The 2023 Guide to Providing Services (GPS) Conference was held Monday, November 6, 2023 at TLC.
This conference offers a unique opportunity for Early Intervention Service Providers and Speciality Support Service Providers to come together to learn and to network.
Conference Agenda*
8:30 AM: Registration
9:00 AM: Love & Language: The Strongest Foundations for Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Children’s Development
Keynote Speaker: Matt Hall
BREAK
10:40 AM: What is the Visual Communication & Sign Language checklist? Learn why VCSL is an important assessment tool in young children's sign language development
Presenters: Milmaglyn Morales and Thea Cabral
11:15 AM: Family Perspectives Panel
Presenters: Parents/Caregivers
12:00 PM: Lunch and (optional) Tour of Badavas Parent Infant Program
12:45 PM: Resources and Service Providers for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Families
Panel Discussion. Presenters include: Stephanie Zornova/The ASL Shop; Katie McCarthy/Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program from Boston Children's, Briana Nichols/TLC Public School Partnership; Megan Vargo/TLC Educational Audiologist; Aimee Stevens/Family Sign Language Program; and Emily Graves, Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
2:15 PM: Social Emotional Learning: How children understand and manage their emotions, establish healthy relationships, and make responsible decisions.
Presenters: Shira Grabelsky and April Rivera.
BREAK
2:45 PM: Hand on Activity/Roundtable
Facilitator: Claire Miller
3:30 PM: Wrap-Up; Evaluations
*subject to change
Conference Presenters
Your Keynote Speaker
“Love & Language: The Strongest Foundations for Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Children’s Development”
It’s easy to believe - implicitly or explicitly - that a DHH child’s hearing loss is the greatest threat to their chances of growing up to lead a fulfilling life. However, academic research and lived experience both show that what DHH children need most is love and language. Unfortunately, many hearing families struggle on both fronts, due to negative attitudes that they may have internalized about deafness, and misunderstandings about sign languages and their impact on child development. Early intervention systems are critical opportunities for engaging families about these ideas, but many EI providers also lack deep familiarity with DHH children’s developmental needs. This “Love & Language” framework offers early intervention providers an alternative lens for understanding how to best support DHH child’s development. By attending this workshop, professionals will be better equipped to have critical conversations with families of DHH children that will ultimately benefit the child’s development.
About Matt:
Dr. Matthew Hall, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders in the College of Public Health at Temple University. He applies knowledge from cognitive/developmental psychology and linguistics to questions that concern DHH children. He is committed to increasing the quality of the empirical evidence so that clinicians and families can make better-informed decisions toward the shared goal of promoting the long-term and holistic well-being of DHH children. He has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education since 2016, and has been a scientific advisor to Hands & Voices and the National Association of the Deaf.
Milmaglyn Morales
Milmaglyn is the Principal for MPS Early Childhood Center. She holds certification in Connecticut as an Integrated Early Childhood Education (*N-Grade 3) and Special Education in K-12, as well as a Birth-to-Three Program Service Coordinator. She also has a Sixth-Year Leadership Certificate and is currently a Certified Visual Communication Sign Language Evaluator.
Presentation: What is Visual Communication Sign Language?
Thea Cabral
Thea holds a Masters in School Counseling with emphasis on Mental Health and is Specialty Service Provider (SSP). As PIP Coordinator, she supports youth in our Birth to 3 program, ensuring resources are accessible for all family members, as well as overseeing the development of language and structured social activities for young children.
Presentation: What is Visual Communication Sign Language?
Shira Grabelsky
Shira has a Master’s Degree in Deaf Education from Boston University, and a Master’s in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University. She brings 13 years of professional experience in Deaf Education to TLC.
Most recently serving as Curriculum Specialist for New Mexico School for the Deaf, Shira helped develop and implement curriculum adoption strategies, including cross-sectoral collaborations with community groups. She also designed and provided professional development training and instructional coaching for teachers.
Her participation in more than two dozen presentations and workshops cover a broad range of topics, including Deaf advocacy, mentorship, Anti-Bias education, Deaf identity and language access.
Presentation: Social Emotional Learning
April Rivera
A self-proclaimed “nerd” for early childhood, child development, and social emotional learning, April graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelor’s in Family, Consumer, and Human Development with an emphasis in Deaf Education, Early Childhood Education, and Early Intervention Services.
She continued her education with a Master’s in Bilingual-Bicultural Deaf Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood. She taught at the California School for the Deaf, Fremont for three years before moving to Massachusetts to teach at The Learning Center for the Deaf. She is SKI-HI certified.
April has worked in early childhood education in both settings, primarily with 3-4 year olds. April is a mentor and teacher coach and loves sharing her values around children and best practices in education.
Presentation: Social Emotional Learning
Claire Miller
Claire Lombardo-Miller, CCC-SLP, NIC, is a speech-language pathologist and ASL-English Interpreter. She earned a BA in early childhood education at Smith College and an MS in speech-language pathology from Boston University. Since 2004, she has worked at The Learning Center for the Deaf as an SLP, early intervention provider, educator, and mentor. Claire has presented at state and national conferences in the field of Deaf-focused early intervention, the importance of Deaf-hearing teams in early intervention settings, and the unique challenges facing hard of hearing children in public schools. The Deaf community has been a beacon of her learning and personal and professional growth. Allyship and continued cultural understanding is at the center of her professional practice.
Presentation: Hand on Activity / Roundtable
Your Keynote Speaker
“Love & Language: The Strongest Foundations for Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Children’s Development”
It’s easy to believe - implicitly or explicitly - that a DHH child’s hearing loss is the greatest threat to their chances of growing up to lead a fulfilling life. However, academic research and lived experience both show that what DHH children need most is love and language. Unfortunately, many hearing families struggle on both fronts, due to negative attitudes that they may have internalized about deafness, and misunderstandings about sign languages and their impact on child development. Early intervention systems are critical opportunities for engaging families about these ideas, but many EI providers also lack deep familiarity with DHH children’s developmental needs. This “Love & Language” framework offers early intervention providers an alternative lens for understanding how to best support DHH child’s development. By attending this workshop, professionals will be better equipped to have critical conversations with families of DHH children that will ultimately benefit the child’s development.
About Matt:
Dr. Matthew Hall, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Communication Sciences & Disorders in the College of Public Health at Temple University. He applies knowledge from cognitive/developmental psychology and linguistics to questions that concern DHH children. He is committed to increasing the quality of the empirical evidence so that clinicians and families can make better-informed decisions toward the shared goal of promoting the long-term and holistic well-being of DHH children. He has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education since 2016, and has been a scientific advisor to Hands & Voices and the National Association of the Deaf.
Milmaglyn Morales
Milmaglyn is the Principal for MPS Early Childhood Center. She holds certification in Connecticut as an Integrated Early Childhood Education (*N-Grade 3) and Special Education in K-12, as well as a Birth-to-Three Program Service Coordinator. She also has a Sixth-Year Leadership Certificate and is currently a Certified Visual Communication Sign Language Evaluator.
Presentation: What is Visual Communication Sign Language?
Thea Cabral
Thea holds a Masters in School Counseling with emphasis on Mental Health and is Specialty Service Provider (SSP). As PIP Coordinator, she supports youth in our Birth to 3 program, ensuring resources are accessible for all family members, as well as overseeing the development of language and structured social activities for young children.
Presentation: What is Visual Communication Sign Language?
Shira Grabelsky
Shira has a Master’s Degree in Deaf Education from Boston University, and a Master’s in Education Policy and Management from Harvard University. She brings 13 years of professional experience in Deaf Education to TLC.
Most recently serving as Curriculum Specialist for New Mexico School for the Deaf, Shira helped develop and implement curriculum adoption strategies, including cross-sectoral collaborations with community groups. She also designed and provided professional development training and instructional coaching for teachers.
Her participation in more than two dozen presentations and workshops cover a broad range of topics, including Deaf advocacy, mentorship, Anti-Bias education, Deaf identity and language access.
Presentation: Social Emotional Learning
April Rivera
A self-proclaimed “nerd” for early childhood, child development, and social emotional learning, April graduated from Utah State University with a Bachelor’s in Family, Consumer, and Human Development with an emphasis in Deaf Education, Early Childhood Education, and Early Intervention Services.
She continued her education with a Master’s in Bilingual-Bicultural Deaf Education with an emphasis in Early Childhood. She taught at the California School for the Deaf, Fremont for three years before moving to Massachusetts to teach at The Learning Center for the Deaf. She is SKI-HI certified.
April has worked in early childhood education in both settings, primarily with 3-4 year olds. April is a mentor and teacher coach and loves sharing her values around children and best practices in education.
Presentation: Social Emotional Learning
Claire Miller
Claire Lombardo-Miller, CCC-SLP, NIC, is a speech-language pathologist and ASL-English Interpreter. She earned a BA in early childhood education at Smith College and an MS in speech-language pathology from Boston University. Since 2004, she has worked at The Learning Center for the Deaf as an SLP, early intervention provider, educator, and mentor. Claire has presented at state and national conferences in the field of Deaf-focused early intervention, the importance of Deaf-hearing teams in early intervention settings, and the unique challenges facing hard of hearing children in public schools. The Deaf community has been a beacon of her learning and personal and professional growth. Allyship and continued cultural understanding is at the center of her professional practice.
Presentation: Hand on Activity / Roundtable
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