SOUNDBRIDGE REPORT FOR CREC COUNCIL
UPDATED FOR DECEMBER 2007

Soundbridge audiologists have been busy attending workshops to help us stay on the cutting edge of audiological technology. Jill Raney, Cathy St.Laurent, and Elaine Carroll spent Veteran’s Day in Springfield, MA at the Cochlear Americas Workshop entitled Advanced Cochlear Implant Programming. Cathy St. Laurent, Susan Piescik, Raisa Usifer, Terry Yanaway, and Elaine Carroll went to a workshop, Managing the Whole Child, about current hearing aid technology on November 13 in Rocky Hill, CT. In December, Jill Raney and Elaine Carroll attended a conference in Chicago, Sound Foundation Through Early Amplification.

Melissa Dennis, counselor, attended a conference for Northeast School Counselors for the Deaf (NESCD) on November 15th in New York City.  The meeting was attended by approximately 25 psychologists, psychiatrists, nurses, and other medical professionals. In addition, Ms. Dennis was invited to be a member of the Anti-Bullying Committee at the Emerson-Williams Elementary School in Wethersfield, which houses our 17 Soundbridge students of elementary school age. This group is meeting as part of a grant from the CT Mental Health Association, with the purpose of increasing professionals’ knowledge and skills in effectively and consistently applying the rules that support a school environment where no one gets bullied.  Dr. George Sugai, who is a world-renowned consultant and collaborator for the School-Wide Positive Behavior Support program, is guiding the committee.

Soundbridge and Very Special Arts/Young Audiences of Connecticut received funding through a grant to bring the arts to students with hearing loss. Craig Norton, a professional photography, has begun working with Soundbridge middle school students. He has created a curriculum Playtography with the goals of learning digital photography and learning the spoken language to describe student work. Mike Kachuba, a musician, is bringing music to the Soundbridge preschool. His curriculum is called Music to My Ears and combines the goals of learning about music with preschool curricular goals in science. At a Soundbridge January family event, students and families will look forward to Bob Bloom’s performance and interactive drumming program. Teens will look forward to a mask making event with local artist-in-residence, Judith Mortensen. In addition, Soundbridge has been awarded a grant from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism to help fund the cost of two artists.

Soundbridge held its second annual First Responders Breakfast. Six Wethersfield First Responders attended with the fire department, the police department, and the emergency services all represented.  Douglas Henley from the CREC Facilities department also attended, as did representatives from the front office, the preschool, audiology, and administration. 

Soundbridge’s team at the secondary level sponsored an after school activity for teens with hearing loss on November 16.  Fifteen teenagers and 5 adults hiked from Wethersfield High School to Soundbridge, where they were joined by 3 more teens and another teacher. The group had a scavenger hunt on the hike, and then pizza and popcorn, a movie, and team-building activities at Soundbridge. The secondary team included the counselor, an audiologist, a paraprofessional and three teachers of the hearing impaired. All participants had a great time and are looking forward to the next teen event. The Soundbridge Transition team also sponsored “CREC Techies,” which brought specialists from Clarke School for the Deaf Assistive Device Center, Sprint, and Cap Tel to talk about the latest assistive devices for promoting independence for individuals with hearing loss. Cap Tel is a captioned telephone that is available for free for every person with a hearing loss in Connecticut.