2025 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 9-11, 2025 • Pittsburgh, PA

DAVID L. LAWRENCE CONVENTION CENTER

  • A woman sits at a desk using a desktop computer to video chat with a man and a young girl. The young girl is holding Legos above her head.
  • A woman sits at a desk using a desktop computer to video chat with a man and a young girl. The young girl is holding Legos above her head.
  • A young girl sits in a chair, holding a small toy while a female audiologist places a medical device by her ear.
  • A young mother holds her toddler while they interact with a female therapist or educator. The therapist is gesturing with her hands, possibly using sign language or explaining something, while the mother and child are engaged and attentive.
  • A woman touches her fingertips together and smiles at a toddler who is holding a colorful ball.
  • A young child sitting at a table in a classroom, attentively observing a teacher demonstrating something with an Oreo cookie.
  • A woman joyfully holds a smiling toddler, who is wearing a hearing device, in a garden filled with blooming white and pink flowers.
  • A young boy with a cochlear implant playing with an educational bead maze toy while a woman attentively listens and engages with him.
  • A woman touches her fingertips together and smiles at a toddler who is holding a colorful ball.
  • A young couple sitting together on a couch, the mother holding their baby. The father is holding a small black-and-white picture book and using sign language to communicate.
  • A young boy wearing a bone conduction hearing device plays attentively with a toy mailbox in a playroom.
  • A young boy with a bone conduction hearing device looks excitedly at a large turtle in an aquarium.
  • Two children dressed in playful cowboy outfits. One child, with a hearing aid and a yellow bandana, smiles widely at the camera. The other child, wearing a cowboy hat and a white bandana, laughs joyfully while looking at their friend.
  • A young couple sitting together on a couch, the mother holding their baby. The father is holding a small black-and-white picture book and using sign language to communicate.
  • A young boy with a cochlear implant stands next to a woman holding a toy, while they both engage in a video call with another woman on a computer screen.
  • A young girl with a cochlear implant smiles at a woman who is smiling back.
  • A female teacher interacts with three young children, two of whom are wearing cochlear implants, as they play together with toys in a classroom.
  • A woman joyfully holds a smiling toddler, who is wearing a hearing device, in a garden filled with blooming white and pink flowers.
  • A young boy with a bone conduction hearing device looks excitedly at a large turtle in an aquarium.
  • A young boy with a cochlear implant stands next to a woman holding a toy, while they both engage in a video call with another woman on a computer screen.
  • A woman and a young boy sit at a table, engaging in a sign language conversation with another woman. The boy is focused on his hands, practicing the signs, while the woman guides him.
  • A young girl with a cochlear implant smiles at a woman who is smiling back.
  • A young boy with a cochlear implant stands next to a woman holding a toy, while they both engage in a video call with another woman on a computer screen.

Award Winner/Nominee Details 2020

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Patti Martin

It is a privilege to nominate Patti F. Martin for the 2020 Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence. Dr. Martin's 35-year career has been focused on the early identification and intervention of children with hearing loss. From her work in the early 1990's to see universal newborn hearing screenings implemented, to her present-day work of educating families about hearing loss, she has made outstanding contributions to achieving excellence in EHDI programs in Arkansas, other states, and nationally.

Patti F. Martin, Ph.D., is the Director in Ambulatory Care Services for Audiology & Speech Pathology, ENT, General Pediatric/Circle of Friends, and Dermatology Clinics at Arkansas Children's Hospital (ACH) and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Audiology in the College of Health Professions at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. This nomination for outstanding contributions in the area of excellence in EHDI programs will focus on three areas: early identification efforts, policy advocacy, and family support.

Patti has been a pioneer in the state of Arkansas as well as across the country in the development of EHDI programs, starting with her time as a consultant for the Technical Assistance Network through the National Center on Hearing Assessment and Management (1990). She led the way in Arkansas for the development and implementation of universal newborn hearing screenings serving as a member (1999-2005) and then chair of the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening, Tracking, and Intervention Board for the Department of Health in Arkansas.

Her long-standing dedication to policy around early intervention has been demonstrated by her service on the Coordinating Committee for Special Interest Group 9/Childhood Hearing and Hearing Disorders of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). For the past 8 years she has served as one of two ASHA representatives to the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing and has been very involved in the recently updated and published JCIH Position statement on EHDI programs. Patti's extensive knowledge in policy has extended throughout her entire career, with the emphasis of her doctoral program in Family and Disability Policy, reflecting her passion for families and for improved outcomes of children who are deaf/hard of hearing starting with early detection and intervention.

Most recently, Patti has continued her mission of supporting families in their journey with hearing loss. All across her career she has recognized the importance of bringing families together for peer to peer support as well as for family education. In the last several years, she has worked with the CARE Project (and its director, Dr. Johnnie Sexton) in obtaining funding for and implementing family support programs as well as parent-professional collaborative events across the country.

Patti's accomplishments and passion for ensuring that children with hearing loss are identified early and receive early intervention has been demonstrated through her years of service to the development and implementation of EHDI programs. We believe that her work truly represents the spirit of this award named after her colleague and friend, Dr. Toni Maxon.

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