2024 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 17-19, 2024 • Denver, CO
3/19/2024 | 2:15 PM - 2:40 PM | Exploring Language and Communication Opportunities: Process of Empowering Families through Reflective Practices | Mineral A
Exploring Language and Communication Opportunities: Process of Empowering Families through Reflective Practices
Maine has a unique process supporting families of young deaf and hard of hearing children through the journey of exploring language and communication opportunities. Empowering families, this process encourages early interactions, discussion, and reflection to aid in informed decision-making. This process integrates the critical importance of early interactions and foundations of language followed by a process of exploration of language and communication opportunities (ELCO). The ELCO process encourages families to recognize the importance of early attachment as a foundation to language as well as the monitoring of language access, exposure, and acquisition. Families not only move through the process of initial decision-making with providers, they are supported in reflecting on these decisions in meaningful ways throughout their participation in early intervention to pivot as needed to ensure optimal language acquisition for their child.
- Participants will identify the four key components of the ELCO process.
- Participants will summarize how the ELCO process aids in reflection utilizing language access, exposure, and acquisition data.
- Participants will analyze their system of sharing language and communication opportunities and develop a three step action plan action plan for empowering families in the process.
Presentation:
3478265_16296AmySpencer.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
3478265_16296AmySpencer.docx
Presenters/Authors
Amy Spencer
(Primary Presenter), Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, amy.spencer@mecdhh.org;
Amy is the early intervention and family services coordinator at MECDHH/GBSD. She serves on the the Maine Newborn Hearing Screening Advisory Board, the Maine Interagency Coordinating Council and is an active member of the Earliest Interactions Maine/HRSA grant team. As part of her Infant Toddler Family Leadership and Collaboration Certificate Program from Gallaudet, Amy began her work on the Exploring Language and Communication Opportunities process. Amy lives in southern Maine exploring both the ocean and mountains regularly with her husband and two young daughters.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from MECDHH.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with MECDHH.
Nature: .
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.