The Great Omission: Parental Involvement in the Process

The NHS 2010 International Conference invitation started going out yesterday to a mailing list of 13,000 people. The invitation included a fundamental, yet new element- the importance of parental collaboration in the process of raising a Deaf child:




NHS 2010 - Beyond Newborn Hearing Screening: Infant and Childhood Hearing in Science and Clinical Practice
Villa Erba Congress Center, Cernobbio, Italy
June 8-10, 2010

We are pleased to announce that the NHS Conference will be held once again
in Cernobbio (Italy) from June 8 until June 10, 2010.

We cordially invite you to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the historic
Lake Como conferences.

The first NHS, held in 2000, was a follow-up to the successful Milan 1998
European Consensus Development Conference and began the Millennium by
paving the way for a new era in the care of infants with hearing loss.
In the past 10 years the field of Newborn Hearing Screening and Early
Intervention Programs has undergone tremendous advancement.
Many countries throughout the world have well-established highly successful
programs, yet there are still countries and regions that are well behind,
which need support to forge ahead. Since the NHS Conferences have been the fuel
to start and to maintain the engine, it is not difficult to predict that the
2010 NHS may be the final impetus in establishing early identification and
intervention as a concrete reality worldwide.

Technology for hearing aids, cochlear implants and audiological equipment
is making continuous and impressive developments, thus offering
increasingly reliable and affordable solutions. Still, one of the great
omissions in too many intervention programs is the crucial role of parents within the process. Implementing improved systemic protocols and practices which encourage informed choice and the empowerment of families with children who are deaf or have hearing loss must be a fundamental objective to ensure the effectiveness of programs worldwide.

The NHS 2010 will include keynote addresses, special sessions, workshops,
a number of satellite events, free communications and massive poster sessions.

You are cordially invited to attend the NHS 2010 International Conference,
and we would like for you to join us in making this historic event another
great success!

There is such a great need for a collective approach to providing resources for the parents of Deaf children. English speakers have an abundance of literature, studies, articles, videos, etc. at their fingertips. My Italian blog is one of two that I have found which addresses deafness. Two. Can you imagine having NO access to information??

This:

does not exist for an Italian parent. (It will by the end of the night, however)

Ironically, one of the Australian founders of GPOD expressed her perplexity in translating an American article into Australian English - you can only imagine the issues in translating from American English to other languages. By the way, check out her new site: Aussie Deaf Kids.

We will be bringing the following issues to the Newborn Hearing Screening 2010 - in one way or another-

-Implementing systemic protocols and systems and practices with the needs and voice of families at the forefront

-Informed choice

-Empowering families around the world

*Because...*

There is a desperate need for parents to be informed.

(I'm praying that by 2010 I'll be able to arrange some accomodations with a bathroom en suite lol)