2024 Supporting Success

Interview Collection

Zebra Experts Talk about Topics in Deaf Education

January 15 – April 15, 2024

Eastern Standard Time

The 2024 Supporting Success for Children with Hearing Loss professional learning event features 10 interviews with experts with at least 10 hours of continuing education. 3 months to view!

About the
Interview Collection

“When you hear hoofbeats,
it’s usually horses, not zebras.”

We recognize that only 1 of every 100 IEPs is for a student eligible for special education services primarily due to hearing loss or deafness. Yet many of the behaviors and learning issues experienced by students with hearing loss in the mainstream classroom are similar to those of students with learning disorders. Hearing loss is a communication access issue, not a learning disorder. Our interviewees are persons in the field of deaf education that are recognized for their expertise or, as we call them, Zebra Experts!

Supporting Success’ very own Michelle Andros will be conducting the interviews. View the interviews in any order during the three-month virtual conference period from January 15 to April 15, 2024. This allows you to view one interview a week, plus have a couple of weeks to spare. We have worked to improve the features of our video conferencing platform! We will also have an app-based option to allow you to listen as you drive between schools. You CAN do this! Come learn with us!

About Our
Zebra Expert Interviews

1. Focused Functional Assessment

Karen Anderson, Ph.D.

Description:

Teachers of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students are tasked with collecting functional data on students, but what functional assessments are out there? Which ones are appropriate for my student? And which ones will give me the most accurate information?  Dr. Anderson will review in detail the functional assessments from the book Building Skills for Success in the Fast-Paced Classroom. She will explain which ones are appropriate for various ages, hearing differences, and how to use the data to plan for student needs.

 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will learn the three ‘lenses’ that should be used by teachers when assessing students’ functional skills.
  2. Participants will learn what assessments are appropriate for school aged d/Deaf and hard of hearing students.
  3. Participants will understand how to use functional assessment results in planning for student needs.

2. Estimating Effects of Hearing Loss on Speech Perception & Auditory Skill Development

Mona Oster, Ph.D.

Description:

Hearing loss- no doubt-impacts the way a child will perceive speech sounds.  Aspects of speech such as intensity, and frequency will be affected by hearing loss.  Severity and type of hearing loss impacts how a child perceives speech but determining how much impact, and exactly what areas of speech are affected, will need to be determined before efforts to provide intervention can be developed.  Join Dr. Mona Oster as she talks about ways to determine HOW and to WHAT EXTENT, hearing loss has impacted a child’s speech perception and auditory skill development.  Then she discusses ways that professionals can help a child access missed speech sounds. Dr. Oster will  answer questions about how amplification impacts access to speech perception.

 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will be able to identify types of assessments to use to determine if hearing loss has had an impact on Speech Perception and Auditory Skill Development for a child with hearing loss.
  2. Participants will identify strategies to use to support auditory skill development and speech perception.
  3. Participants will develop ways for increasing awareness and methods for educating teachers and families about how hearing loss impacts speech perception and auditory skill development.

3. Facilitating Conversational Competence

Diane Klein, Ph.D.

Description:

All students MUST have a way to converse because let’s face it, they ALL have something to say! Therefore, the importance of addressing needs in all forms of expressive and receptive languages and communication styles is paramount.  Whether the student uses speech, signed, or augmentative communication systems, there HAS to be a way to converse and something to talk about, but some students need assistance facilitating communication. Join Dr. Diane Heller Klein, a Speech/Language Pathologist and trained Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, who has worked in the field of deaf education for over 40+ years, talk about identifying students who are in need of conversational competency skills and how you can help model appropriate skills through facilitating compromised situations to create appropriate communication skills and eliminate counterproductive behaviors to communication.  

 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will be able to define conversational competence and identify skills that make up conversational competence.
  2. Participants will determine which informal assessments to use to help determine competency in conversational skills.
  3. Participants will be able to identify behaviors during classroom observations which could indicate needs for conversational competency development. 

4. Owning Communication Repair Responsibilities

Maura Berndsen, M. Ed.

Description:

Maura Berndsen, LSLS specialist, provides participants with an overview of how communication repair strategies can be facilitated with students of all ages.  Beginning at birth, children with hearing loss need early support providers to help encourage students with language and communication in order to develop their skills for school aged strategies. She explains how students can develop their self-advocacy skills and repair strategies skills, using a list of thirteen things that we all do, for communication repair.  She will help participants navigate the SCRIPT, and provide an overview for when SCRIPT is appropriate to use, and provide suggestions for how to use the SCRIPT with students. 

 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will be able to identify communication repair strategies to use with students with hearing loss.
  2. Participants will be provided with an overview of the SCRIPT and how and when it is appropriate to use the SCRIPT with students. 
  3. Participants will be provided guidance on how the student’s team should support conversational competency skills in an inclusive setting, to support communication practices.

5. Odd Man Out – Addressing Self-Concept Needs

Brett Bersano, Psy.D.

Description

Students with hearing loss may struggle with self-concept issues, particularly as they get older.  Dr. Brett Bersano will talk about research results from his studies at Gallaudet that specifically address how self-concept is affected by hearing loss, gender, age, and educational placement. Dr. Bersano will help differentiate terms that can be confused with self-concept, such as self confidence and self-esteem and discuss how concept and esteem are part of self-concept development.  He uses research results to validate practices within the areas of self-concept and academic self-concept for students.  Dr. Bersano provides insight to help students overcome issues, and  resources and techniques to help participants assist their students in need. 

 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will be able to identify assessments to use to gauge self-concept needs in students with hearing loss. 
  2. Participants will be able to define self-concept and identify specific behaviors to look for in students with hearing loss who may have self-concept needs. 
  3. Participants will be able to identify strategies that can help them support their students, and be able to identify ways to integrate these strategies into the students’ school day. 

6. What and When: Self-Advocacy and Self-Determination Skills

Kaitlyn Millen, Ph.D.

Description:

We have all heard of self advocacy skills before, but what is self-determination and how is it different from advocacy?  Listen to Dr. Kaitlyn Millen as she explains the importance of self advocacy skills specific to students with hearing loss, and explains how self-determination is integrated into educational programming for students who need targeted instruction to establish and improve their self-determination skills.  Self advocacy and self-determination are not necessarily synonymous terms and both areas will be explained to help you focus on strategies and ways to provide instruction to students with hearing loss.

 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will be able to define self advocacy and identify ways to help students improve their advocacy skills.
  2. Participants will be introduced to strategies that will help target instruction specifically on self-determination skills.
  3. Participants will be able to identify implications of hearing loss on both self advocacy and self-determination skills.

7. Getting Through to Teachers – Accessing the General Education Curriculum

Barbara Chubb, M. Ed.

Description:

Join Barbara Chubb, teacher, administrator and fearless leader in deaf education, as she talks about hearing loss as a disability of access. This interview will help professionals working with students who have hearing loss, determine how to assess accessibility and provide suggestions for increasing students ability to access information through Hearing Assistive Technology, assistive technology, collaboration, accommodations and modifications in the general education classroom. 

 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will be able to identify assessments that are vetted in the field, to help them gauge a student’s ability to access auditory information and instruction during classroom lessons. 
  2. Participants will identify various tools used in deaf education that are able to provide qualitative information to be used to gauge a students ability to access information and overcome those barriers to access. 
  3. Participants will learn how to use the Building Skills for Success instruments to help collect data and gauge access for students.

8. Ways to Improve Literacy Achievement for Students Who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing

Jennifer Kilpatrick, Ph.D.

Description:

Reading achievement for students with hearing loss has certainly changed since the introduction of newborn hearing screenings and identifying students with hearing loss earlier than before.  However, there are still learning gaps that affect instructional practices and outcomes for students with hearing loss. Listen to Dr. Jennifer Kilpatrick, a seasoned teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing, and now literacy professor at University of Northern Florida, as she walks participants through various literacy and writing strategies to help students with hearing loss enhance their skills in phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and ultimately comprehension.  She will explain how writing and literacy should be integrated and taught strategically to target areas of needs.

 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will be able to identify methods of instruction to help target specific areas of literacy and writing needs. 
  2. Participants will be able to identify assessments that will help teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing target areas that will need specific targeted instruction, and establish baselines for instructional purposes.
  3. Participants will be able to identify specific literacy skills that are impacted by hearing loss, and introduce new methods for instructional strategies. 

9. Unilateral Hearing Loss IS Important – Appropriate Services

Nicole Corbin, Ph.D.

Description:

Unilateral hearing loss or single sided deafness has implications on learning and accessing information across listening environments. Listen to Dr. Nicole Corbin as she talks about unilateral hearing loss from an audiologists perspective, and explains how unilateral losses can impact access and the needs for specific accommodations and modifications in the general education classroom, as well as non-academic listening environments that will help provide access for students with unilateral loss. 

 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will be introduced to specific areas of need for students with unilateral hearing loss.
  2. Participants will be able to develop strategies for helping students with unilateral hearing loss, gain access in environments that have extraneous noise.
  3. Participants will be able to identify how unilateral loss affects auditory skill development, and ways to identify skill deficits so they can target instruction in those areas of need.  

10. Advocating for Appropriate Educational Services and Supports

Thomas Horejes, Ph.D.

Description:

IEP teams are tasked with determining the appropriate educational placements for students with disabilities.  However, determining placements for students with hearing loss isn’t always cut and dry!  Even when  data is available to help make informed recommendations, there are many outlying factors that contribute to placement determination.  Creating placement opportunities which are  “appropriate” and  Least Restrictive can be a daunting task.  Join Thomas Horejas, JD as he discusses the legal obligations for school districts, as placement decisions are made.  Being able to articulate reasons for placement decisions based on the needs of a student with hearing loss is a critical part of Teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing’s role as a professional. 

 

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will be able to identify disability law that delineates and sets parameters for placement decisions.
  2. Participants will learn the differences between disability law and when the laws are applicable to students with a disability. 
  3. Participants will develop skills to advocate for appropriate services and supports for their students depending on the type of support the local education agency provides to the student with hearing loss. 

About Our Zebra Experts

Karen L. Anderson, PhD

Mona Oster, Ph.D.

Diane Klein, Ph.D.

Maura Berndsen, M. Ed.

Brett Bersano, Psy.D.

Kaitlyn Millen, Ph.D.

Barbara Chubb, M. Ed.

Jennifer Kilpatrick, Ph.D.

Nicole Corbin, Ph.D.

Thomas Horejes, Ph.D.

Interview Collection Pricing

Late Registration is from December 1, 2023 to January 14, 2024

Late Rate Price: $149

EARLY Early Bird Rate May 1 – Jul 31, 2023 $99 
Early Bird Rate Aug 1 – Sept 30, 2023 $109
Regular Rate Oct 1 – Nov 30, 2023 $129 
Late Rate Dec 1 – Jan 14, 2024 $149 
During Conference Jan 15 – Apr 1, 2024 $169

GROUP RATE: Six or more in your group? Receive $10 off per person, purchase orders only. Please email Purchase Order to orders@success4kidswhl.com.

There is no option to register for only part of this conference. Registration fees listed cover all 10 interviews.

Early Bird Registration Ends in

Day(s)

:

Hour(s)

:

Minute(s)

:

Second(s)