A Positive Perspective: Preparing Professionals to Work with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infants, Toddlers, and Their Families

Gallaudet University's Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infants, Toddlers and their Families Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Program offers students a framework with which to work with families that emphasizes the deaf or hard of hearing child's strengths. An important aspect of this program is changing terminology regarding deafness, prompting students to pay attention to their language and and provide families with an optimistic perspective. Community service capstone projects give students the chance to internalize the knowledge, skills, and dispositions developed through their coursework and contribute to the field in meaningful ways. Courses are taught using a co-instructor model, with deaf and hearing instructors coming from different professional disciplines. The first cohort of eight students graduated in the summer of 2012, and approximately 10 new students enter each year. The program's goal has remained the same: to address the critical need for more well-prepared professionals to work with young children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families.