Presenters: Karla Giese and Heidi Herbon

Karla is a deaf adult, experienced in many modes of communication: written, spoken, signed, and cued. She is an active advocate for deaf education and access to literacy for all deaf children and passionate about comprehensible communication access. As a teacher of the deaf and advocate, Karla wears several hats, providing educational consult support to several Illinois organizations supporting both deaf and hard of hearing learners and their families. In addition, she is also a faculty member in higher education, supporting pre-service teachers of the deaf and hard of hearing. In addition, Karla provides a variety of professional development opportunities for both parents and professionals, mostly focused on language and literacy. Karla has worked with deaf and hard of hearing children of all ages, from birth to age 21, across all educational settings, and using all modes of communication. As a student, teacher, administrator, and faculty of deaf education programs, Karla has come full circle and enjoys sharing her experiences with others.

Heidi is an advocate of language acquisition for each individual child, deaf or hearing. She believes there is no one correct approach to helping children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing learn language, and keeps an open mind to all approaches. She uses Cued English daily, but is also fluent in sign language, trained in Visual Phonics, well versed in the Montessori method of instruction, and continues to seek further education and training opportunities to increase her knowledge and skill set. Heidi has taught deaf children in Peru and the United States. She has worked with all ages and ability levels. Her passion is empowerment and ensuring her learners develop the necessary skill set to become successful language users. Currently, Heidi oversees the Deaf Services program embedded within a Montessori School while providing Cued English trainings and support throughout the midwest.