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10/09/2015  |   11:15 AM - 12:30 PM   |  Andrew Foster Auditorium

A Global Perspective at Ensuring Hearing Health Accountability

In many parts of the world, when a child is born, the village prepares. This is true in the case of a child being found to be deaf or hard of hearing. This presentation will illustrate the international ecosystem available for professionals working with deaf or hard of hearing children and their families, ranging from national organizations to international affiliates of the United Nations. All over the world, technology has become increasingly important in assisting professionals with their work from testing hearing levels to connecting the children to the literacy-rich world to support their language process. Yet, as reported by the World Federation of the Deaf, an international and representative organization of, for and by Deaf people, composed of 123 member countries around the world, 80% of deaf children do not receive any basic education, especially in developing countries. In addition, national laws and educational policies in many countries do not yet promote the use of the national sign language in the education of deaf and hard of hearing students. This presents a barrier to ensuring language outcomes, as research has shown that access to sign language and education is key to successful spoken/written language fluency and usage. In 2006, the United Nations agreed and passed an international disability treaty recognizing the human, civil and linguistic rights of deaf children, the U.N. Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The presenters, both attorneys with global experience and educational law expertise will highlight how CRPD can be and has been translated in best practices and guiding principles in both early intervention and education, and will provide examples on how CRPD can assist hearing health professionals in ensuring their accountability and success with deaf and hard of hearing children.

• Participants will be able to cite national and international organizations treaties relevant to their clients/patients or families that they work with.
• Participants will increase the ability to articulate ways to adjust current practices to increase accountability
• Participants will become more aware of current global perspectives and trends impacting hearing health.

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Tawny Holmes (POC,Primary Presenter), National Association of the Deaf , tawny.holmes@nad.org;
Tawny Holmes is a staff attorney and an Equal Justice Works fellow at the National Association of the Deaf sponsored by Morgan, Lewis and Bockius, LLP. She graduated from the University of Baltimore School of Law, focusing on education policy. In addition to her law degree, she has a Master of Arts in Family Centered Early Education from Gallaudet University. Ms. Holmes is an experienced teacher of the deaf, working at three schools. For her fellowship, she traveled extensively and presented to nearly 2,000 individuals at 45 schools/conferences. She is also a proud godmother of four deaf children.