19th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 8-10, 2020 • Kansas City, MO
3/10/2020 | 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM | How Will We Train Team Members to Write a Communication Plan? | Chicago A
How Will We Train Team Members to Write a Communication Plan?
As hearing loss is considered a “low incidence disability”, families, as part of the IFSP/IEP team, often have to make certain that language, communication choices, access to support and other unique hearing loss considerations are addressed through the development of a PA Early Intervention Communication Plan and the IFSP/IEP. New families often do not have the level of familiarity with the concepts required to be addressed within the PA EI Communication Plan to complete a draft plan on their own without the support of a trained team member, parent mentor or guide.
Our PA Hands & Voices Guide By Your Side program has been in place since 2011 and began to hire adults who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing to serve as DHH Guides over the course of the three years gradually increasing the number of positons to eight. All Guides in our PA program are expected to assist families in understanding the purpose of an Early Intervention Communication Plan which is designed to promote discussion to ensure that the unique language and communication needs/options of a child with deafness or hearing loss are addressed and to have the skills required to assist families in developing a draft of the Communication Plan. As we on boarded our Guides we recognized there was a need for additional specialized training on the Communication Plan.
In this session we will walk you through our “Job Aid” and our approach to training our Service Coordinators, Providers, and Guide Team to improve their skills in supporting families to contribute more meaningfully to the development of the Communication Plan and thereby the IFSP/IEP.
- Outline and explain the benefits of specialized training related to implementation of an Early Intervention Communication Plan.
- Demonstrate how an EI Communication Plan builds family capacity to ensure children’s communication needs are met.
- Illustrate how specific training on the EI Communication Plan can help make families aware of all communication options as well as assistive technology, services and resources, in an unbiased manner.
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Presenters/Authors
Anne Gaspich
(), Early Intervention Technical Assistance, Hands & Voices Guide By Your Side of PA, agaspich@pattan.net;
Anne Gaspich is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University. She is the parent of four children, the youngest of whom has hearing loss. Anne joined the Pennsylvania EHDI program in August 2011 as the Program Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Department of Health funded family support program, now Family Connections for Language and Learning. Anne is also a Consultant for Early Intervention Technical Assistance on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Initiative. She has attended the National Early Hearing Detection and Intervention since 2013 and received the Pennsylvania Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Award for Distinguished Service. She has presented at the annual PA state Low Incidence Institute and other statewide training.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Deborah Noel
(), Office of Child Development & Early Learning, dnoel@pa.gov;
Deb Noel is a Division Chief of Operations and Monitoring in the Bureau of Early Intervention Services and Family Supports, Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL). Deb is also on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s committee, Education and Resources for Children with Hearing Loss (ERCHL) a stakeholder group to improve the outcomes for children.
Prior to joining OCDEL, Deb worked at the local level in Early Intervention for 15 years. During this time, she was a designated service coordinator for infants and toddlers who were deaf or hard of hearing.
Deb received her BA in Psychology at Millersville University. While pursuing this degree, Deb worked as well as supervised several group homes for adults several who were Deaf.
Deb has a passion in working with families of infants, toddlers and preschool-age children who are Deaf or hard of hearing. She enjoys the work with family and system partnerships.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Mary Ann Stefko
(), Choices For Children, mstefko@thescrantonschool.org;
Mary Ann Stefko earned a master's of education in counselor education and a Bachelor of Science degree in communication disorders from Pennsylvania State University. In addition to 20 years teaching experience, she has extensive experience in educational interpreting. She has worked with deaf and hard-of-hearing children from the birth to high school levels in residential and mainstream educational settings. Mary Ann is an adjunct professor in the World Languages and Cultures Department at the University of Scranton and an instructor at the Geisinger School of Medicine. She is a frequent presenter at workshops and training programs related to deafness and hearing loss for parents, educators and the business community across Pennsylvania. Her passion is Early Intervention, focusing on providing instruction to children and coaching to families in the Infant Toddler program.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Tara Nikou
(), Choices For Children, tnikou@wpsd.org;
Since 2003, Tara has been working with D/HH children (birth to three) and their families as an Early Intervention Teacher and Program Coordinator of the Choices for Children program. Tara coaches families in their own homes to help understand their child’s hearing loss and shows best practices to prepare their child for language learning and the transition to pre-school. Tara also serves as Coordinator for the on-site Toddler Group program at WPSD. Prior to working at WPSD, Tara was a classroom teacher at Central North Carolina School for the Deaf and at Miller Elementary school in Pittsburgh, PA.
Tara Nikou received her Bachelor’s Degree in Deaf Education and Elementary Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and her Master’s Degree from the University of Pittsburgh in Early Intervention.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Lisa Lopatofsky
(), Family Connections for Language and Learning, lopatofsky.lisam@gmail.com;
Lisa Lopatofsky lives in rural Waymart, PA with her husband and three daughters. Her oldest two daughters have Usher Syndrome, Type 1b. Lisa is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Her bachelors degree is in Political Science. Lisa is a certified paralegal who currently spends her time as a full time Mom and advocate for her children. She is a Parent Guide with the Hands and Voices Guide By Your Side Program of PA. She is also a board member of the PA Partnership for the DeafBlind and a member of the Advisory Council for PA Deaf-Blind Project.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.