So far, 2019 has been a productive year for the Center. In addition to our continued services and outreach through our three program areas ― Audiology, Early Intervention and Deaf Education ― we have engaged in a variety of opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing children, their families and professionals who serve them across the state. It is a privilege for us to participate in both local, statewide and national events as a sponsor, presenter and/or exhibitor. There are a multitude of organizations for families and professionals to tap into, collaborating with other organizations allows information we share to reach further and have deeper impact.
Here are various highlights from the first quarter of 2019:
· Engagement in a pilot project with First Steps to participate in intake meetings with families
· Presentations at national and state conferences, including the National Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Meeting, National ASL and English Bilingual Consortium for Early Childhood Education Summit and the Indiana Speech-Language-Hearing Association Convention
· Gathering of deaf educators regionally at our DHH roundtable meetings
· Arrangement of open-captioned movies for families to enjoy
· Sponsorships at events for parents and families to receive information and meet one another, including Hands & Voices Advocacy Support & Training (ASTra) event, Hearing Indiana’s Listening & Spoken Language Conference, upcoming EHDI Family Conference and Indiana School for the Deaf’s PTCO Day
· Facilitation of trainings for early intervention providers including Ski-Hi Parent Advisor and upcoming Deaf Mentor training
· First quarterly meeting of the new Center Advisory Committee for 2019-2020
I look forward to the wonderful accomplishments we can make in the upcoming months.