2026 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 15-17, 2026 • Jacksonville, FL
| From Chalkboards to Scoreboards: Functional Listening Evaluations (FLE) Guiding Equitable Access Across the School Experience
From Chalkboards to Scoreboards: Functional Listening Evaluations (FLE) Guiding Equitable Access Across the School Experience
A Functional Listening Evaluation (FLE) is a structured assessment designed to quantify the impact of three auditory variables: noise, distance, and visual input, on a student’s ability to access spoken information within educational environments in and outside of the classroom. FLEs provide critical insight into how students who are deaf and/or hard of hearing access auditory information during academic instruction and extracurricular activities. Administered and interpreted by an educational audiologist, the FLE yields data that guide evidence-based recommendations to support students’ communication access and educational success.
FLEs are appropriate for students across all grade levels and may be administered regardless of the age at which a hearing loss is identified. Data obtained through an FLE can inform eligibility determinations and support the development, implementation, and progress-monitoring of accommodations and services within an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 Plan. Specifically, FLE findings contribute to evidence-based decisions regarding the need for hearing assistive technology, communication access supports, and other educational accommodations that promote equitable learning outcomes for students who are deaf and/or hard of hearing. Integrating FLE results into educational planning promotes equitable access, supports data-driven goal development, and enhances collaboration among general education teachers, teachers of the deaf, educational audiologists, families, and students.
This poster will highlight the importance of incorporating FLE data into educational decisions from early childhood through high school. Through an interactive case study, participants will examine a student’s FLE results and explore how it can be applied to shape access supports and IEP recommendations at various developmental stages in a student’s education and extracurricular activities. Participants will gain practical strategies for explaining the FLE’s purpose, value, & practical application to enhance the self-advocacy skills of students who are deaf &/or hard of hearing and to foster shared understanding & collaboration within the educational support team.
- The participants will be able to define a functional listening evaluation (FLE) and identify the professional who is responsible for administering, interpreting, and providing recommendations based on the FLE findings.
- Participants will be able to list at least 2 ways the results from an FLE can be implemented into an IEP for a student who is deaf and/or hard of hearing.
- Participants will identify 3 practical applications of an FLE at various stages of a child’s educational journey through an interactive case study of a child with hearing loss.
Presentation:
View Presentation File
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Shalom Ali
(Co-Presenter,Co-Author), SHA281@pitt.edu;
Shalom Ali is a second-year Doctor of Audiology student at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Shalom is passionate about serving both pediatric and adult populations. Her academic and volunteer experiences have strengthened her commitment to improving community health and making meaningful differences. Through LEND, she hopes to further develop her counseling, leadership, and advocacy skills while deepening her understanding of health equity.
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.
Sarah Bolt
(Co-Presenter,Co-Author), SAB737@pitt.edu;
Sarah Bolt is a second-year Doctor of Audiology student at the University of Pittsburgh. She graduated from The Ohio State University in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in Speech and Hearing Science and a minor in Disability Studies. Before beginning graduate school, Sarah worked as a paraprofessional in the public school system, where she supported children with diverse learning needs. These experiences sparked her passion for advocacy and deepened her commitment to ensuring that all children have equitable access to the support they need to reach their full potential. She aims to work as a pediatric audiologist and contribute to policy and systems-level changes that improve the lives of children with hearing loss and neurodevelopmental disabilities.
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.
Hannah Green
(Primary Presenter,Co-Author), hdg18@pitt.edu;
Hannah Green is a second-year Doctor of Audiology student at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders from Brigham Young University, where her experiences with the Deaf community and her Deaf sister inspired her passion for family-centered, accessible hearing care. She is especially interested in the importance of early identification and intervention for children with hearing loss and other developmental differences. She is a strong proponent of fostering self-efficacy skills in both children and their families to empower them throughout the hearing healthcare process.
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.
Amanda Henigan
(Co-Presenter,Co-Author), ARH260@pitt.edu;
Amanda Henigan is a third-year doctoral graduate student in Audiology at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Disorders and Sciences from the University of Oregon. Her passion for supporting children was influenced by her cousin’s experiences navigating healthcare and educational systems, which motivated her to pursue a career centered on patient-and family-centered care. Amanda has volunteered with the Down Syndrome Association and Mission of Mercy, experiences that deepened her commitment to improving access to services for children and families.
Her research focuses on interprofessional education and collaboration between audiology and other health professions to advance patient- and family-centered care. Amanda’s clinical interests include early identification and intervention for hearing loss, and she hopes to use her LEND training to advocate for systems that promote interdisciplinary teamwork and equitable access to hearing healthcare.
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.
Christine Hine
(Co-Presenter,Co-Author), CJH219@pitt.edu;
Christine Hine is a third-year Doctor of Audiology student at the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders, with a minor in Psychology, from Pennsylvania Western-Clarion University in 2023. Christine is passionate about working with children and educating families using evidence-based practices in audiology. Her travels to the Philippines exposed her to healthcare systems with limited resources, inspiring her commitment to serving families from diverse backgrounds. Through LEND, she hopes to broaden her perspective, strengthen her collaboration skills, and apply her experiences to provide family-centered care. Valuing interdisciplinary teamwork, she aims to use her LEND experience to develop innovative ways to improve access to quality hearing healthcare for all children and families.
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.
Katie Vellody
(Co-Presenter,Co-Author), UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh & University of Pittsburgh, LEND, katie.vellody@pitt.edu;
Katie Vellody is adjunct faculty in the Department of Communication Science and Disorders in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. She is also a clinical pediatric audiologist at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Ms. Vellody’s responsibilities include clinical, academic, and research. Ms. Vellody is a clinical instructor in the Preschool Hearing and Speech Education – University of Pittsburgh (PHASE UP) Clinic. The PHASE UP clinic collaborates with over 40 schools in the surrounding Pittsburgh area to provide evidenced based preventative care and screening to the preschool and school age populations. In the PHASE UP clinic, she oversees all 1st year audiology (AuD) and speech language pathology (SLP) graduate students in the administration of preschool & school age hearing screening protocols. Other clinical responsibilities include providing free audiological hearing care to adults residing in Pittsburgh regions of Homewood & East Hills at the Wellness Pavilion Community Engagement Center – University of Pittsburgh. Ms. Vellody teaches two academic graduate level courses to both SLP and AuD graduate students in the fall and spring terms. She is the audiology LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) faculty for the University of Pittsburgh and participates as LEND faculty in the CARES (Connection, Advocacy, Resources, Empowerment and Support) program, a free family centered program to help children and young adults with neurodevelopmental and related disorders, and their families meet their goals. Ms. Vellody’s research interests include pediatric hearing health preventative care and peer assisted learning (PAL) in graduate level health science programs.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from University of Pittsburgh.
• Receives Salary for Employment from UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with University of Pittsburgh, School of Health & Communication Sciences
UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Nature: Adjunct Faculty - University of Pittsburgh
Pediatric Audiologist - UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Elizabeth Young
(Co-Author), eyoung@pattanpgh.net;
Elizabeth Young is an Educational Consultant with the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), supporting statewide efforts in Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DHH), DeafBlind (DB), Assistive Technology (AT), and Secondary Transition. Her work focuses on strengthening access, instructional practices, and transition planning for students with sensory disabilities through collaboration with school teams, related service providers, families, and administrators. Elizabeth earned her Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) degree from West Virginia University in 2017. Prior to joining PaTTAN, she served as an Educational Audiologist at the Westmoreland Intermediate Unit, where she supported 17 school districts in Westmoreland County and additional surrounding districts. During this time, she was a member of the DeafBlind Resource Team and served as coordinator of the Building Experiences for Student Transition (B.E.S.T.) program, where she designed programming to help students develop the necessary skills for life after high school. Her work as an educational audiologist included device management, functional listening evaluations, acoustic recommendations, IEP consultation, and communication access planning. She also provided training on hearing assistive technology, amplification, and the educational impact of hearing loss, and continues this work at PaTTAN to support access and improved outcomes for students who are DHH, DeafBlind, or Deaf+.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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Nonfinancial -
Erin Campion
(Co-Author), Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN), ecampion@pattan.net;
Erin Campion, M.Ed. is the Parent Coordinator for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Initiative at the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) Central office and an office lead on the Family Engagement Initiative. Prior to joining PaTTAN, Erin was a classroom teacher for almost 20 years, teaching students from preschool through college. She has a Masters in Education from Regent University. She has served on several statewide advisory boards and published writings within deaf education and the field of disabilities. She is a happily married mother of four: two deaf/two hearing, two boys/two girls, and all with outstanding personalities!
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
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Nonfinancial -