For immediate release.
Contact: Christopher Mann, 317-557-6346, pr@hearindiana.org
Indianapolis-
On October 30, 2009, more than 160 attendees are
expected to attend Hear Here Indianapolis 2009 presented by Peyton Manning
Children’s Hospital at St.Vincent. This will be Hear Indiana’s 27th Annual Conference to
provide state-of-the-art information on hearing technology and the most
up-to-date strategies on improving listening, literacy, and spoken language
skills. Attendees can participate in person or via webinar.
Keynote speaker, Donald M. Goldberg, Ph.D.,
CCC-SLP/A, FAAA, LSLS Cert. AVT explains, “With today’s technology, hard
of hearing and even profoundly deaf children can learn to listen and speak. The future is bright and the ‘sky is the limit’ for those
children who are given access to the full range of educational, occupational,
and social choices in life.”
Hear
Indiana’s executive director, Naomi Horton,
adds, “The data suggest that 90 percent of Indiana families with newly diagnosed
children are choosing an auditory oral/verbal communication methodology, which
focuses on listening and speaking rather than the use of sign language. As a result of this conference, more deaf and
hard of hearing students will excel in the mainstream and become independent
members of society.”
Patty Spitler, former
Indianapolis WISH-TV anchor and current host of WTHR’s PetPalsTV, will provide
the welcoming speech at Hear Here
Indianapolis. “When I lost my
hearing due to Meniere’s disease in 2004, I thought my life was over. I tried to learn sign language, but it was
hard, and I didn’t feel comfortable in the signing Deaf culture. Today I am
profoundly deaf in my left ear, but I wear a hearing aid in my right ear which
allows me to communicate verbally. Hear Indiana has helped me realize
that my life is not over. It feels great to be doing deaf differently!”