Holiday Gathering Social Tips for People who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
The holidays bring to mind joyful festivities and gatherings with family and friends. For people with hearing loss, however, this time of the year brings a unique set of challenges. Volta Voices talked to some adults who are deaf and hard of hearing around the world who share their expert tips.
Helping AG Bell Families Financially Impacted by COVID
Coronavirus lockdown has been difficult for many of our AG Bell families. For some, it’s been harder than others—they’ve had pay cuts, lost jobs, or had to stop working to help their children through virtual schooling.
Holiday Gift Guide to Educational Toys
Gretchen Overton’s daughter is 2 ½-years-old and knows more than a thousand words—the average 2-year-old knows about 300. This Christmas will be her daughter’s third with hearing aids, too.
Checking in on School During the Pandemic
Back in August, Tina Morris made the difficult decision to send her son Karsen—who is deaf and wears cochlear implants—to brick and mortar school because his needs were more likely to be met. Unfortunately, after only a few weeks of school, the Morrises had to pull him out.
Abbey’s Road – A Journey Through Abbey’s Cochlear Implantation
Abbey Russell is a 23-year-old college graduate who is preparing to enter medical school. After 19 years of deafness in her left ear and hearing loss in the right, Abbey made the decision to undergo cochlear implant surgery.
Infant-Directed Speech in Non-Westernized Nations
Infant-directed speech (IDS), also referred to as caregiver talk, baby talk, or parentese, is the way many adults around the world typically talk to infants and young children. In addition to using simpler words, caregivers tend to repeat those words in a slower rate of speech that is higher pitched with an exaggerated melody and pitch.
In Memory of a Dear Friend: Arlene “Bonnie” Tenenbaum
AG Bell’s Leadership Opportunities for Teens (LOFT) Program long benefited from the kind support of Bonnie and Marty Tenenbaum, and many of our young adults have expressed their gratitude over the years. We are saddened by the loss of Bonnie, who passed away on October 15, 2020 at the age of 76.
Save the Date: 2021 AG Bell Global Listening and Spoken Language Symposium to Be Held as A Virtual Conference June 24 and 25.
Following the success of this year’s event, AG Bell has announced its dates for the 2021 Global Listening and Spoken Language Virtual Symposium to be July 8-9. Co-chairs for 2021 are Jane Madell, Elizabeth Tyszkiewicz, and Fernanda Hinojosa.
Abbey’s Road
Abigail Russell, or Abbey, an AG Bell intern and a Leadership Opportunities for Teens (LOFT) graduate, recently decided to get her first cochlear implant—at the age of 23. Born with a condition called Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct (EVA), which affects hearing in children, Abbey’s hearing fluctuated in and out for the first few years, although she says she could usually hear.
Guiding the Development of Specific Self-Advocacy Skills in Very Young Children with Hearing Loss: A Family Focus
Many research papers report that children with hearing loss, when diagnosed and enriched with auditory language at a very young age, are able to achieve age-appropriate spoken language communication just like their peers with typical hearing.
