As I pack my bags to meet the team of professionals in Vietnam, I find some old photos. I am very excited to spend more time working with my mentor, Judy Simser. In this photo, Judy was presenting a full day conference on Auditory-Verbal Therapy prior to the Australasian Conference in Brisbane, Australia in 2007. Everyone wanted their photo taken with Judy!
In another photo, Jim and I stand with our mentee, Hillary Ganek, as she received the 2008 Rookie of the Year Award from the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf. We are proud of Hillary as she worked hard to fullfill all the requirements and become a Listening and Spoken Langauge Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist.
In another photo, Jim and I stand with our mentee, Hillary Ganek, as she received the 2008 Rookie of the Year Award from the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf. We are proud of Hillary as she worked hard to fullfill all the requirements and become a Listening and Spoken Langauge Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist.
January 2, 2011 Sunday
Paige Stringer founded the Global Foundation For Children With Hearing Loss to help children in developing countries access the quality education and resources they need to achieve their full potential as contributing members of society.
The first I heard of Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss was from an American, Hillary Ganek, a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist working at John’s Hopkins in Baltimore Maryland, USA.
Hillary was part of the American team of 13 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, early intervention specialists, and auditory-verbal therapists launching the multi-year Vietnam Deaf Education Program. Last summer Hillary taught at Thuan An Center, a school for hard of hearing and deaf children in Lei Thieu, a country village situated about 20 miles north of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Ninety teachers from 35 schools spread across 20 Vietnam provinces came to learn at the Thuan An Center. For a month, professionals and teachers engaged in a summer intensive about how to help young children with hearing loss develop listening and spoken language skills and acquire education. I talked with Hillary before she decided to go and skyped with her while she was there. Why?
Hillary was one of my Auditory-Verbal Therapy trainees. She gave me the distinct privilege of asking me to be her mentor for the practical aspects of becoming a Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist. How we met was funny. She wrote me a letter in 2006 requesting my training. Her letter was addressed to my private practice, the Auditory-Verbal Communication Center in Gloucester, MA, USA, but got forwarded to me while I was teaching in South Australia!
The letter followed me to Australia and then so did Hillary!
My husband Jim and I were offered an opportunity (by our mentor) to help train therapists in the land down under for 2006 - 2007. We enjoyed our Aussie year helping the Cora Barclay Centre move from an old ‘school for the deaf type location’ to a new more user friendly parent guidance house/clinic. We trained talented teachers how to do more parent guidance especially with infants. One of the speech-language pathologists we trained was Hillary! She followed us to South Australia to gain the necessary training in Auditory-Verbal Therapy.
Our career long mentor, Judy Simser from Canada, was the one who recommended us for that consulting job in Australia. Judy is currently the A G Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Global Ambassador. For 40 years, she has been starting programs and training teachers – in Ottawa, Canada, in Taiwan, in Singapore. She is also the mother of an amazing guy who is profoundly deaf. He is all grown up now – a successful lawyer, father, nice person, etc. I will tell you more about my idol, Judy Simser as I work alongside her during our January mobile mission.
I remember that January night in 2006 when Judy called asking us if we wanted to share our expertise of teaching parents of children with hearing loss in an established Auditory-Verbal center needing some help. I was on the phone upstairs and said; “YES”. I felt like I wanted to do anything Judy asked me to do. Jim was on the phone downstairs and said; “What?” After careful consideration, Jim and I could not think of a good reason to stop our busy life in Massachusetts and travel to the other side of the world to do what we love. We were happy we answered the call to help kids in South Australia have better access to Auditory-Verbal Therapy.
Well, this past November when Judy called me again and asked me to assist her as she consulted in Vietnam. I felt the same compulsion to do what my mentor asked me to do.
After teaching listening and spoken language to children who are deaf and hard of hearing “for over thirty years”, my passion now is to share what I love to do with young therapists who will continue to teach “for over thirty years”! I have a lot to learn, a lot to share, and I am ready to venture off to a land where young teachers are demanding more knowledge and training for advancing their skills in helping children who are deaf communicate with spoken language.
I feel lucky to go with Judy Simser who was one of the therapists who stimulated me as I started my Auditory-Verbal Therapy career all those years ago.
Paige Stringer founded the Global Foundation For Children With Hearing Loss to help children in developing countries access the quality education and resources they need to achieve their full potential as contributing members of society.
The first I heard of Global Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss was from an American, Hillary Ganek, a Listening and Spoken Language Specialist working at John’s Hopkins in Baltimore Maryland, USA.
Hillary was part of the American team of 13 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, early intervention specialists, and auditory-verbal therapists launching the multi-year Vietnam Deaf Education Program. Last summer Hillary taught at Thuan An Center, a school for hard of hearing and deaf children in Lei Thieu, a country village situated about 20 miles north of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Ninety teachers from 35 schools spread across 20 Vietnam provinces came to learn at the Thuan An Center. For a month, professionals and teachers engaged in a summer intensive about how to help young children with hearing loss develop listening and spoken language skills and acquire education. I talked with Hillary before she decided to go and skyped with her while she was there. Why?
Hillary was one of my Auditory-Verbal Therapy trainees. She gave me the distinct privilege of asking me to be her mentor for the practical aspects of becoming a Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist. How we met was funny. She wrote me a letter in 2006 requesting my training. Her letter was addressed to my private practice, the Auditory-Verbal Communication Center in Gloucester, MA, USA, but got forwarded to me while I was teaching in South Australia!
The letter followed me to Australia and then so did Hillary!
My husband Jim and I were offered an opportunity (by our mentor) to help train therapists in the land down under for 2006 - 2007. We enjoyed our Aussie year helping the Cora Barclay Centre move from an old ‘school for the deaf type location’ to a new more user friendly parent guidance house/clinic. We trained talented teachers how to do more parent guidance especially with infants. One of the speech-language pathologists we trained was Hillary! She followed us to South Australia to gain the necessary training in Auditory-Verbal Therapy.
Our career long mentor, Judy Simser from Canada, was the one who recommended us for that consulting job in Australia. Judy is currently the A G Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Global Ambassador. For 40 years, she has been starting programs and training teachers – in Ottawa, Canada, in Taiwan, in Singapore. She is also the mother of an amazing guy who is profoundly deaf. He is all grown up now – a successful lawyer, father, nice person, etc. I will tell you more about my idol, Judy Simser as I work alongside her during our January mobile mission.
I remember that January night in 2006 when Judy called asking us if we wanted to share our expertise of teaching parents of children with hearing loss in an established Auditory-Verbal center needing some help. I was on the phone upstairs and said; “YES”. I felt like I wanted to do anything Judy asked me to do. Jim was on the phone downstairs and said; “What?” After careful consideration, Jim and I could not think of a good reason to stop our busy life in Massachusetts and travel to the other side of the world to do what we love. We were happy we answered the call to help kids in South Australia have better access to Auditory-Verbal Therapy.
Well, this past November when Judy called me again and asked me to assist her as she consulted in Vietnam. I felt the same compulsion to do what my mentor asked me to do.
After teaching listening and spoken language to children who are deaf and hard of hearing “for over thirty years”, my passion now is to share what I love to do with young therapists who will continue to teach “for over thirty years”! I have a lot to learn, a lot to share, and I am ready to venture off to a land where young teachers are demanding more knowledge and training for advancing their skills in helping children who are deaf communicate with spoken language.
I feel lucky to go with Judy Simser who was one of the therapists who stimulated me as I started my Auditory-Verbal Therapy career all those years ago.
Today is 1/1/11- Saturday Happy New Year!
