Willie Ross School for the Deaf, Baystate Health to Host Conference

HOLYOKE — As part of the 50th anniversary celebration of The Willie Ross School for the Deaf, the school is co-sponsoring a conference with Baystate Continuing Interprofessional Education, “Language Acquisition and Learning in Deaf Children,” on Saturday, April 8 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Baystate Education Center, 361 Whitney Ave., Holyoke.

The conference will address perspectives on the development and education of deaf and hard-of-hearing children and learning differences in how deaf and hard-of-hearing children acquire language. The goal of the conference is to support ideal care of deaf and hard-of-hearing children by increasing knowledge and abilities to apply current research to practice.

Presenters will include Bert Carter, president and CEO of the Willie Ross School for the Deaf; Marie Coppola, director of the Language Creation Laboratory and assistant professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences and Department of Linguistics at the University of Connecticut; Marc Marschark, director of the Center for Education and Research Partnerships and professor at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf; and Jessica Trussell, assistant professor at Rochester Institute of Technology’s National Institute for the Deaf.

The seminar is designed for physicians, nurses, audiologists, speech-language therapists, SPED directors, vocational rehabilitation counselors, early-intervention providers, and educators of the deaf and hard-of-hearing. The program will also be beneficial to families of deaf or hard-of-hearing children as well as general-education providers, school administrators, and anyone working with deaf or hard-of-hearing students.

The registration fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, and a refreshment break. The cost $70. Register online at learn.bhs.org. Interprofessional Continuing Education credits are available.