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10/12/2017  |   9:00 AM - 12:00 PM   |  East Ballroom at Shalala Student Services Building

Pre-Conference Session
Family Engagement Powers Hearing Device Technology

Family engagement is one of the most important predictors of a child’s early success and their development into adulthood. There is little emphasis on effective engagement of families in standard clinical practice. This is further amplified in increasingly complex healthcare systems and/or low resourced environments. As a result, hearing healthcare providers spend the majority of their clinical time addressing the hearing loss and/or hearing device. Hearing device technology has improved significantly over the past few decades. Despite this, we continue to see considerable variability in outcomes for children with hearing loss. The success of intervention with hearing devices is largely driven by the support the child receives outside of the clinical setting both in the home and at school. Outside stressors, poor support system, and/or limited financial resources can serve as barriers to family engagement. These factors may inhibit the family’s ability to access or retain the information provided and ultimately limit their ability to advocate on behalf of the child with hearing loss. This workshop with review novel ways to promote family engagement in a busy clinical setting, discuss barriers families of children with hearing loss experience, and identify strategies to remove these barriers to foster family engagement. Providing comprehensive hearing healthcare can be a challenge. This is further amplified in low resourced environments. A multidisciplinary approach for optimizing parent engagement toward the common goal of improved hearing outcomes will be presented.

• Discuss the importance of family engagement in successful management of pediatric hearing loss.
• Review novel ways to promote family engagement in demanding clinical settings.
• Identify barriers that limit family engagement and strategies to remove those barriers.

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Kari Morgenstein (POC,Primary Presenter), University of Miami Medical Center, k.morgenstein11@med.miami.edu;
Kari Morgenstein, Au.D, F-AAA, PASC is an Assistant Professor at the University of Miami Medical Center. She is the Director of the University of Miami Children’s Hearing Program, a unique, interdisciplinary program that focuses on providing early intervention and management for children with hearing loss. Dr. Morgenstein received her Bachelor’s degree from Indiana University and her Doctorate in Audiology from the University of Florida. She specializes in pediatric diagnostic, hearing aids, unilateral hearing loss, and bone anchored devices. She also performs vestibular assessments in pediatric and adult patients. Dr. Morgenstein has been published in various national and international journals, is on the Florida Academy of Audiology Board of Directors, and sits on several committees within the American Academy of Audiology.

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Ivette Cejas (Co-Presenter), University of Miami, icejas@med.miami.edu;
Dr. Ivette Cejas is the Director of the Barton G Kids Hear Now Cochlear Implant Family Resource Center and Associate Professor at the UHealth Ear Institute. She is a Licensed Psychologist in the state of Florida. Dr. Cejas is a well-known researcher in the area of pediatric cochlear implantation, publishing over 20 articles/chapters and presenting at numerous conferences. Since 2004 she has been providing therapeutic services to children and families coping with a hearing loss diagnosis or comorbid disorders. She is an advocate for all children with hearing loss and organizes a mentoring program at UHealth to help prepare children and families for the journey of listening through cochlear implantation. She is on the Board of Directors at AG Bell and is a member of the American Cochlear Implant Alliance. Dr. Ivette Cejas is the Director of the Barton G Kids Hear Now Cochlear Implant Family Resource Center and Assistant Professor at the UHealth Ear Institute. She is a Licensed Psychologist in the state of Florida. Dr. Cejas is a well-known researcher in the area of pediatric cochlear implantation, publishing over 20 articles/chapters and presenting at numerous conferences. Since 2004 she has been providing therapeutic services to children and families coping with a hearing loss diagnosis or comorbid disorders. She is an advocate for all children with hearing loss and organizes a mentoring program at UHealth to help prepare children and families for the journey of listening through cochlear implantation. She is on the Board of Directors at AG Bell and is a member of the American Cochlear Implant Alliance.

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Alex Mestres (Co-Presenter), University of Miami Medical Center , asm120@med.miami.edu;
Alex Mestres, a Miami native, attended Flagler College where she received a degree in Education of the Hearing Impaired and Elementary Education. Alex also has a wide variety of experience and credentialing in early childhood. She has worked in the private sector as an administrator, professional development trainer, and consultant. More recently she served as the department chairperson for Deaf and Hard of Hearing services with Miami Dade County Public School. While with the county she oversaw the itinerant teacher program and provided technical assistance to a wide variety of schools. Alex currently serves as a consultant and provides all deaf and hard of hearing services for Academica Charter Schools as well as Charter Schools USA. Along with those responsibilities, she is the Educational Specialist at the University of Miami Children's Hearing Program where she provides educational support for families of children with hearing loss.

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Lisa Kovacs (Co-Presenter), Hands & Voices , lisakovacs@handsandvoices.org;
Lisa Kovacs is one of the founders and Guide By Your Side (GBYS) Coordinator for Indiana Hands & Voices. In 2012 she became the Director of Programs for Hands & Voices Headquarters. In this position, Lisa oversees the implementation and operations of Hands & Voices Programs that include Guide By Your Side, Advocacy Support & Training, and the newest program,Leadership to Leadership. Lisa currently serves on the board of CGHH and is also a member of the Indiana Department of Education Special Education Advisory Council. Lisa lives in Greenwood Indiana with her husband Brian and there 4 children, including their son Anthony, who is deaf/hard of hearing. Lisa’s professional interest include; Parent Advocacy; Implementation of parent participation in systems building in Universal Newborn Hearing Screening; Parent to Parent support; Deaf Education Reform; Parent advocacy in school systems; IDEA, ESSA, Part C and Part B Training to Parents; Medical Home Initiatives.

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists. Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.