National Lead-K Campaign for Deaf Kids

An estimated 250-300 babies across the state of TN are identified as dDeaf and hard of hearing every year. Currently there is no standard assessment or statistics on language acquisition and development, either English or ASL to monitor and guide support within the most at risk area (language).

Let's talk about the benefits of establishing a language assessment program within our state. Regardless of language used, having a regular language assessment in place in 1 or both languages used will help drive data-driven interventions helping families make decisions. We want dDeaf* children to be ready to read in kindergarten and track progress through 3rd grade, which is the start of TCAP assessments.

*dDeaf represents deaf, hard of hearing, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, unilateral hearing status, single sided deafness, Auditory Neuropathy, Late Identified, Late Deafened, and At Risk/In Process of Discovery

Check out this amazing opportunity!

Nominations to award your favorite teacher, administrator, parent!

https://www.instagram.com/p/DAedsTyPIll/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Deadline extended!!! If you haven't yet, please nominate worthy candidates for an award. Deadline is now October 3! At our CAL-ED conference from October 25 - 27, we will recognize people who have contributed to Deaf Education within California. It's easy! Go to linktr.ee/caledorg Look for "2024 CAL-ED AWARDS NOMINATION" link. Fill out the form TODAY. Deadline: October 3, 2024 . . . . . Image Description: Grey ribbon in red text reads, "Deadline Extended to Oct 3 over orginal text; Accepting Nominations. Deadline: September 8, 2023. Administrator Award, Teacher Award, Service Provider Award, Interpreter Award, Parent Award, Contributor Award, Lifetime Achievement Award. Emerging Leader Award. Must be a CAL-ED member who has made significant contributions to the field of Deaf Education in California for a minimum of 5 years. Image of a large trophy with the CAL-ED logo. . . . . . . . #caled2024 #caledMosiac #deafeducation #deaf #DeafEducation #DeafEd #caledorg #TeachersOfTheDeaf #ASLEnglish #ASLEnglishBilingual

CONGRATULATIONS Assemblyman James Gallagher and the Deaf community, Parents, Deaf Ed Teachers! AB 1938 was signed into law today!!! NorCal Services for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Patty Hughes: GLAD, OCDEAF, CODIE, Tri-GLAD, Michelle Bronson- DHHSC, Amy Gomme - DCARA, Monique Antionette Ball -DCS, (Coalition of Agencies serving the Deaf), , Kasey Cain, CAD (California Association of the Deaf), California Educators of the Deaf, Coalition of Option Schools, & Esperanza Ross. 🙌🏽❤️

Congratulations also
to the Disability Rights California Andy Imparato, Eric Harris n policy team, Disability community on many other important wins.
To see all:

Governor Newsom signs legislation to strengthen support, opportunities, and safety for Californians with disabilities | Governor of California State of California

Every baby, deaf or hearing WILL benefit from a native sign language. I will never understand why it’s frowned upon, especially when it should always be the first language, especially for deaf and hard of hearing babies. There are many amazing deaf and hard of hearing ASL teachers as well as content creators. Repost from @momsplanfortheday • Since Maceo was born, I’ve always signed to him. In my opinion, ASL is the most beautiful language in the world and I couldn’t wait to introduce it to him. I took ASL for 3 years in high school, a few college courses, and went on an international service trip to Ghana in college to volunteer at a boarding school for the Deaf. So I’ve been anxiously waiting for him to use sign to communicate with me and I think we have finally arrived. 😁🎉 His first sign was actually “light” which shocked me, but now I realize how fascinated he is when he sees any form of light. He started to sign “milk” while nursing around 7-8 months old, and recognizes it when it is signed to him but I still haven’t seen him request for milk using ASL yet. Despite that, I’m still in awe that he is signing before his first birthday. ✨TIPS! Clearly I’m not an expert, but if you want to introduce your baby to ASL and aren’t sure where to start here’s a few ideas✨ ✅Learn ASL from Native Speakers! First and foremost, you’re going to want to learn how to sign. Follow one of my favorite ASL teachers, Ashley aka @signedwithheart. Definitely subscribe to her YouTube channel as well! She has awesome videos that are clear and easy to follow. Always prioritize learning ASL from Deaf creators/teachers! 🫶🏾 (and please trash the baby sign books 😭 I’m sorry but most of the signs are not correct & just think of this… do we write books that explicitly teach kids “baby english”/baby talk???) (More Tips in Comments ⏩️) ✨ If you want to learn more about ASL, language acquisition, or enjoy ASL content follow my favorite content creators/accounts! ❤️Ashley Clark @signedwithheart 🧡Estefani Arevalo @thatdeafamily 💛Language 1st @language1st 💚Stacy Abrams @whyisign #whyisign #asl #11monthsold #babymilestones #askmewhyisign #endlanguagedeprivation #allwillbenefit