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ABSTRACT INFORMATION
Title: 'Interdisciplinary Programming for Early Intervention Specialists: One University’s Experience' Track: 3-Early Intervention and Beyond Audience: Primary Audience: Secondary Audience: Tertiary Audeince: Keyword(s): Early Intervention, Collaboration, Professional Development Learning Objectives: 1) Understand the importance of an interdisciplinary focus for professional development; 2) Identify challenges in implementing training in the university setting; 3) Identify strategies for implementing interdisciplinary training. Abstract: The knowledge and skills needed by professionals working with infants, toddlers and their families has drawn increased attention as a result of child outcome research that emphasizes the importance of well-prepared specialists (Calderon, 2000; Kennedy, et al., 2005; Moeller et al., 2007; Nittrouer & Burton, 2003; Yoshinaga-Itano, 2003) and findings that almost half of the babies identified by newborn hearing screenings are lost to follow-up (JCIH, 2007). Families and their young children rely on the expertise of different professionals who can address their unique strengths and needs. Therefore, early hearing detection and intervention specialists come from a wide range of disciplines including audiology, speech-language pathology, counseling, Deaf studies, education, social work, psychology, etc. Many of the professionals within these disciplines do not have specialized training for early intervention. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (2004) promotes interdisciplinary coursework to prepare future and current professionals to work in teams collaborating across disciplines. Yet, few faculty emphasize this critical area of professional development (Bruder & Dunst, 2005). Interdisciplinary programming breaks the tradition of discipline-specific training requiring faculty to collaborate with each other in the planning, teaching and assessment of their students. This presentation will discuss the benefits and challenges of developing an interdisciplinary birth-to-three training model at Gallaudet University. The Birth-to-Three development team includes deaf, hard of hearing and hearing individuals, practitioners, administrators, a graduate student, as well as parents of deaf children. Presenters will share their perspectives and experiences through this process including challenges with curriculum and funding, and increased appreciation and respect for areas of expertise. Participants attending this session will take away an enhanced understanding of the importance of an interdisciplinary focus on training; challenges implementing interdisciplinary training in traditional department-based universities; and strategies for making this a reality in their own programs. Handouts: Handout is not Available
SPEAKER INFORMATION
PRESENTER(S): Nicole Hutchinson - Gallaudet University      Credentials: B.A. Linguistics       Nicole Hutchinson is a graduate student at Gallaudet University. She will graduate in May 2011 with a Masters degree in Deaf Education with a specialization in Family-Centered Early Education. Brenda Seal - Gallaudet University      Credentials: Ph.D.       Brenda Seal is a professor of Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences at Gallaudet University. Julie Mitchiner - Gallaudet University      Credentials: Ph.D       Julie Mitchiner, Ph.D is an assistant professor in the Education Department at Gallaudet University with a primary focus on Early Childhood Education. She previously taught at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School at the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center in their bilingual ASL/English Early Childhood Program. Julie completed her Ph.D in Education at George Mason University with a specialization in Early Childhood Education and a secondary concentration in multicultural/multilingual education. Her dissertation focused on exploring the beliefs of deaf families who have young children with cochlear implants related to language development in ASL and English. Wendy Hanks - Gallaudet University      Credentials: Ph.D., CCC-A FAAA       Dr. Wendy D. Hanks is Au.D. Program Director in the Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences Department at Gallaudet University. Following her interest in pediatrics, Dr. Hanks is also currently Project Coordinator on a U.S. Office of Special Education Program personnel preparation grant that supports a Pediatric - Educational Audiology Emphasis in the Au.D. Program. Dr. Hanks is active in the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) and was chair of the Education Committee from 2001-2004. She served on the Pediatric Subcommittee from 2004-2008. She is currently serving on the AAA Hearing Screening Subcommittee. Wendy Hanks' research interest is pediatric diagnostic audiology. Her current research is exploring the best technology to document middle ear status in newborns and children that have had recurrent otitis media. Tympanometry using a 1000 Hz probe tone and wideband acoustic reflectance are the technologies that are being explored.   AUTHOR(S): Nicole Hutchinson - Gallaudet University      Credentials: B.A. Linguistics       BIO: Nicole Hutchinson is a graduate student at Gallaudet University. She will graduate in May 2011 with a Masters degree in Deaf Education with a specialization in Family-Centered Early Education. Brenda Seal - Gallaudet University      Credentials: Ph.D.       BIO: Brenda Seal is a professor of Hearing, Speech and Language Sciences at Gallaudet University. Julie Mitchiner - Gallaudet University      Credentials: Ph.D       BIO: Julie Mitchiner, Ph.D is an assistant professor in the Education Department at Gallaudet University with a primary focus on Early Childhood Education. She previously taught at Kendall Demonstration Elementary School at the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center in their bilingual ASL/English Early Childhood Program. Julie completed her Ph.D in Education at George Mason University with a specialization in Early Childhood Education and a secondary concentration in multicultural/multilingual education. Her dissertation focused on exploring the beliefs of deaf families who have young children with cochlear implants related to language development in ASL and English. Wendy Hanks - Gallaudet University      Credentials: Ph.D., CCC-A FAAA       BIO: Dr. Wendy D. Hanks is Au.D. Program Director in the Hearing, Speech, and Language Sciences Department at Gallaudet University. Following her interest in pediatrics, Dr. Hanks is also currently Project Coordinator on a U.S. Office of Special Education Program personnel preparation grant that supports a Pediatric - Educational Audiology Emphasis in the Au.D. Program. Dr. Hanks is active in the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) and was chair of the Education Committee from 2001-2004. She served on the Pediatric Subcommittee from 2004-2008. She is currently serving on the AAA Hearing Screening Subcommittee. Wendy Hanks' research interest is pediatric diagnostic audiology. Her current research is exploring the best technology to document middle ear status in newborns and children that have had recurrent otitis media. Tympanometry using a 1000 Hz probe tone and wideband acoustic reflectance are the technologies that are being explored.