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10/24/2016  |   1:45 PM - 2:45 PM   |  BGPOP Building 4A/B/C

Fostering Parent Leadership

Attention to coaching and empowering caregivers has emerged as a priority in hearing health and habilitation. Throughout the developing world, however, sustainability of parent education and child services is challenging due to several factors that include limited resources and technology, limited professional training and education, and limited teacher and parent training in areas of hearing differences and habilitation. With specific regard to children who are deaf and hard of hearing, training in parent empowerment and participation are considered important but often left off the table on hearing health humanitarian missions. A 2011 annual meeting at the Coalition for Global Hearing Health conference revealed the critical need for parent empowerment and engagement in the developing world (Parent Empowerment Committee Meeting, CGHH conference, House Ear Institute, Los Angeles 2011). The complexity of the global hearing health and humanitarian industry and the predicament of most parents living in resource-poor communities imply that a traditional approach to parent education and intervention will not be effective and must change. Based on 20 years of qualitative experience coaching and educating parents, humanistic research in positive psychology, and Partners for A Greater Voice parent needs surveys, Joanne Travers presents effective ways to Foster Parent Leadership. This session is one of six modules her organization offers. The program, called “Essential Programs to Coach and Empower Caregivers,” supports the unique needs parents have to be emotionally healthy and prepared in their journey to lead and raise children with hearing differences. Specific techniques are used to foster aspects of leadership such as competence, resilience, and collaboration. Professionals working with families of children with disabilities can enrich their practice by infusing the presenter’s suggested activities and meaningful discussion into their style of parent education and intervention.

• Participants will name new coaching strategies that emotionally and cognitively prepare parents for being leaders of their child’s development, education, and wellness.
• Participants will identify at least three (3) techniques that engage and empower parents of children with disability, and then be able to apply these activites to their professional environment.
• Participants will describe at least three ways to foster positive parenting.

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Joanne Travers (Primary Presenter,Author), Partners for A Greater Voice, greatervoice@comcast.net;
Joanne is founder and director of Partners for A Greater Voice (PGV). The organization has provided training and education to hundreds of practitioners and over a thousand parents in the Dominican Republic, India, and Honduras. Currently, PGV provides support to practitioners, focusing on caregiver well-being; training programs empower and engage caregivers in their potential and their responsiveness to children's hearing and learning. Joanne has counseled parents since 1995. She is inspired by her two adult children who were born with Ushers syndrome. She has served as a director of the board of the Coalition for Global Hearing Health from its inception until 2014. She has a Masters degree in International Management and is certified in positive psychology. Joanne published a book called Coaching and Empowering Caregivers of Children with Hearing loss, an approach to foster well-being. Free copies will be available to qualified practitioners traveling from low-resource countries.