2026 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 15-17, 2026 • Jacksonville, FL
3/11/2025 | 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Keeping our Eyes on the Finish Line, A Parent’s Perspective: How Comprehensive Language Assessments and Continuous Progress Monitoring Leads to Success | 320
Keeping our Eyes on the Finish Line, A Parent’s Perspective: How Comprehensive Language Assessments and Continuous Progress Monitoring Leads to Success
Still today there is a wide range of outcomes for students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. Of course, each child’s potential is unique but is there more we can do to ensure all students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing have the same opportunity to reach their full unique potential? This session will explore the benefits of carefully monitored educational progress through one parent’s story in successfully advocating for her son’s IEP team to agree to annual language assessments. Come learn how intensely monitoring language and literacy development in the early years can lead to future educational success and explore together the potential harmful effects if this is not accomplished. Barriers to implementing annual language assessments will be discovered and participants will have the opportunity to consider what are the facilitators to implementing annual language assessments and the possible child/student outcomes.
- Participants will discuss the barriers and facilitators of conducting annual language assessments.
- Participants will be able to name at least 3 outcomes of implementing annual language assessments.
- Participants will identify 1 action they can immediately implement after attending this session.
Presentation:
3545975_18155LisaKovacs.pdf
Handouts:
3545975_18155LisaKovacs.pdf
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Lisa Kovacs
(Primary Presenter), Hands & Voices , lisakovacs@handsandvoices.org ;
Lisa Kovacs is the Director of Programs for Hands & Voices Headquarters and on the core management team of the Family Leadership in Language and Learning (FL3) Center. She and her husband Brian have four young adult children including her son who is hard of hearing/deaf. Lisa was the 2019 Antonio Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence recipient. Her professional interest include; Parent Advocacy; Implementation of parent participation and engagement in systems building; Parent to Parent support; Deaf Education Reform; IDEA, ESSA, Part C and Part B Training to Parents, and Parent Leadership Training and Development.
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.