2025 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 9-11, 2025 • Pittsburgh, PA
3/18/2024 | 3:10 PM - 3:35 PM | The Community Code of Kindness | Capitol 1
The Community Code of Kindness
In 2022, seven national organizations gathered together in what was known as the 2022 FL3 Partnership Summit, to develop and build upon existing organizational partnerships and to create opportunities for systemic improvement through policy and promising practices discussions. These organizations were identified as organizations that provide direct family-to-family support, including: Alexander Graham Bell Association, American Society for Deaf Children, Family Voices, Hands & Voices, Hearing First, National Cued Speech Association, and the National Center of Deaf-Blindness. The result of this meeting created action steps towards a project together, now known as The Community Code of Kindness. This presentation will share the process by which the group came together through consensus, and how other stakeholders can adopt and apply the commitments and agreements contained within.
- Build understanding on the genesis, evolution, and end result of a joint statement that was created and adopted to guide collaborative interactions.
- Discuss application of the commitments and agreements that can be utilized in EHDI stakeholder circles.
- Empower participants to adopt and utilize the commitments and agreements for partnerships they may be involved in.
Presentation:
3478265_16302JanetDesGeorges.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
3478265_16302JanetDesGeorges.docx
Presenters/Authors
Janet DesGeorges
(Primary Presenter,Co-Presenter,Author), Hands & Voices, Headquarters, janet@handsandvoices.org;
Janet DesGeorges lives in Boulder, Colorado and is Executive Director of Hands & Voices Headquarters and the P.I. for the FL3 Center. Janet has presented to groups worldwide about the experiences of families as they journey through life with a child with deafness or hearing loss. Ms. DesGeorges received a program certificate from the MCH Public Health Leadership Institute in 2011 at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.
As an EHDI Systems advocate, Janet believes in the principles and guiding philosophies of Hands & Voices towards a parent-driven, professionally-collaborative approach when supporting families in the early years. Her areas of interest include Leadership Development for parents who participate in systemic improvement; Deaf Education Reform and Improvement; Children’s Safety and Success(preventing child abuse and neglect); Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Systems; and Parent/Professional partnerships in Quality Improvement processes.
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.
Cheri Dowling
(Co-Presenter,Author,Co-Author), American Society for Deaf Children, cheri@deafchildren.org;
Cheri Dowling is a parent of a 29 year old young man who is deaf with intellectual disabilities. Cheri is the Executive Director of the American Society for Deaf Children has worked with the Family Support and Resource Center at the Maryland School for the Deaf supporting families in Maryland for over 25 years. She has served on state and national committees and councils over the years.
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.
Gayla Guignard
(Co-Presenter), Alexander Graham Bell Association, gguignard@agbell.org;
Gayla Guignard has served as Chief Strategy & Programs Officer for the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) since 2015. By training and credential, Gayla is a certified audiologist, certified speech-language pathologist and certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist in Auditory-Verbal Therapy. In addition to her work at AG Bell, she has worked as a direct service provider, clinical audiology, speech-language pathology and deaf education university supervisor, State Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Coordinator, and as the inaugural director of Indiana’s Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education (CDHHE). She has served in numerous leadership roles on national committees and work groups and has extensive experience in grant writing and management. Additionally, Gayla has been involved in several research projects and has also presented on Listening and Spoken Language and related topics internationally. Gayla’s current work is focused on bringing knowledge forward about listening and spoken language and related areas for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. She is deeply interested in systems that serve individuals and families and was a consultant with the EHDI national technical assistance center grantee [the National Center on Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM) located at Utah State University and directed by Karl White, Ph.D.) from 2007 to 2013. More recently, Gayla participated as a member of a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services EHDI Task Force and currently serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Provider Education Center Advisory Committee and the Hands & Voices Family Language, Learning and Leadership Advisory Committee. Early Hearing Detection and Intervention. In 2023, Gayla represented AG Bell as a proud member of the Hands & Voices work group that created the Community Code of Kindness (https://agbell.org/our-people/ ) and has presented on “the Code” with Hands & Voices and the American Society for Deaf Children. Located in Washington, DC, AG Bell has members in 55+ countries and works with its network of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, parents/family members and professionals. Through her work at AG Bell, Gayla engages in national and international work to realize potential and improve outcomes for all deaf or hard of hearing individuals.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from AG Bell.
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with AG Bell.
Nature: FL3 Advisory Committee, HRSA EHDI Committee, World Hearing Forum.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.