JTC Alumni & Friends, TAG (Training & Advocacy Group) & California AG Bell invite you to a conference for
Oral Deaf Kids & Siblings (5th-12th grade) and their Parents

Sunday, December 6, 2009
1 pm – 4 pm

Pizza Social immediately following the program.
Location: John Tracy Clinic, 806 West Adams Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007

Speakers and Topics include:

Robyn Tenensap, Department of Rehabilitation/Deaf & Hard of Hearing Services: Financial, Academic and Vocations Support for Young Adults

• Steps to take before they turn 18

Melinda Gillinger, Advocate: School Services for Middle School and Beyond

• IDEA vs. 504 plan
• Private vs. Public School
• What kids Need vs. What Kids Want

Hands on Technology Demonstration using the latest and greatest audiology equipment and accessories.

College-age Panel

Parents and kids will be on a dual track program. Kids will participate in the tech demo, enjoy social games, bond and share with other kids, and attend the panel discussion.

Cost per family is $40 (payable to TAG). Registration is required by November 18th. To register, download this flier, fill out and mail according to instructions. Questions? email SWeiner@jtc.org

Read the rest of the Fall 2009 Bulletin

The JTC Bookstore is now open to professionals who want to purchase bound copies of lessons and supplemental materials through JTC’s Distance Education Program for Parents. Vocabulary books and the “Parent Course for Preschoolers” are currently available, with more publications to be added in the coming months.

JTC’s popular web resource, Chatterbox, allows visitors access to new, family-friendly papers on topics related to childhood hearing loss, such as “Building Bilingual Skills.” For families actively enrolled in services, an additional link provides access to professional papers from our Learning Library, including “Preparing for Preschool” and “Your Child’s Rights Under the Law.”

Read the rest of the Fall 2009 Bulletin

“We came back to France from our John Tracy Clinic Summer Session two weeks ago and want to THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support, your generosity, your kindness, your professional attitude, your involvement, your energy, and your positive spirit toward our whole family. John Tracy Clinic is a place of peace and enthusiasm.

“The audio-verbal option for deaf children is not offered in France, and when we came to JTC it was the first time Bruno and I had the same vision as the professionals around us. It was such a relief not to struggle anymore about the value of the spoken language approach for our son Matthieu. The results are better than we had expected because he is making progress not just in one but in two languages! Matthieu now counts to 13 in English, sings “Good Morning to You,” and the “Clean Up” song. He celebrated his third birthday on the 23rd of August and we all sang “Happy Birthday” in English! He says he would like to go back to JTC and join the preschool some day! And perhaps he will.

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Graduating in May from the joint JTC/USD Master’s Degree Program were seven onsite students and four in the online option.

A national shortage of teachers of the deaf has existed for decades.  Early identification, advanced amplification and intervention, however, have created a new and urgent need for teachers with the knowledge and training to provide a listening and spoken language program to maximize the tremendous potential that the new technology offers.  Of the 80 deaf education programs across the United States, the John Tracy Clinic/University of San Diego Deaf Education Master’s and Credential Program is one of only 12 programs that emphasizes listening and spoken language for very young children. No wonder that the program’s one-year, onsite option is full to capacity this year. Eight new graduate students will spend their year of teacher education doing coursework, fieldwork and practica at JTC and surrounding spoken language schools in Los Angeles. A total of ten students are enrolled in the two-year, online option. Read the rest of this entry →

Marieta and Tyler de Lara arrive for the first day of Preschool. Tyler’s cochlear implant story was featured on the front page of the L.A. Times, August 3, 2009.

The new school year opened to great expectations and fond reunions as the Parent/Infant and Preschool programs welcomed new and returning families for the 2009-2010 year.  New faces, new books and new activities awaited our eager young learners. For those who speak a language other than English at home, the new Dual Language Learners initiative has now become part of their curriculum. This program taps into the potential for deaf and hard of hearing children to listen and speak in more than one language.

In the parallel service of audiology, we have now taken the next step up in diagnostic capabilities with an Auditory Steady-state Response (ASSR) unit, thanks to the generosity of a major donor. The ASSR, which measures brainstem response, will allow our audiologists to further define a child’s degree of hearing loss, which can be a great help to teachers and parents in developing and refining spoken language strategies.

Read the rest of the Fall 2009 Bulletin

In this soft economy, nonprofits must demonstrate extraordinary passion, innovation and cost-effectiveness to advance their mission and keep their doors open, especially if their services are offered at no charge to parents, like John Tracy Clinic’s. Deaf children can’t wait for the economy to improve, of course. To develop age-appropriate skills for the hearing and speaking world, they need help and they need it now. We are so grateful to our donors for understanding that the kind of help we’re talking about is not just technology. Read the rest of this entry →