2024 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 17-19, 2024 • Denver, CO
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| Pragmatics in practice: practical strategies to promote pragmatic skill development in early childhood
Pragmatics in practice: practical strategies to promote pragmatic skill development in early childhood
The importance of pragmatic skills, often thought of as the social use of language, has been well established, including the relevance of pragmatics for children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH; Szarkowski & Toe, 2020). Difficulties with pragmatics have been associated with challenges in the areas of peer relationships, academic skills, and lower employment rates (Toe, 2020; Thagard et al, 2012). Although many DHH children who receive early intervention acquire age-appropriate receptive and expressive vocabulary skills, pragmatic language skills frequently lag (Goberis et al., 2012). Because the foundation for pragmatic language skills is established early through caregiver/child interactions and early social experiences (Kelly et al., 2020; Mood et al., 2020), caregivers and early intervention providers are in a unique position to promote pragmatics. Yet, parents and interventionists often feel uncertain how to define and target pragmatics in “real life.” This workshop will be presented by a Deaf leader who is also a parent of a child who is DHH, a parent of a child who is DHH, an early intervention provider who supports families and children who are DHH, and two psychologists/researchers interested in pragmatics. Utilizing case examples, this hands-on workshop will provide information about pragmatic development and what pragmatics “looks like” in the early years, guide participants in understanding early pragmatic skill milestones, and generating options for incorporating activities that can be embedded within daily routines to explicitly target the promotion of pragmatic skills. Participants and presenters will be invited to share strategies for explaining pragmatics and empowering families to feel confident in supporting their child’s pragmatic skill development, and resources will be provided. Additionally, the importance of considering pragmatics during transition planning from early intervention to school-based services will be discussed and tools for assessing pragmatics will be shared (Toe et al, 2020).
- Identify tools to measure pragmatic language outcomes and gaps in DHH children who are under three years of age.
- List 3 possible actions or strategies to promote pragmatic development for children within their program or for their own child
- Participants will be able to include wording in IFSP/IEP goals or objectives that support pragmatic language development.
Presentation:
3478265_16217DeborahMood.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
3478265_16217DeborahMood.docx
Presenters/Authors
Deborah Mood
(Primary Presenter,Co-Presenter), Colorado Children's Hospital, DEBORAH.MOOD@childrenscolorado.org;
Deborah Mood, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist with Developmental Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She has a Ph.D. in school psychology from University of Northern Colorado and a specialist degree in school psychology from Gallaudet University. Dr. Mood completed a LEND psychology postdoctoral fellowship at JFK Partners, University of Colorado School of Medicine, after completing an APA accredited psychology internship at the University of Minnesota. She specializes in working with children who are deaf and hard of hearing as well as children with a variety of developmental disabilities including autism spectrum disorder.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Grants for Independent contractor from MCH.
• Receives Grants for Independent contractor from NIH/NIDCD.
• Receives Honoraria excluding diversified mutual funds,Speaker for Other activities from Phonak.
• Receives Salary for Employment from University of Colorado Anschutz.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with University of Colorado- Denver- employment
NIH/NIDCD grant/research support
MCH/LEND grant support
Phonak- past honoraria.
Nature: University of Colorado- Denver- employment
NIH/NIDCD grant/research support
MCH/LEND grant support
Phonak- past honoraria.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Amy Szarkowski
(Co-Presenter), Children's Center for Communication/Beverly School for the Deaf, amyszarkowski@cccbsd.org;
Amy Szarkowski, PhD, is the Director of The Institute at the Children's Center for Communication/ Beverly School for the Deaf (CCCBSD), and faculty for LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities), at Boston Children's Hospital. She is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from CCCBSD.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with Children's Center for Communication/Beverly School for the Deaf and University of Massachusetts Boston.
Nature: Employment.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Sara Kennedy
(Co-Presenter), Hands & Voices, Sara@handsandvoices.org;
Sara is a mom of four children, including a daughter born at home and later-identified as deaf after a progressive loss. An occupational therapist by training, Sara has served at Hands & Voices since 2001 as the editor for the quarterly newspaper, the Communicator, and a trainer for the educational advocacy program, ASTra. Sara has a particular interest in advocating for hearing screening in the homebirth community. She was a coauthor for the Virtual Waiting Room web presence at Hands & Voices, the handbook Bridge to Preschool: Navigating a Successful Transition as well as articles and presentations on topics ranging from children's safety, promoting self-advocacy, the decision process around cochlear implants, and supporting fathers and rural families. Sara transitioned out of her role as Director of Colorado Hands & Voices (2011-2022). She finds her new consulting role with young adult children rewarding and challenging.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Karen Hopkins
(Co-Presenter), The Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing/Governor Baxter School for the Deaf, karen.hopkins@mecdhh.org;
Karen Hopkins is the Executive Director of The Maine Educational Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing/Governor Baxter School for the Deaf and the principal investigator of Maine's HRSA grant. She brings over 30 years of experience as a collaborative teacher of the deaf, special educator, early interventionist and educational administrator to her work with Deaf and hard of hearing children. Her work with families, coupled with her own personal experience as a Deaf adult and parent of a daughter who is hard of hearing have inspired her to create systems that empower families. Karen oversees early intervention and statewide educational programming for children who are Deaf or hard of hearing birth to age 22 throughout the state of Maine. She is active in many organizations and boards in Maine, the Hands & Voices HQ Board of Directors and is involved with international FCEI programming including the Deaf Leadership International Alliance. Karen is the Board President of Hands & Voices Headquarters. Karen's current research as she finalizes her doctoral journey is focused on perspectives of family empowerment in early intervention systems for Deaf and hard of hearing children.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary,Grants for Employment from The Children's Center for Communication/ Beverly School for the Deaf.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with The Children's Center for Communication/Beverly School for the Deaf.
Nature: Employment.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Kelly Doolittle
(Co-Presenter), Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, kdoolittle@csdb.org;
Kelly Doolittle, MA, is a Colorado Hearing Resource (CO-Hear) Coordinator for CHIP (Colorado Home Intervention Program) under the Outreach department for the Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind. As a CO-Hear Kelly is responsible for connecting with, and supporting families who have children (birth to 3 years old) who are identified as deaf or hard of hearing. She supports individual families and children from the initial referral at the time of diagnosis, to the transition to Part B services at the age of three.
Kelly is a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing and has previously worked in the public school setting as both a center-based and itinerant teacher. She has worked with the CHIP program as a facilitator for 19 years before becoming a CO-Hear coordinator.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.