Fostering Self-Advocacy and Choice: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Children and Adolescents who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Self-advocacy – the ability to effectively communicate one’s needs and make informed decisions – is crucial for the development of social relationships, communication, and navigating academic environments. Self-advocacy skills are fluid in development, initially being parent-supported and gradually transitioning to children independently advocating for themselves. These skills influence decision-making related to technology and educational choices from early childhood through adolescence, yet children who are deaf or hard of hearing often struggle advocating for themselves.

This Mailman Center Innovation and Connection Conference will present methods that members of an interdisciplinary team, including audiologists, teachers, speech and language pathologists and parents, may use to facilitate the development of self-advocacy skills in children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Specific tools and strategies to support the application of self-advocacy skills across settings (i.e. clinical, educational, social) will be presented.