Understanding the Impact of Early Language Development

ROUGH EDITED COPY

EHDI

FEBRUARY 27, 2017, 3:00 p.m. PT

GRAND HALL A

Understanding the Impact of Early Language Development

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This is being provided in a roughdraft format. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) is provided in order to facilitate communication accessibility and may not be a totally verbatim record of the proceedings.

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> Darlene (Writer): Okay. Thanks.

> Good afternoon, everyone.

You have been welcomed to understanding the impact of early language development on achieving school readiness and school emotional social emotional well being.

> GINA CATALANO: My name is Gina. Can everybody hear me? Am I talking loud enough? Can everybody hear me? I'm Gina. And I am a certified deaf ed and special ed teacher. I've been in the school system for the past 15 or more years. Within the last five years I decided to do a career change and I wanted to become an interpreter. So I completed the sign language interpreting program here in Atlanta, George State University. I was an educational interpreter at the school system for the last four years, right now I am in school for my master's degree and I'm actually studying community development and leadership and this is what my presentation is about based on my experience.

As you can see, obviously this is the EHDI conference and I'm going it make the assumption that most of you know what that is. It's a federal law that mandates that babies need to be tested, hearing levels need to be tested at birth for some time between that date. Soy pulled this off the Internet, the American academy of pediatrics across the United States implemented differently. They have different goals and I thought it was fascinating that the AAP, these are their goals for the EHDI.

As you can see, it's very important they take it seriously. And I'm glad to see that.

From my experience of being a teacher and also an interpreter, I noticed that the current trend right now tends to be babies identify important implants are recommended or hearing aids are recommended. There's some type of technology assistance that's needed. And what happens and becomes very popular, they noticed that the earlier the babies are implanted with a cochlear implant, the better chance they have of being able to I'm not sure the exact wording they use but the earlier they can start hearing or using hearing ability with the assistance, better chance they have of acquiring or picking up language. The goal is we want these children that are identified with the hearing loss we want them to be able to hear as much as possible so we know it's a very good benefit.

Parents are encouraged often times usually with listening, speaking skills, sign language I've noticed this is my personal observation it tends to not go hand in hand. It's either we teach the baby for sign language and that tends to be if a child is born to a deaf family and dev people already know sign language and that's their native language. But 90% of children with a hearing loss are born to parents that have no hearing and in the deaf community we call it hearing people and deaf people. They have a hearing family but so the family is devastated they want their child to be able to hear. Often times they're being considered for cochlear implant doctors say don't sign because we want to focus on developing that listening skills and get used to using what they have.

Often times the way it's presented the parents are very overwhelmed. I have a video I'm going show you a little later and they're going to say Okay. Of course they're going to take the doctor's opinion, they're the expert. Side note usually appropriate implant is recommended for a child usual that I means that they have to have a certain amount of hearing loss I wear hearing aids myself. But I'm successful because I have enough residual hearing that with hearing aids I hear very well and talk very well. Usually cochlear implants are for babies that have a more significant hearing loss and hearing aids cannot help them. I just wanted to make distinction. Often times the appropriate cochlear implant function as well as someone hearing.

Usually the parents feel like Okay. I have to pick, I have to have cochlear implants and I'm not sure that it does put my hearing aids in. However, it's not guaranteed to be successful.

It's not always successful. And I taught 3yearolds in a deaf ed setting and it was interpreter. And often times I would see children at the age of 3, 4 and 5.

That had had cochlear implants and for whatever reason this wasn't successful. They weren't talking or just not responding to therapists. Whatever it was. But by the time they came to me, my they're 3, 4, and 5, sometimes even 6 and 7, they have no language. My concern is that by then that acquisition period is so critical. And my whole point is that it's not always guaranteed (.

> Darlene (Writer): Sound is cutting in and out) I wanted to present there's another way maybe that because we have so many people, so many hearing babies, so many students that haven't identified hearing loss that I'm seeing all the way up to high school years. They cannot catch up. They're socially emotionally not doing very well. Placed in special ed. This is just information. If you go online, there's a lot of information about older deaf adults who were fitted with cochleares and chose not to wear them. There's a lot of different reasons, one explained that his parents were not aware of the amount because that was they couldn't afford it or have the transportation so the cochlear implant wasn't successful to him that's a personal connection to some people that cochlear implants are not the video I have is early intervention wanted to tell a personal story. I was in the sign language interpreting program as I mentioned and one of my classmates was president I remember one day she may have been a little bit at a wreck and she was we have miracle ear drops and you drop them in the ears you could automatically hear again, I would take those in a heartbeat. My point was that her point of view was that I'm hearing, I'm not deaf.

I don't know sign language, I don't know deaf culture. I'm learning it in school.

So don't get down on those parents that want those their children to learn how to hear. My solution was to present a solution but often times there's a deaf people will be quick to tell you I'm okay with not hearing. Other deaf people will say I feel like any time a baby is born with hearing loss their perception is we have to fix them. We've got to fix their ears, they have to hear. So there is some tension between the medical community and the deaf community.

So my solution that I wanted to present to you was this. I found this video on YouTube. Short seven minute video.

And it's captioned.

> My solution. I hope you enjoyed the video. It presents a different perspective. As I said, with my friend, this is intended to, with an understanding that it's understandable that if your child is born with identified I love the language. Identified sound and your hearing levels are different, it's a more positive approach with the parent. And I feel that the parents it is very overwhelming. They don't know what to do. But, if the language is changed then the parent it will have a different outcome because over all my goal is that these babies have got to have language acquisition. Whether it's cochlear implants, whether it's sign language, whether it's should be involved with those and often times if you just pick one, you don't know if it's going to be successful. And that's what the that's the missing link for me is that we don't know. So instead of just picking one, you have all these communication options that the parents can choose from and they can be interchangeable. You can try this. That's not working. Let's try that. But I feel like they shouldn't really and the approach is what I call this and it's asset based, the A and the B, asset based community development.

And basically what it is that the it's very simple. And instead of it being an approach as she was saying to where oh, no, outside people are coming in to work with the parents early intervention team, you know, we're the experts. We need to tell you what to do, but she said early involvement, what it is that it looks at the baby that's identified as being deaf. Looks at them as the community. Who is their community? And the community is doctors, audiologists. Childcare providers, all the community members get together and you look at the asset, the A, asset based. What can we do, what can this baby offer? What does everybody here have to offer so that we can work together to get this baby the language acquisition that they need? And that's the idea behind asset based who dealt it? I would love to see that. I would love to see the video that's she's shown. I would love to see a baby has been identified as deaf. I would love to see the language change in the hospital. I would love to see a deaf person or several different deaf people coming to meet the parents. I would love everybody working together with that child. I would love to see the child celebrated and not the parents rally overwhelmed by oh, no something is wrong with my child. It starts here. That is my teacher and professional and if you wanted more information about the ABCD approach, that's her Web site.

And so what I have done this is in closing just a few more minutes.

So the steps to the ABCD approach would be like I shared, map your assets. You nine out who is in the community and what are the assets that they have.

And then your goal is to build relationships.

And you want to problem solve baby being identified as deaf is not necessarily the problem for me. The problem is the access to the language that that baby is going to get during those critical years from birth to 5. That's the critical point where that baby is and you just keep on going the third step is that you just information share, you work together, find out what is needed. And fourth step is community gets together and write a vision. They write a vision and map out the plan to see how this would work. And then after they have all of this figured out, then they go to out I'd used resources to come and help. The whole goal is early involvement. You're focusing on the positives of the baby being identified as deaf, the positive of the deaf community. The positive what the medical field has to offer. Positives of cochlear implants, positives of hearing aids, the positives of audiologists and education. And you get together and you work together.

I wrote down community. Deaf, hard of hearing members. Anyone with a hearing loss basically parent siblings, friends, family, doctors, cardiologists, educators. Anyone who wishes to be part of the community interpreters. I did not put interpreters in my slide.

But in closing, that's my presentation. My goal was to present to people here at this conference a different approach when a baby is identified with a different hearing level or identified as deaf and how we can strive to close that gap that by the time they're age 5 or even 3 if they're school ready they have the language that they need and we can figure out what we need to work together to get that language access that people need.

That's my presentation.

I was curious are there any parents here, parents Okay. So I hope that this speaks to you.

I don't know if you could identify with the experience of the woman in the video. Educators, deaf ed teachers, early intervention specialists. Audiologists. Therapists. I've worked with all of you guys in the school system. Is there any questions? I think I have a couple minutes. Please fill out the forms and make sure you hand it to her before you leave. Questions? Have I what? I'm sorry, one more time. You know what? Gotcha. Okay.

That's a greet idea it never even occurred to me. Do you have any suggestions of what you would okay. the question was have you suggested that EHDI change their name? That was the question. That is a fantastic do you have any suggestions as far as why you would want that or why you don't particularly prefer that one?

> AUDIENCE MEMBER: (off mic).

> GINA CATALANO: Drop the H, change the D to deaf and I to involvement and have it called early deaf involvement. I love it.

I love it.

The positive language. I love it. Do you have other questions? Parents, are you here in Atlanta or in a different state. Washington State. I don't know the answer to that. But I would be willing to help you find the answer to that.

If I was in that situation for me, first thing I would do is go to the deaf school but I'm not sure how far away it is to you. I would try to contact them. I know Washington State has a deaf school. He goes there.

And and oh, okay. They haven't been able to have you asked them that question or as far as sort of gotcha, I gotcha.

Personally, I commend you for learning sign language.

I commend you.

And what you're doing is great. I would me as a person who worked with babies that were developmentally I have a lot of suggestions but I'm out of time. Is 12 possible that we can is it possible that we can talk? Okay. Were there any other questions? Okay. Thank you so much for coming to hear my presentation.

> Darlene (Writer): Okay. Thanks.

> Good afternoon, everyone.

You have been welcomed to understanding the impact of early language development on achieving school readiness and school emotional social emotional well being.

As you can see, it's very important they take it seriously. And I'm glad to see that.