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Demystifying Assistive Listening Devices

Handouts

Presented at 9:00am in Meadowbrook I on Tuesday, November 13, 2018.

#17586

Speaker(s)

  • Dave Litman, Technical Assistant Specialist, National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes
  • Stephanie Zito, Technical Assistant Specialist, National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 3-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: All Levels
  • Type of session: Pre-conference

Summary

Assistive Listening Devices(ALDs) can improve access to speech perception for deaf students who use hearing aids or cochlear implants. This presentation will provide an overview of ALD technology through an interactive demonstration, review best-practices for supporting the use of ALDs on campus, and discuss ways to support student self-advocacy.

Abstract

The National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes (NDC) conducted a literature review on practices that address root causes of challenges to deaf student postsecondary attainment and identified Designing Accessible Environments as a key factor. Designing accessible environments for deaf students usually entails consideration of communication access. Assistive Listening Devices (ALD’s) are one way that promotes increased access for students who use hearing aids or cochlear implants. An increasing number of deaf students are entering postsecondary institutions today that benefit from these types of personal devices. ALDs can effectively reduce barriers that are created as a result of distance, background noise, and the absence of visual cues. This presentation will provide an overview of ALD technologies through an interactive demonstration, reviewing best-practices for professionals who seek support the use of ALDs on campus, and discussing ways to support student self-advocacy.

Keypoints

  1. Demonstrate a basic understanding of how assistive listening devices provide access for deaf individuals
  2. Evaluate institution needs for assistive listening devices
  3. Strategies and policies for encouraging interactive dialogues about accommodations with students

Disability Areas

Deaf/Hard of Hearing

Topic Areas

Assistive Technology, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Dave Litman

Dave Litman is a technical assistance specialist with the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes. Dave strives to embrace the diversity of deafness in his work with the stakeholders. He values the individual experiences that people have had, not just in terms of hearing loss but overall life experiences. Embracing that diversity of experience is a cornerstone of his work and personal life. Dave grew up with normal hearing until the age of 24 when he was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2). Over the course of two years, he had two surgeries to remove growths on his auditory nerve. The end result of this was that both nerves were completely severed and deafness was the result. This experience started Dave on his journey into hearing loss. In 1998, he went back to school as a late deafened adult and majored in child psychology and Deaf Studies from the University of Minnesota. He then graduated from Gallaudet University with a Master’s in Social Work. Over the last 15 years, Dave has applied his professional and personal knowledge working with deaf students (of all modalities), parents, and professionals with the goal of every deaf child having the opportunities to become a successful deaf adult.

Stephanie Zito

Stephanie Zito, MS, NIC, is a technical assistance specialist with the National Deaf Center on Postsecondary Outcomes. Her background is in sign language interpreting and she is also a trained C-Print captionists. After studying interpreting at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she went on to pursue her master’s degree in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the Helen Bader Institute for Nonprofit Management. Prior to joining the NDC team, Stephanie primarily worked as an interpreter and captionist in postsecondary settings but also worked in community and VRS settings. Stephanie has also devoted her time to work with local, state, and national nonprofit organizations. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Interpreters in Education (NAIE).

Handout(s)