Winter Edition: Offering resources and tips to ensure uninterrupted support for students who are deaf or hard of hearing in Florida.
Resources
  • Clarke Speaks Magazine 2020-2021: Mobile-friendly and featuring stories of connection, perseverance and giving, this special edition of Clarke Speaks magazine is not to be missed!

  • Hearing and Me: Are you working with other professionals or parents to help students create a PowerPoint explaining their hearing loss? These slides are a handy template to get you started in creating a well-informed partnership among a child's teachers, support staff, coaches, peers and more.

  • News to Support Mainstream Teachers and Students: Discover tips for protecting children from cyberbullying, read about what professionals have learned through remote services, understand how to support literacy skills—and more with Mainstream News.

Add to Your Bookshelf: "The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree" by Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen and Illustrated by Tety Solou
Written from a mother's point of view, this book emphasizes the tactics and communication that facilitate understanding in the classroom and among peers during the critical mainstream stage. Use it with students to target literacy and self-advocacy skills at the elementary level. It's great for teachers who have students who are deaf or hard of hearing as they collaborate with speech-language pathologists and general educators.
LSL Tip: Ensure Individual Success with a Team Approach
Shared by Melissa Pyzik, MED, LSLS Cert. AVEd, Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech
Meet the audiologists from Orange County Public Schools (OCPS), a team who understands the importance of collaboration.

Examples of this collective teamwork include:

  • Welcoming language data to select the most appropriate speech discrimination tests

  • Partnering with the mapping audiologist by providing essential information on the student so they can optimize access

  • Joining classroom observations to recommend the most appropriate hearing and assistive technologies

  • Participating in IEP meetings to garner the best understanding of the necessity for optimum hearing as a prerequisite for academic success
"Our team believes that collaboration is essential in helping students with hearing loss achieve their best possible potential. It is important to have effective communication with everyone on the child's team and to be open to their individual needs."

—OCPS Audiology Team
Virtual Intervention for All Ages: Coaching to Build Caregiver Engagement
Alisa Demico, director of Clarke Florida, presented best practices for parent coaching and engagement at the 2020 FEDHH Virtual Conference. Now more than ever, caregiver involvement is one of the leading factors in ensuring students who are deaf or hard of hearing progress and meet their learning goals.
Professional Development and Online Training

  • 2021 FLASHA Convention: Registration opens this month for the Florida Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists Convention on July 15-18, 2021.


Additional Dates to Remember:

  • International Cochlear Implant Day (February 25): A day to celebrate hearing technology and spread awareness about the opportunities available for those who are deaf or hard of hearing. Join the conversation and use the hashtag #CIDay2021.

Bright Spot Story: What Does it Mean to be a Good Friend?
Zoe has profound hearing loss and learned to listen and talk at Clarke. Now seven years old, she is excelling at a mainstream elementary school and tells us about kindness and sharing.
About Us and This Newsletter
"Talking About Florida" is a quarterly newsletter produced by Clarke Florida that serves as a resource for families and professionals. The newsletter is made possible through the Bureau of Exceptional Student Education and Student Services (BEESS) Discretionary Project Auditory-Oral Education Grant.

Clarke Florida serves children and families by providing a wide range of auditory-oral services and programs through early intervention (birth-three), preschool-first grade, mainstream and speech and language services with experts who focus on achieving key milestones at every stage. The auditory-oral program for children ages three to seven is in partnership with school districts in Florida and the Department of Education.

Have an event or resource to share?
Email Clarke Florida at florida@clarkeschools.org.
Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. As an IRS qualified charity, gifts to Clarke are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Our Work. Our Reach. Your Role: New and increased donations will go even further thanks to a partial matching grant from a generous funder.

Since 1867, Clarke has provided children who are deaf or hard of hearing with the education needed to succeed in a hearing world. Clarke has evolved to best meet the needs of children and families today though our infant-toddler, virtual tVISIT, preschool, K-8, mainstream and summer programs, as well as through our hearing center, comprehensive educational evaluations and research and professional development.

Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech | 9803 Old St. Augustine Road #7, Jacksonville, Fl. 32257
Voice 904.880.9001 | florida@clarkeschools.org  | clarkeschools.org