2009 Meetings
January 13, 2009 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Parents Met 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM:Invited Guest Speaker: Roberta J. Perry, LRC, M.Ed.Roberta Perry obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech, Hearing and Language and a Masters in Education in Rehabilitation Counseling with specialization in services to Deaf and Hard of Hearing from Northeastern University in Boston MA. Ms. Perry has accrued over thirty years experience working in the field of hearing loss. For thirteen years (3 in Worcester; 10 in Springfield), she worked with the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission as a Rehabilitation Counselor for the Deaf. Her duties included diagnostic evaluation, eligibility determination, guidance and counseling, development of individualized rehabilitation programs, job development and placement and services to family members. For ten years Ms. Perry has worked with the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing as a Children’s Specialist (8 yrs covering Central and Western regions; last 2 yrs direct service to Western only). Her duties currently include: guidance, counseling and parent education to families of children with hearing loss; technical assistance to EI and educational programs, as well as multiple service providers; all other related case management services. Her current job title is “Lead Case Manager/ Children’s Specialist.” In addition to providing an array of services to children and their families that reside in the Western region, Ms. Perry supervises three Children Specialists with MCDHH, as well as, two Adult Case Managers. She has been an active participant on a number of Boards, Committees and Task Forces and has provided supervision to a number of college interns through the years. She has acquired a number of licenses and certifications through her thirty-plus years of work.
March 10, 2009 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Parents Met 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Invited Guest Speaker: Linda Findlay Ms. Findlay is a Teacher of the Deaf with 24 years experience working with children from 8-16 years of age. Her specialty is in English and reading. She holds a Bachelor degree from Elmira College in New York and a Masters in Language Development in Hearing Impaired Children from Smith College. She has been a Teacher of the Deaf for 14 years and is a member of the Comprehensive Educational Evaluation team at Clarke School for the Deaf , which offers audiological, psychological, speech, language and academic evaluations for children in the mainstream as well as other programs for the deaf. She’s worked on a team to write the Language Arts Curriculum, presented at several A.G. Bell conventions and Clarke Mainstream Conferences, started the Clarke Drama Club, initiated the Clarke School “NO Talent” Talent Show and is an instructor in the Smith-Clarke Graduate Teacher Education Program.
May 12, 2009 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Parents Met 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Guest Speaker: Megan D. Ford, Au.D. Dr. Ford obtained a Master's degree in Audiology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998 and a Doctor of Audiology degree from Salus University in 2009. After completing a clinical fellowship at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston in 1998-99, she continued to work there for several years where she built a solid foundation for a healthy career in audiology. From 2002-2006, Dr. Ford was the assistant director of the cochlear implant program at University Hospitals of Cleveland/Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently, Dr. Ford is a staff audiologist and member of the Sounds of Life Cochlear Implant Program at UMass Memorial Medical Center Rehabilitation Group in Worcester, Massachusetts. In addition to helping those with hearing loss of all ages improve communication skills, Dr. Ford serves on the Public Relations Committee of the American Academy of Audiology. Her passions include spending time with her children and family, gardening, eating locally (like from her back yard) and living healthy. During the spring, summer and fall, you will likely find her outdoors covered in dirt or harvesting vegetables not only from her personal garden, but also as a volunteer for the Garden at Church Meadows which is a community garden that donates 100 % of its produce to a local food bank to feed the hungry.
July 14, 2009 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Parents Met 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Guest Speaker:
Richard Wentworth. Mr. Wentworth is the Parent Outreach Specialist for the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Richard speaks with families throughout the diagnostic process, ensures that they are connected with Early Intervention, provides information about hearing loss, and shares his own experiences as a parent of a child with hearing loss. Richard lives in Lowell, MA with his wife Wendy and his son Henry, a 2 year old ball of energy who loves ice cream and puppies, has a significant degree of bilateral hearing loss, and who loves to dance and play the drums.
November 10, 2009 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Parents Met 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: The VERY latest in hearing technologies- featuring the Oticon Safari and Cochlear Nucleus 5 system. Hands on and informative.Guest Speaker: Carol Caldwell, AuD CCC-A is the Oticon Pediatric Account Manager for New England and NY State. Carol has provided diagnostic and rehabilitative services for children and adults in a variety of settings for more than 25 years. She has extensive experience with pediatric hearing aid and FM fittings, working closely with families, schools, physicians and early intervention agencies in her home state of CT. Carol completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at University of Connecticut, and received her Doctorate of Audiology from Arizona School of Health Sciences at A.T. Stills University. She spoke to the support group about the latest in Oticon Pediatric hearing technology.
March 10, 2009 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Parents Met 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Invited Guest Speaker: Linda Findlay Ms. Findlay is a Teacher of the Deaf with 24 years experience working with children from 8-16 years of age. Her specialty is in English and reading. She holds a Bachelor degree from Elmira College in New York and a Masters in Language Development in Hearing Impaired Children from Smith College. She has been a Teacher of the Deaf for 14 years and is a member of the Comprehensive Educational Evaluation team at Clarke School for the Deaf , which offers audiological, psychological, speech, language and academic evaluations for children in the mainstream as well as other programs for the deaf. She’s worked on a team to write the Language Arts Curriculum, presented at several A.G. Bell conventions and Clarke Mainstream Conferences, started the Clarke Drama Club, initiated the Clarke School “NO Talent” Talent Show and is an instructor in the Smith-Clarke Graduate Teacher Education Program.
May 12, 2009 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Parents Met 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Guest Speaker: Megan D. Ford, Au.D. Dr. Ford obtained a Master's degree in Audiology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1998 and a Doctor of Audiology degree from Salus University in 2009. After completing a clinical fellowship at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston in 1998-99, she continued to work there for several years where she built a solid foundation for a healthy career in audiology. From 2002-2006, Dr. Ford was the assistant director of the cochlear implant program at University Hospitals of Cleveland/Rainbow Babies and Childrens Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio. Currently, Dr. Ford is a staff audiologist and member of the Sounds of Life Cochlear Implant Program at UMass Memorial Medical Center Rehabilitation Group in Worcester, Massachusetts. In addition to helping those with hearing loss of all ages improve communication skills, Dr. Ford serves on the Public Relations Committee of the American Academy of Audiology. Her passions include spending time with her children and family, gardening, eating locally (like from her back yard) and living healthy. During the spring, summer and fall, you will likely find her outdoors covered in dirt or harvesting vegetables not only from her personal garden, but also as a volunteer for the Garden at Church Meadows which is a community garden that donates 100 % of its produce to a local food bank to feed the hungry.
July 14, 2009 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Parents Met 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: Guest Speaker:
Richard Wentworth. Mr. Wentworth is the Parent Outreach Specialist for the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Richard speaks with families throughout the diagnostic process, ensures that they are connected with Early Intervention, provides information about hearing loss, and shares his own experiences as a parent of a child with hearing loss. Richard lives in Lowell, MA with his wife Wendy and his son Henry, a 2 year old ball of energy who loves ice cream and puppies, has a significant degree of bilateral hearing loss, and who loves to dance and play the drums.
November 10, 2009 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Parents Met 8:00 PM - 9:00 PM: The VERY latest in hearing technologies- featuring the Oticon Safari and Cochlear Nucleus 5 system. Hands on and informative.Guest Speaker: Carol Caldwell, AuD CCC-A is the Oticon Pediatric Account Manager for New England and NY State. Carol has provided diagnostic and rehabilitative services for children and adults in a variety of settings for more than 25 years. She has extensive experience with pediatric hearing aid and FM fittings, working closely with families, schools, physicians and early intervention agencies in her home state of CT. Carol completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at University of Connecticut, and received her Doctorate of Audiology from Arizona School of Health Sciences at A.T. Stills University. She spoke to the support group about the latest in Oticon Pediatric hearing technology.
