidshospital.org/cochlear. The center provides full medical andaudiological services for infants, children andadults. Comprehensive services for childrenwith hearing loss and their families are providedfrom time of diagnosis through schools years.Services include otolaryngology, audiologyservices including cochlear implants and loanerhearing aids, and listen and spoken languagetherapy. Mentoring in Listening and SpokenLanguage, Auditory-Verbal therapy is available forprofessionals. In addition, the Center is activelyinvolved in research projects including developingan evidenced-based, listening and spokenlanguage curriculum called Project ASPIRE.• IndianaSt. Joseph Institute for the Deaf– Indianapolis. 9192 Waldemar Road,Indianapolis, IN 46268 • (317) 471-8560 (voice) •(317) 471-8627 (fax) • www.sjid.org; touellette@sjid.org (email) • Teri Ouellette, M.S. Ed., LSLSCert AVEd, Director. St. Joseph Institute for theDeaf – Indianapolis, a campus of the St. JosephInstitute system, serves children with hearing loss,birth to age six. Listening and Spoken Languageprograms include early intervention, toddler andpreschool classes, cochlear implant rehabilitation,mainstream therapy and consultation anddaily speech therapy. Challenging speech,academic programs and personal developmentare offered in a nurturing environment. (SeeMissouri for other campus information)• MarylandThe Hearing and Speech Agency’sAuditory/Oral Program: Little Ears,Big Voices, 5900 Metro Drive, Baltimore,MD 21215 • (voice) 410-318-6780 • (relay) 711• (fax) 410-318-6759 • Email: hasa@hasa.org •Website: www.hasa.org • Jill Berie, EducationalDirector; Olga Polites, Clinical Director; ErinMedley, Teacher of the Deaf. Auditory/Oraleducation and therapy program for infants andyoung children who are deaf or hard of hearing.Early intervention services are available forchildren birth to age 3 and a preschool programfor children ages 3 through 5. Cheerful, spacious,state-of-the-art classrooms located in GatewaySchool are approved by the Maryland StateDepartment of Education. Services includeonsite audiology, speech-language therapy,family education and support. Applications areaccepted year-round. Financial aid available.• MassachusettsClarke Schools for Hearing andSpeech/Boston, 1 Whitman Road, Canton,MA 02021 • 781-821-3499 (voice) • 781-821-3904 (tty) • info@clarkeschools.org • www.clarkeschools.org. Barbara Hecht, Ph.D., Director.A member of the Option Schools network,Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech provideschildren who are deaf and hard of hearing withthe listening, learning and spoken language skillsthey need to succeed. Comprehensive listeningand spoken language programs prepare studentsfor success in mainstream schools.Services include early intervention, preschool,kindergarten, speech and language services, parentsupport, cochlear implant habilitation, and anextensive mainstream services program (itinerantand consulting). Children and families come toour campus from throughout Eastern and CentralMassachusetts, Cape Cod, Rhode Island, Maineand New Hampshire for services.Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech haslocations in Boston, Bryn Mawr, Jacksonville,New York City, Northampton and Philadelphia.Clarke Schools for Hearing andSpeech/Northampton, 47 Round HillRoad, Northampton, MA 01060 • 413-584-3450 (voice/tty). info@clarkeschools.org • www.clarkeschools.org. Bill Corwin, President. Amember of the Option Schools network, ClarkeSchools for Hearing and Speech provides childrenwho are deaf and hard of hearing with thelistening, learning and spoken language skills theyneed to succeed. Comprehensive listening andspoken language programs prepare students forsuccess in mainstream schools.Services include early intervention, preschool,day school through 8th grade, cochlear implantassessment, summer programs, mainstreamservices (itinerant and consulting), evaluations forinfants through high school students, audiologicalservices, and a graduate degree program in teachereducation.Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech haslocations in Boston, Bryn Mawr, Jacksonville,New York City, Northampton and Philadelphia.40 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

RDIRECTORY of Services• MinnesotaNortheast Metro #916 Auditory/Oral Program, 1111 S. Holcombe Street,Stillwater MN 55082 • 651-351-4036 • auditory.oral@nemetro.k12.mn.us (email). The purpose ofNortheast Metro 916’s Auditory/Oral Programis to provide a listening and spoken languageeducation to children who are deaf or hard ofhearing. Services strive to instill and developreceptive (listening) and expressive (speaking)English language skills within each student.Well-trained specialists carry the principles of thisprogram forward using supportive, necessary andrecognized curriculum. The program’s philosophyis that children who are deaf or hard of hearingcan learn successfully within a typical classroomenvironment with peers who have typical hearing.This can be achieved when they are identified atan early age, receive appropriate amplification,and participate in an spoken language-specificearly intervention program. Referrals are throughthe local school district in which the family lives.• MississippiDuBard School for LanguageDisorders, The University of SouthernMississippi, 118 College Drive #5215,Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001 • 601-266-5223(voice) • dubard@usm.edu (email) • www.usm.edu/dubard • Maureen K. Martin, Ph.D.,CCC-SLP, CED, CALT, QI, Director. TheDuBard School for Language Disorders is aclinical division of the Department of Speech andHearing Sciences at The University of SouthernMississippi. The school serves children from birthto age 13 in its state-of-the-art facility. Workingcollaboratively with 20 public school districts, theschool specializes in coexisting language disorders,learning disabilities/dyslexia and speech disorders,such as apraxia, through its non-graded, 11-monthprogram. The DuBard Association Method®, anexpanded and refined version of The AssociationMethod, is the basis of the curriculum.Comprehensive evaluations, individual therapy,audiological services and professional developmentprograms also are available. AA/EOE/ADAI.Magnolia Speech School, Inc. 733Flag Chapel Road, Jackson, MS 39209 – 601-922-5530 (voice), 601-922-5534 (fax) – anne.sullivan@magnoliaspeechschool.org –AnneSullivan, M.Ed. Executive Director. MagnoliaSpeech School serves children with hearing lossand/or severe speech and language disorders.Listening and Spoken Language instruction/therapy is offered to students 0 to 12 in a homebasedearly intervention program (free of charge),in classroom settings and in the Hackett BowerClinic (full educational audiological services,speech pathology and occupational therapy).Assessments and outpatient therapy are alsooffered to the community through the Clinic.THEY can learn... YOU can teach them.A phonetic, multisensory approach to teachinglanguage and speech to children with• hearing loss,• language disorders,• severe speech disorders,• autism spectrum disorders and• dyslexia.RThe DuBard Association Method is a multisensoryteaching strategy for• educators of deaf and hard of hearing students,• K-2 teachers,• special education teachers,• reading specialists and• speech-language pathologists.Upcoming Course: Missing Links in Academics - April 11-12Contact us for information about on-site training.IMSLEC-accredited | Graduate credit and CEUs availablewww.usm.edu/dubard • 601.266.5223AA/EOE/ADAI UC 68088.6215 1.13VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 41

DIRECTORY of Services• MissouriCID – Central Institute for theDeaf, 825 S. Taylor Avenue, St. Louis, MO63110 314-977-0132 (voice) • 314-977-0037(tty) • lberkowitz@cid.edu (email) • www.cid.edu (website) Lynda Berkowitz/Barb Lanfer,co-principals. Child- and family-friendlylearning environment for children birth-12;exciting adapted curriculum incorporatingmainstream content; Family Center for infantsand toddlers; expert mainstream preparation inthe CID pre-k and primary programs; workshopsand educational tools for professionals; closeaffiliation with Washington University deafeducation and audiology graduate programs.The Moog Center for Deaf Education,12300 South Forty Drive, St. Louis, MO63141 • 314-692-7172 (voice) • 314-692-8544(fax) • www.moogcenter.org (website) • BetsyMoog Brooks, Executive Director, bbrooks@moogcenter.org. Services provided to childrenwho are deaf and hard-of-hearing from birthto 9 years of age. Programs include the FamilySchool (birth to 3), School (3-9 years), Audiology(including cochlear implant programming),mainstream services, educational evaluations,parent education and support groups, professionalworkshops, teacher education, and studentteacher placements. The Moog Center for DeafEducation is a Certified Moog Program.St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf –St. Louis, 1809 Clarkson Road, Chesterfield,MO 63017 • (636) 532-3211 (voice/TYY)• www.sjid.org • An independent, Catholicschool serving children with hearing loss birththrough the eighth grade. Listening and SpokenLanguage programs include early intervention,toddler and preschool classes, K-8th grade, ihearinternet therapy, audiology clinic, evaluations,mainstream consultancy, and summer school.Challenging speech, academic programs andpersonal development are offered in a supportiveenvironment. ISACS accredited. Approvedprivate agency of Missouri Department ofEducation and Illinois Department of Education.(See Indiana for other campus information)• New JerseySummit Speech School for theHearing-Impaired Child, F.M. KirbyCenter is an exclusively auditory-oral/auditoryverbalschool for deaf and hard of hearing childrenlocated at 705 Central Ave., New Providence,NJ 07974 • 908-508-0011 (voice/TTY) •908-508-0012 (fax) • info@summitspeech.org(email) • www.summitspeech.org (website) •Pamela Paskowitz, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, ExecutiveDirector. Programs include Early Intervention/Parent Infant (0-3 years), Preschool (3-5 years)and Itinerant Mainstream Support Services forchildren in their home districts. Speech andlanguage, OT and PT and family support/family education services available. Pediatricaudiological services are available for childrenbirth-21 and educational audiology andconsultation is available for school districts.• New YorkAnne Kearney, M.S., LSLS Cert. AVT,CCC-SLP, 401 Littleworth Lane, Sea Cliff,Long Island, NY 11579 • 516-671-9057 (Voice)• Kearney@optonline.net. Family-centeredauditory-verbal speech therapy for infants,children and adults with any level of hearing loss.Auditory/Oral School of New York,3321 Avenue “M”, Brooklyn, NY 11234 • 718-531-1800 (voice) • 718-421-5395 (fax) • info@auditoryoral.org (email). Pnina Bravmann,Program Director. An Auditory/Oral EarlyIntervention and Preschool Program servingchildren with hearing loss and their families.Programs include: Early Intervention (centerbasedand home-based), preschool, integratedpreschool classes with children with normalhearing, multidisciplinary evaluations, parentsupport, auditory-verbal therapy (individualspeech, language and listening therapy),complete audiological services, cochlear implant(re)habilitation, mainstreaming, ongoingsupport services following mainstreaming.Center for Hearing andCommunication, 50 Broadway, 6th Floor,New York, NY 10004 • 917 305-7700 (voice)• 917-305-7888 (TTY) • 917-305-7999 (fax) •www.CHChearing.org (website). Florida Office:2900 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite 3, Ft.Lauderdale, FL 33309 • 954-601-1930 (Voice)• 954-601-1938 (TTY) • 954-601-1399 (Fax). Aleading center for hearing and communicationservices for people of all ages who have a hearingloss as well as children with listening and learningchallenges. Our acclaimed services for childreninclude pediatric hearing evaluation and hearingaid fitting; auditory-oral therapy; and theevaluation and treatment of auditory processingdisorder (APD). Comprehensive services forall ages include hearing evaluation; hearing aidevaluation, fitting and sales; cochlear implanttraining; communication therapy; assistivetechnology consultation; tinnitus treatment,emotional health and wellness; and MobileHearing Test Unit. Visit www.CHChearing.org to access our vast library of informationabout hearing loss and hearing conservation.Clarke Schools for Hearing andSpeech/New York, 80 East End Avenue,New York, NY 10028 • 212-585-3500 (voice/tty). info@clarkeschools.org • www.clarkeschools.org. Meredith Berger, Director. A member ofthe Option Schools network, Clarke Schoolsfor Hearing and Speech provides children whoare deaf and hard of hearing with the listening,learning and spoken language skills they needto succeed. Comprehensive listening and spokenlanguage programs prepare students for success inmainstream schools.Clarke’s New York campus is located on theUpper East Side of Manhattan and serves childrenage birth-5 years old from New York City andWestchester County. Clarke is an approvedprovider of early intervention evaluations andservices, service coordination, and pre-schoolclasses (self-contained and integrated). There aretypically little or no out of pocket expenses forfamilies attending Clarke New York. Our expertstaff includes teachers of the deaf/hard of hearing,speech language pathologists, audiologists, socialworkers/service coordinators and occupational andphysical therapists.Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech haslocations in Boston, Bryn Mawr, Jacksonville,New York City, Northampton and Philadelphia.42 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

DIRECTORY of ServicesMill Neck Manor School for the Deaf,40 Frost Mill Road, Mill Neck, NY 11765 •(516) 922-4100 (voice). Mark R. ProwatzkePh.D., Executive Director. State-supported schoolmaintains Infant Toddler Program with focuson parent education and family support thatincludes listening and spoken language trainingby a speech therapist and TOD. Audiologicalservices onsite. Auditory-verbal preschool andkindergarten (ages 3-6) program serves studentswho are deaf or hard of hearing alongside peerswith typical hearing. Curriculum addresses NYSstandards as it promotes language developmentthrough listening in a less restrictive setting.Full time TOD, along with music, art, library,audiological services and therapies that includeindividual and group speech, occupational,physical and family supports are available onsite.Certified Auditory Verbal Educators are on staff.Rochester School for the Deaf,1545 St. Paul Street, Rochester, NY 14621 •585-544-1240 (voice/TTY) • 866-283-8810(videophone) • info@RSDeaf.org • www.RSDeaf.org • Harold Mowl, Jr., Ph.D., Superintendent/CEO. Serving Western and Central New YorkState, Rochester School for the Deaf (RSD) is aninclusive, bilingual school where children whoare deaf and hard of hearing and their familiesthrive. Established in 1876, RSD goes above andbeyond all expectations to provide quality Pre-Kthrough 12th grade academic programs, servicesand resources to ensure a satisfying and successfulschool experience for children with hearing loss.The Children’s Hearing Institute,380 Second Avenue at 22nd Street, 9th floor,New York, NY 10010 • 646-438-7819 (voice).Educational Outreach Program – providescontinuing education courses for professionalsto maintain certification, with accreditationby American Speech-Language-HearingAssociation (ASHA), American Academy ofAudiology (AAA), and The AG Bell Academyfor Listening and Spoken Language. Freeparent and family programs for children withhearing loss. CHI’s mission is to achieve thebest possible outcome for children with hearingloss by caring for their clinical needs, educatingthe professionals that work with them, andproviding their parents with the pertinentinformation needed for in-home success.VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 43

DIRECTORY of Services• North CarolinaBEGINNINGS For Parents of ChildrenWho Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, Inc.,302 Jefferson Street, Suite 110, PO Box 17646,Raleigh, NC 27605, 919-715-4092 (voice) – 919-715-4093 (fax) – Raleigh@ncbegin.org (email).Joni Alberg, Executive Director. BEGINNINGSprovides emotional support, unbiasedinformation, and technical assistance to parentsof children who are deaf or hard of hearing, deafparents with hearing children, and professionalsserving those families. BEGINNINGS assistsparents of children from birth through age 21by providing information and support that willempower them as informed decision makers,helping them access the services they need fortheir child, and promoting the importanceof early intervention and other educationalprograms. BEGINNINGS believes that givenaccurate, objective information about hearing loss,parents can make sound decisions for their childabout educational placement, communicationmethodology, and related service needs.CASTLE – Center for Acquisition ofSpoken Language Through ListeningEnrichment, 5501 Fortunes Ridge Drive,Suite A, Chapel Hill, NC 27713 • 919-419-1428(voice) • www.med.unc.edu/earandhearing/castle (website) • CASTLE is a part of the UNCPediatric Cochlear Implant Team. Our mission isto provide a quality listening & spoken languageprogram for children with hearing loss; empowerparents as primary teachers and advocates; andtrain and coach specialists in listening and spokenlanguage. We offer toddler classes, preschoollanguage groups, auditory-verbal parent sessionsand distance therapy through UNC REACH. Ahands-on training program for hearing-relatedprofessionals/university students is also available.• OklahomaHearts for Hearing, 3525 NW 56thStreet, Suite A-150, Oklahoma City, OK73112 • 405-548-4300 • 405-548-4350(Fax) •Comprehensive hearing health care for childrenand adults with an emphasis on listening andspoken language outcomes. Our family-centeredteam includes audiologists, LSLS Cert. AVTs,speech-language pathologists, physicians andeducators working closely with families foroptimal listening and spoken language outcomes.Services include newborn hearing testing,pediatric and adult audiological evaluations,hearing aid fittings, cochlear implant evaluationsand mapping. Auditory-verbal therapy as wellas cochlear implant habilitation is offered byListening and Spoken Language Specialists(LSLS), as well as an auditory-oral preschool,parent-toddler group and a summer enrichmentprogram. Continuing education and consultingavailable. www.heartsforhearing.org.44 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

DIRECTORY of Services• PennsylvaniaCenter for Childhood Communicationat The Children’s Hospital ofPhiladelphia, 3405 Civic Center Boulevard,Philadelphia 19104 • (800) 551-5480 (voice)• (215) 590-5641 (fax) • www.chop.edu/ccc (website). The CCC provides Audiology,Speech-Language and Cochlear Implant servicesand offers support through CATIPIHLER, aninterdisciplinary program including mental healthand educational services for children with hearingloss and their families from time of diagnosisthrough transition into school-aged services. Inaddition to serving families at our main campusin Philadelphia, satellite offices are located inBucks County, Exton, King of Prussia, andSpringfield, PA and in Voorhees, Mays Landing,and Princeton, NJ. Professional Preparation inCochlear Implants (PPCI), a continuing educationtraining program for teachers and speech-languagepathologists, is also headquartered at the CCC.Clarke Schools for Hearing andSpeech/Pennsylvania, 455 South RobertsRoad, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 • 610-525-9600(voice/tty). info@clarkeschools.org • www.clarkeschools.org. Judith Sexton, MS, CED,LSLS Cert AVEd, Director. A member of theOption Schools network, Clarke Schools forHearing and Speech provides children who aredeaf and hard of hearing with the listening,learning and spoken language skills they needto succeed. Comprehensive listening and spokenlanguage programs prepare students for success inmainstream schools. Locations in Bryn Mawr andPhiladelphia.Services include early intervention, preschool,parent education, individual auditory speech andlanguage services, cochlear implant habilitationfor children and adults, audiological services,and mainstream services including itinerantteaching and consulting. Specially trainedstaff includes LSLS Cert. AVEd and LSL Cert.AVT professionals, teachers of the deaf, specialeducators, speech language pathologists and a staffaudiologist.Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech haslocations in Boston, Bryn Mawr, Jacksonville,New York City, Northampton and Philadelphia.Delaware County IntermediateUnit # 25, Hearing and LanguagePrograms, 200 Yale Avenue, Morton, PA19070 • 610-938-9000, ext. 2277, 610-938-9886(fax) • sdoyle@dciu.org • Program Highlights:A publicly funded program for children withhearing loss in local schools. Serving childrenfrom birth through 21 years of age. Teachersof the deaf provide resource room support anditinerant hearing therapy throughout DelawareCounty, PA. Services also include audiology,speech therapy, cochlear implant habilitation(which includes LSLS Cert. AVT and LSLSCert. AVEd), psychology and social work.DePaul School for Hearing andSpeech, 6202 Alder Street, Pittsburgh,PA 15206 • 412-924-1012 (voice) • 412-924-1036 (fax) • www.speakmiracles.org(website) • ll@depaulinst.com (email) • LillianRountree Lippencott, Director of Outreach &Development. As western Pennsylvania’s onlyauditory-oral school for children who are deafor hard of hearing, DePaul School providesListening and Spoken Language (LSL) educationto children in Pennsylvania, and from Ohioand West Virginia. A State Approved PrivateSchool, most programs are tuition-free toapproved students. DePaul School providesearly intervention services for children (birthto age 5); a center-based toddler program (ages18-36 months); a preschool program (ages 3-5)and a comprehensive academic program gradesK-8. DePaul School provides clinical servicesincluding audiology, Auditory-Verbal andspeech therapy, cochlear implant MAPping andhabilitation, physical and occupational therapy,mainstreaming support and parent educationand support programs. Most children whoparticipate in DePaul School’s early interventionprograms gain the listening and spoken languageskills needed to succeed and transition totheir neighborhood schools by first grade.• South CarolinaThe University of South CarolinaSpeech and Hearing ResearchCenter, 1601 St. Julian Place, Columbia,SC, 29204 • (803) 777-2614 (voice) • (803)253-4143 (fax) • Center Director: DanielleVarnedoe, daniell@mailbox.sc.edu. The centerprovides audiology services, speech-languagetherapy, adult aural (re)habilitation therapy,and Auditory-Verbal Therapy. Our audiologyservices include comprehensive diagnosticevaluations, hearing aid evaluations andservices, and cochlear implant evaluations andprogramming. The University also provides atraining program for AV therapy and cochlearimplant management for professional/universitystudents. Additional contacts for the AVT orCI programs include Wendy Potts, CI ProgramCoordinator (803-777-2642), Melissa Hall (803-777-1698), Nikki Herrod-Burrows (803-777-2669), Gina Crosby-Quinatoa (803) 777-2671,and Jamy Claire Archer (803-777-1734).• TennesseeMemphis Oral School for the Deaf,7901 Poplar Avenue, Germantown, TN 38138• 901-758-2228 (voice) • 901-531-6735 (fax)• www.mosdkids.org (website) • tschwarz@mosdkids.org (email). Teresa Schwartz, ExecutiveDirector. Services: Family Training Program(birth-age 3), Auditory/Oral Day School(ages 2-6), Audiological Testing, Hearing AidProgramming, Cochlear Implant Mappingand Therapy, Aural (Re)Habilitation, Speech-Language Therapy, Mainstream Service.Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center- National Center for ChildhoodDeafness and Family Communication,Medical Center East South Tower, 1215 21stAvenue South, Nashville, TN 37232-8718 • 615-936-5000 (voice) • 615-936-1225 (fax) • nccdfc@vanderbilt.edu (email) • www.mc.vanderbilt.edu/VanderbiltBillWilkersonCenter (web).Tamala Bradham, Ph.D., Associate Directorin Clinical Services. The NCCDFC ServiceDivision is an auditory learning program servingchildren with hearing loss from birth through21 years. Services include educational servicesat the Mama Lere Hearing School at Vanderbiltas well as audiological and speech-languagepathology services. Specifically, services includesaudiological evaluations, hearing aid services,cochlear implant evaluations and programming,speech, language, and listening therapy,educational assessments, parent-infant program,toddler program, all day preschool throughkindergarten educational program, itinerant/academic tutoring services, parent supportgroups, and summer enrichment programs.• TexasCallier Center for CommunicationDisorders/UT Dallas - Callier-DallasFacility 1966 Inwood Road, Dallas, TX,75235 • 214-905-3000 (voice) • 214-905-3012(TDD) • Callier-Richardson Facility: 811Synergy Park Blvd., Richardson, TX, 75080 •972-883-3630 (voice) • 972-883-3605 (TDD)• cpiloto@utdallas.edu (e-mail) • www.callier.utdallas.edu (website). Nonprofit Organization,hearing evaluations, hearing aid dispensing,assistive devices, cochlear implant evaluations,psychology services, speech-language pathologyservices, child development program forchildren ages six weeks to five years.The Center for Hearing and Speech,3636 West Dallas, Houston, TX 77019 • 713-523-3633 (voice) • 713-874-1173 (TTY) • 713-523-8399 (fax) - info@centerhearingandspeech.org (email) www.centerhearingandspeech.org(website) CHS serves children with hearingimpairments from birth to 18 years. Servicesinclude: auditory/oral preschool; Audiology Clinicproviding comprehensive hearing evaluations,diagnostic ABR, hearing aid and FM evaluationsand fittings, cochlear implant evaluations andfollow-up mapping; Speech-Language PathologyClinic providing Parent-Infant therapy, Auditory-Verbal therapy, aural(re) habilitation; familysupport services. All services offered on slidingfee scale and many services offered in Spanish.VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 45

DIRECTORY of ServicesSunshine Cottage School for DeafChildren, 603 E. Hildebrand Ave., SanAntonio, TX 78212; 210/824-0579; fax210/826-0436. Founded in 1947, SunshineCottage, a listening and spoken languageschool promoting early identification of hearingloss and subsequent intervention teachingchildren with hearing impairment (infantsthrough high school.) State-of-the-art pediatricaudiological services include hearing aid fitting,cochlear implant programming, assessment ofchildren maintenance of campus soundfieldand FM equipment. Programs include theNewborn Hearing Evaluation Center, Parent-Infant Program, Hearing Aid Loaner andScholarship Programs, Educational Programs(pre-school through fifth grade on campus andin mainstream settings), Habilitative Services,Speech Language Pathology, Counseling,and Assessment Services. Pre- and postcochlearimplant assessments and habilitation.Accredited by the Southern Association ofColleges and Schools Council on Accreditationand School Improvement, OPTIONschoolsInternational, and is a Texas EducationAgency approved non-public school. For moreinformation visit www.sunshinecottage.org• UtahUtah Schools for the Deaf and theBlind (USDB), 742 Harrison Boulevard,Ogden UT 84404 - 801-629-4712 (voice)801-629-4701 (TTY) - www.udsb.org (website).USDB is a state funded program for childrenwith hearing loss (birth through high school)serving students in various settings includinglocal district classes and direct educational andconsulting services throughout the state. USDBlanguage and communication options includeListening and Spoken Language. USDB has acomprehensive hearing healthcare program whichincludes an emphasis on hearing technology foroptimal auditory access, pediatric audiologicalevaluations, and cochlear implant management.Services also include Early Intervention, fulldaypreschool and Kindergarten, intensive dayprograms, and related services including speech/language pathology and aural habilitation.• WisconsinCenter for Communication, Hearing& Deafness, 10243 W. National Avenue,West Allis, WI 53227 • 414-604-2200(Voice)• 414-604-7200 (Fax) • www.cdhh.org(Website). Amy Peters Lalios, M.A., CCC-A,LSLS Cert. AVT as well as five LSLS Cert.AVEds. Nonprofit agency located in theMilwaukee area provides comprehensive auditoryprogramming to individuals with hearing loss,from infants to the elderly. The Birth to Threeprogram serves children from throughoutSoutheastern Wisconsin, including educationin the home, toddler communication groups,and individual speech therapy. AV Therapy isalso provided to school-age children locally aswell as through ConnectHear, an interactiveteletherapy program. Pre- and post-cochlearimplant training is provided for adults andcommunication strategies and speechreading isoffered to individuals as well as in small groups.FinAidAd_HALF PG_School Age_Jan13:1 1/5/13 7:22 AM Page 1Every Child Deserves a Chanceto Listen, Talk and ThriveAdvances in newborn hearing screening and early hearing detection and intervention aregiving more children with hearing loss the opportunity to learn to listen, talk and thrivealong with their peers. That’s why AG Bell offers programs designed to support childrenand youth with hearing loss who are pursuing spoken language education.SCHOOL-AGE FINANCIAL AID PROGRAMAPPLICATIONS AVAILABLE: APRIL 18, 2013APPLICATION DEADLINE: JUNE 17, 2013More information, including eligibility criteriaand an application packet, is available atwww.ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org.TEL 202.337.5220 • EMAIL financialaid@agbell.orgONLINE www.listeningandspokenlanguage.org46 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

DIRECTORY of ServicesINTernATIONAL• CanadaChildren’s Hearing and Speech Centreof British Columbia (formerly The VancouverOral Centre for Deaf Children), 3575 Kaslo Street,Vancouver, British Columbia, V5M 3H4, Canada• 604-437-0255 (voice) • 604-437-1251 (tty) •604-437-0260 (fax) • www.childrenshearing.ca (website) • Janet Weil, Principal andExecutive Director, jweil@childrenshearing.ca. Our auditory-oral program includes: onsiteaudiology, cochlear implant mapping, parentguidance, auditory-verbal education, preschool,pre-kindergarten and K, Primary 1-3; 1:1 therapysessions, itinerant services and teletherapy.Montreal Oral School for the Deaf,4670 St. Catherine Street, West, Westmount, QC,Canada H3Z 1S5 • 514-488-4946 (voice/ tty) •514-488-0802 (fax) • info@montrealoralschool.com (email) • www.montrealoralschool.com(website). Parent-infant program (0-3 yearsold). Full-time educational program (3-12years old). Mainstreaming program in regularschools (elementary and secondary). Audiology,cochlear implant and other support services.• EnglandThe Speech, Language and HearingCentre – Christopher Place, 1-5Christopher Place, Chalton Street, Euston, LondonNW1 1JF, England • 0114-207-383-3834 (voice) •0114-207-383-3099 (fax) • info@speechlang.org.uk (email) • www.speech-lang.org.uk (website) •Assessment, nursery school and therapeutic centrefor children under 5 with hearing impairment,speech/language or communication difficulties,including autism. • We have a Child Psychologistand a Child Psychotherapist. • Auditory-VerbalTherapy is also provided by a LSLS Cert. AVT.List of AdVErtisersAdvanced Bionics Corporation............................................... Inside Back CoverAuditory-Verbal Center, Inc..................................................................................5CapTel...................................................................................................................7Central Institute for the Deaf .............................................................................11Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech...........................................................21Cochlear Americas............................................................................................ 33Dubard School for Language Disorders............................................................41Ear Gear................................................................................................................4Ear Technology Corp. (Dry & Store)...................................................................20Harris Communications.....................................................................................27House Research Institute.................................................................................. 39Let’s Hear It For Almigal.....................................................................................16MED-EL Corporation.......................................................................... Back CoverMoog Center for Deaf Education.......................................................................17National Technical Institute for the Deaf - RIT.................................................. 44Oticon...................................................................................... Inside Front CoverSt. Joseph Institute for the Deaf..................................................................15, 23Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf Children.....................................................35Tucker-Maxon School for the Deaf................................................................... 432013 AG Bell LSL Symposium...........................................................................37AG Bell School-Age Financial Aid.....................................................................46VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013 47

Up Fronton the Back PageMichaelHoodKayaking Through theAmazon and ExploringHealthy CookingInterview by Susan BoswellWhen I was 1 year old, my mom found meenjoying myself inside the fireplace playingwith the soot. She yelled my name manytimes before I turned around and jumpedback with shock after seeing her. That’swhen she realized I couldn’t hear.My mom, who is an artist, devotedmany hours creating illustrated books toteach me the concept of words. She alsospent innumerable hours talking to me tohelp me learn to speechread and begin totalk. To assist other parents of childrenwho are deaf and hard of hearing, myparents co-founded the AG Bell HEARIndiana chapter.While on whitewater rafting trips, Inoticed kayakers were having more fun intheir small boats with the water splashingagainst their faces. In 2007, I signed up fora weeklong whitewater kayaking school forbeginners and promptly bought my gearwhich I still use today.“The key is having a mentor or buddy willing tocommunicate directly with me.”Whitewater kayaks have a tendency tospin around which requires me to constantlyrotate my head to speechread myinstructors and mentors. Repositioning theboat into an ideal listening position in movingwater is not as simple as moving aroundin dry land. I communicated to instructorsthe need for individualized attention duringon-water instruction which worked well.One of my trip leaders has madelaminated cards describing how to approachsignificant rapids he has run many times andhas given me copies for my own use. The keyis having a mentor or buddy willing to communicatedirectly with me any guidance orwarnings communicated with the group.In general, I prefer “steep creeking”which involves descending very steeplow-volume whitewater with waterfalls andnavigating around many different typesof hazards. I regularly travel along theAppalachian Mountains especially WestVirginia and surrounding areas, the vicinityof Great Smoky Mountains NationalPark in Tennessee, and the Carolinas.My 18-year-old daughter and I bothregularly guide a whitewater raft, and I amproud that she will be working as a professionalguide this coming summer.While kayaking under heavy rains in theAmazon rainforest of Ecuador, my groupof seven boaters had to evacuate the rapidlyrising river and into the thick bush facinga steep slope. After an hour we finallyWe WANT You on the Back PAGE!reached the nearest dirt road where a largefamily of indigenous people walked by withthe men carrying machetes and the womenand children hoisting stacks of leaves forroofing. They indicated the way back to ourvan. We had no idea what we would cometo face in that jungle, so I consider thisexperience a great example of adventure!I started cooking in college when I grewtired of the unhealthy options served inthe dorm, and it has been a never-endingjourney of discovering new ways toprepare healthy meals that are fun to eat.I’ve cultivated a local network of farmersto source vegetables, fruits, meats and rawmilk and cook with an emphasis on freshlocal foods and minimal preparation. Myphilosophy is you will be tempted to resortto unhealthy eating habits if you do notmake the effort to create healthy mealsthat are fun to prepare and eat.Read the entire interview online on the Listening and Spoken LanguageKnowledge Center at ListeningandSpokenLanguage.org/BackPage. If youhave stories to tell, experiences to share and a perspective on hearing lossfor this column, please send an email to editor@agbell.org and tell us a bitabout yourself.48 VOLTA VOICES • MARCH/APRIL 2013

answering the callfor transformative hearing solutionscoming summer 2013To learn about the miracle of hearing restoration with cochlear implants, contact Advanced Bionics:866.844.HEAR (4327)hear@AdvancedBionics.comAdvancedBionics.com027-M163-03©2013 Advanced Bionics AG and affiliates. All rights reserved.

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