2024 Early Childhood Conference

Language deprivation remains a significant concern for many Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) children, often impacting their cognitive, social, and emotional development. This session will explore effective strategies for identifying and addressing language deprivation through comprehensive assessments, goal setting, and the implementation of targeted activities. Attendees will gain insight into evidence-based methods to support language acquisition and development in DHH children, focusing on tailoring interventions to meet individual needs. Through case studies, participants will reflect on how to apply these techniques to foster communication and language growth. By the end of the session, participants will be able to define language deprivation, recognize its causes, and utilize multiple approaches to mitigate its effects and foster language-rich environments for DHH children.

Participants will learn how visuals can be used to help support communication skills.  Children with different communication abilities from non-speaking to speaking multiple words can participate in activities with the aid of visual support.  Explicit instruction, visual support, and strategies will be used to teach the participants how to use two visual tools.  During this workshop, participants will engage in hands-on activities to describe objects and to retell a personal event or activity. 

Learner Outcomes:  Participants will be able to name 2 visual tools to expand communication skills and demonstrate how to use visual supports with students of different communication skills.

One of the biggest dilemmas that educators face in the classroom is how to address challenging behaviors in students. Challenging behaviors can disrupt classroom instruction, distract other learners and can be highly anxiety-inducing for all learners in the classroom. In this session, learners will acquire practical strategies to proactively manage challenging behaviors in students, thereby promoting a more conducive learning environment. We aim to prevent disruptions to classroom instruction and reduce anxiety among all learners. This approach not only helps educators understand and apply Kimochis effectively but also provides practical tools to address challenging behaviors before they escalate, promoting a more positive and supportive classroom environment.

Ensuring the successful implementation of Kimochis hinges on bridging the home and school connection. While it may not be realistic to expect families to fully adopt the Kimochis vocabulary at home, learners can enhance their understanding of Kimochis and facilitate manageable practices that can be applied at home. The interactive presentation session will be focused on providing more “do-able doses” of Kimochis when at home.