Experts Available to Discuss New Technologies, Newborn Screenings, Communication Options
WHO: The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) is the only national organization dedicated to supporting children and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing who use spoken language and hearing technology to communicate in mainstream society.
Karen Youdelman, Ed.D., President of AG Bell and oral deaf educator, can speak to identifying the signs of hearing loss in children, technological advances in auditory aid devices and communication options for deaf children. Adults and children who are deaf or hard of hearing who listen and talk also are available, as are parents who can speak to having children with hearing loss and the challenges and rewards of raising an oral deaf child.
WHAT: AG Bell's 48th Biennial Convention at Midwest Airlines Center. Several thousand attendees include children and adults who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families as well as medical/educational professionals.
Hearing loss is the number one birth defect in the U.S. Each year, 12,000 children are identified with hearing loss at birth and nearly double that figure represents the number of children who acquire a hearing loss before school age. Due to early identification/intervention and hearing technologies such as the cochlear implant, these children can learn to listen, talk and thrive.
WHERE: Midwest Airlines Center, Milwaukee, Wis.
WHEN: June 25 through June 30,
Spokespeople available in-studio, on-site or via telephone
WHY: Federal Legislation - Reauthorization of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Act is under consideration by the U.S. Senate. In 2000, only 45 percent of newborns were screened for hearing; today, 95 percent are screened.
Spoken Language Option is an Increasing Choice for Parents - The number of parents choosing the spoken language option for children with hearing loss has more than doubled in the last 10 years.
Hearing Assistive Technologies - Cochlear implants, digital hearing aids, and other technologies allow children with hearing loss to hear and talk.
Educational Options - More and more school age children with hearing loss are able to speak on par with their hearing peers and enter mainstream schools, saving both their families and the school system money.
CONTACT: Lauren Wilson, +1-202-289-2001, ext. 259, [email protected], for The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
/PRNewswire-USNewswire -- June 4/
SOURCE The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
