beginnings

#TeamTuesday Feature: Bambi Reed

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 11:21:42 GMT

January 2022

Every Tuesday, Beginnings SC will highlight the professionals across South Carolina doing amazing work in their role to help deaf & hard of hearing children in our state reach their fullest potential! It takes an entire team (or a village, if you will) to provide families with the best support and resources to help their children.

Featured: Bambi Reed, ToDHH/Early Interventionist, SC School for the Deaf & the Blind

What is your connection with deaf and hard of hearing families/individuals?
I work with school age students on language acquisition and academic skills. I work with babies, toddlers and families through parent education so that families understand their child's hearing level and have strategies for acquiring language whether oral or signed. I also have a sister in law who is Deaf.

Describe your role/job in one sentence:
I am a teacher and language acquisition specialist.

Why/how did you get involved?
I always wanted to be a teacher. I took an ASL class in college to learn to communicate with a friend. I enjoyed learning the language so much that I combined my interests into one major - the education of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students.

What is something you feel is important that you would like to share?
I am also a certified interpreter for the Deaf.

If you could choose any era to live in, what would it be?
I would choose the era of the founding of the United States. I have a love of history and have always had an interest in this time period. I would miss modern conveniences though!

#TeamTuesday Feature: Aileen Welch

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 11:16:06 GMT

January 2022

Featured: Aileen Welch, Regional Counselor for the Deaf, SC Vocational Rehabilitation Department

What is your connection with deaf and hard of hearing families/individuals?

I have an all deaf ASL-using caseload from all over SC. My caseload is a mixture of deaf adults and deaf transition students in high school.

I am also deaf and have two children with hearing loss.

Describe your role/job in one sentence:

I help deaf individuals become work ready, find jobs, and help remove barriers to employment which also includes assisting with training and education.

Why/how did you get involved?

Having applied for VR services in the past, I was disappointed with my own personal experience. I wanted to help the deaf individuals in SC seeking Voc Rehab support so they wouldn't have the same experiences I did.

What is something you feel is important that you would like to share?

Having someone work with you that speaks the same language as you can be a very powerful thing. Knowing that the person working with you has had their own struggles with hearing loss can do a lot to establish rapport.

What are your three must have smart phone apps?

Genius Scan, the Bank app and my Otter app!

#TeamTuesday Feature: Dakota Sharp

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 11:11:50 GMT

January 2022

Featured: Dr. Dakota Sharp, Pediatric Audiologist, UofSC Montgomery Clinic

What is your connection with deaf and hard of hearing families/individuals?

As an audiologist, I am with families from the very beginning of their journey (diagnosis), as well as every step of the way to seeing their child reach their full potential.

Describe your role/job in one sentence:

I am a pediatric audiologist that is responsible for the diagnosis and rehabilitation of hearing loss for infants and children, as well as counseling and empowering families.

Why/how did you get involved?

When I first moved to South Carolina, my primary goal was to improve pediatric hearing care in our state. In the process, learned about the amazing work that Beginnings does for children who are deaf and hard of hearing, and their support has been critical in accomplishing these goals.

Why/how did you get involved?

What was the last movie you saw?

Eternals, which features the first deaf MCU hero using ASL! I'm a huge movie nerd, and I've never missed a Marvel release in theaters. My wife and I watch multiple movies per week!

#TeamTuesday Feature: Kamili Belton

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 11:05:57 GMT

February 1, 2022

Every Tuesday, Beginnings SC will highlight the professionals across South Carolina doing amazing work in their role to help deaf & hard of hearing children in our state reach their fullest potential! It takes an entire team (or a village, if you will) to provide families with the best support and resources to help their children.

Featured: Kamili Belton, Regional Mental Health Counselor, SC Dept. of Mental Health

What would you like us to know about you?
I grew up in SC, I learned about my hearing loss when I was 5 years old. I self taught myself how to lip read even before I knew what "lip reading" was. I utilize both oral and ASL in all areas of my life.

How did you get involved with Beginnings?
I was invited by Mary Reaves who was my internship supervisor at DMH before I even considered a career in counseling. Cara was one of my teachers in middle school. I am able to assist them with referrals to attending events, etc for families and children around SC.

What are your aspirations?
I couldn't give you an idea of what my aspirations were, but my dream remains the same: counseling and sharing emotional support in whatever capacity I can give it to families with deaf children.

What is something you'd like to share with others?
Deaf people/children are more than just our disability and with the right support and access they will soar and for that I am forever grateful to my family most of all my mother for pushing me.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Strawberries and peanut butter; sweet with a little salty and yet savory.

Benefits of ABC Parent Coaching

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 10:50:46 GMT

Beginnings SC Parent Education Specialist and ABC Parent Coach Lisa Jolly shares why parents should participate in ABC Coaching.

Lisa Jolly • 06/08/22

One day, I came upon my beautiful boy emptying the soil of a gorgeous plant that was also just a bit temperamental. I said “no” and received the strangest look from my sweet almost 2 year old cherub! Next thing I knew, his cochlear implant was on the floor, not his head where it belonged and he dumped that plant right out of its pot with a grin. At that moment, I knew we were in for the ride of our lifetime. He was so small, so smart, so fast! Having a child who could not hear was one thing but having one who could literally take off his “ear” just because he didn’t like my words, well, that frightened me.

Oh, I had great people in my life who coached me about developing language through consistent use of technology, Learning to Listen strategies and activities, all kinds of things related to language development. But, I truly believe it would have been helpful to both of my boys to have someone coach me on matters of the heart with both of my children. That’s what brought me to Attachment Biobehavioral Catch-Up Parent Coaching . That’s a mouthful, so let’s just say ABC.

ABC is a brief program that takes place at your home. The goal of ABC is to support children in developing strong relationships and self-regulation, two areas that are so important for succeeding in school. A parent coach will come to your home for an hour a week for 10 weeks. The coach will share some information about common parenting challenges of infants, but more importantly will support you in your parenting during the visit, particularly helping you notice all the great things you are doing to care for your child. The coach will also video record the visit. The video is used so that supervisors can make sure the coach is doing a good job, but the coach will also show you back video from previous weeks. Do you know how sports players sometimes watch game tape from previous weeks to notice things? Video is used like that in ABC as well. A montage of all those wonderful video clips is given to you at the end of the 10 weeks as a gift.

We have openings for families whose children are 6 months to 24 months old. We would love to share this well researched program with you. The benefits for all children include strong attachment, less anger, improved executive functioning and increased verbal abilities. Our children with hearing loss will face challenges in this hearing world, but ABC can help.

If you're interested in participating in the free ABC Coaching program with Lisa Jolly, email her at lisa@beginningssc.org .

Parent Testimony

"Our names are Robert and Gisela, and our baby Liam is our blessing. Liam was born deaf in his left ear and is missing part of the vestibular system in both ears. In our search to learn more about Liam’s condition and how we could cater to his needs, we got a call from Mrs. Jolly and are so happy we did. During our first conversation with Mrs. Jolly, we just knew we needed to schedule an appointment with her, and we are so happy we did.

Not only did she take the time to fully explain the anatomy of Liam’s ear with proper terminology in a way we could understand, but she also took the time to explain her personal life and shared her own real-life experiences that we were able to connect with. Mrs. Jolly also recommended the ABC Parent Coaching and explained how it would help better equip us to soothe and reprehend our baby with love and patience.

In every class, we were able to analyze and reflect on our old ways of punishment and learn new and better ways to reprehend our children. We had to self-reflect on things we held onto from our own childhoods and let go of the things we were raised on, like yelling and spankings. She simply opened our eyes and helped us realize that babies communicate sometimes with frustration, and how attentive we need to be with our children.

Mrs. Jolly is a sweet and very wise woman. She teaches with love and conviction which makes attending her class easy to attend, even over the course of ten weeks. After speaking with her you begin to think differently about how you raise your children. The key is to parent them with more love, patience and understanding and doing so will only bring you even closer to your children. Mrs. Jolly Is truly amazing and I would recommend and encourage anyone to take her class."

May 28, 2022 is Treacher Collins Syndrome Awareness Day in S.C.

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 10:42:41 GMT

May 27, 2022

This week, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster signed a proclamation marking May 28, 2022 as Treacher Collins Syndrome Awareness Day in South Carolina.

According to the National Organization for Rare Disorders , Treacher Collins Syndrome (TCS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by distinctive abnormalities of the head and the face. TCS was named after a Longon opthamologist who first described the disorder, Edward Treacher Collins. Physical characteristics and symptoms associated with TCS can vary greatly from one individual to another. Craniofacial abnormalities can include: underdevelopment of the zygomatic complex (which plays a key role in the structure, function, and appearance of the facial skeleton), cheekbones, jaws, palate and mouth, which can lead to breathing or feed difficulties. Malformations of the eyes, including a downward slant at the opening between the upper and lower eyelids, may be present in affected individuals. Hearing loss may also occur due to anomalies of external and middle ear structures. TCS can mildly affect some individuals leading to them going undiagnosed, while others with TC may develop serious, life-threatening complications.

You can learn more about Treacher Collins Syndrome, including causes, related disorders, and standard therapies for TCS here.

Beginnings SC Family Story: The Knightens

Pictured above: The Knighten family: Andrew, Hunter (1), CJ, and Jackson (3). Hunter is pictured alone on the right.

Treacher Collins Syndrome Awareness Day in South Caroline was actualized by one of our amazing Beginnings SC moms, CJ Knighten. CJ emailed Gov. McMaster about getting a proclamation for TCS Awareness Day, and she made it happen! Below, CJ shares her family’s story with TCS.

“In November 2020 I gave birth to the most handsome perfect little baby, Hunter, our family was smitten over him. We noticed that he had a few facial differences and was struggling to breath at birth. The doctors dismissed our concerns and said everything was fine. After his two failed newborn hearing screenings we were referred to an ENT/Audiologist. For 2.5 months we saw a handful of pediatricians, ENT and audiologists. All dismissed our concerns and kept saying come back in a week for us to check his hearing again. They said, "we think he can hear but, we’re not sure." One day they canceled our appointment and said they couldn't help us. It was really confusing because we were consistently assured that they didn't believe there was a concern. That night I googled underdeveloped ears and dents below the eyes. Within ten minutes I found a picture of a little boy that looked identical to my son. At that very moment I knew Hunter had Treacher Collins Syndrome. We emailed MUSC and received a response the next day confirming he has features consistent with TCS. Later his genetic tests confirmed Hunter had TCS. TCS occurs 1 in 50,000 and before Hunter was born we had never heard of it. We have struggled to find doctors that have experience with TCS or even know what TCS is. We have also struggled to find other families that have also received a TCS diagnosis. I realized that there needs to be awareness for Treacher Collins Syndrome for so many reasons. Awareness brings others with TCS together, it helps build the health care understanding of what TCS is, it helps to bring the resources needed to individuals with TCS, and so much more. I was so excited to receive an email this week after reaching out to Governor McMaster with a proclamation for Treacher Collins Syndrome Awareness Day on May 28, 2022. This is one step closer to bringing our community goals to life. It has also inspired a couple of the TCS families locally within South Carolina to meet-up for the first time this Saturday, May 28 to celebrate the FIRST Treacher Collins Syndrome Awareness Day.”

Radio Interview: Supporting the employment of the deaf & hard of hearing

Fri, 16 Jun 2023 10:24:25 GMT

Beginnings SC Director of Programs Mary Reaves speaks with Mike Switzer of SC Business Review

Jennifer Faulkner • 07/14/22

Director of Programs Mary Reaves was interviewed by Mike Switzer of SC Business Review and SC Public Radio on July 13, 2022.

You can listen to the interview here and read the full transcript below.

TRANSCRIPT:

Mike Switzer:

Hello and welcome to another edition of the South Carolina Business Review. This is Mike Switzer. It probably would not surprise you to learn that people who are deaf or hard of hearing have lower rates of college level education, which means lower paying jobs and higher rates of unemployment in most cases. Which is why our next guest organization is working to alleviate this situation. Mary Reaves is the director of programs at Beginnings SC, and she joined us now by phone from her office in West Columbia, South Carolina. Mary, welcome to the program.

Mary Reaves:

Thank you for having me, Mike, I appreciate it.

Mike Switzer:

Now first, give us a brief history and overview of your organization.

Mary Reaves:

Well, we're about to come up on our 10th birthday, actually. And my co-founder and I started this program to educate and support parents who have a deaf or hard of hearing child. I worked for the Department of Mental Health for a number of years and I served many adults and children whose lives had been really significantly impacted by lack of access to language and information. My co-founder was a teacher of the deaf and she really saw that happening before her students even graduated from high school, just lack of language. We met frequently to talk about what else we could do. And a nonprofit was born that shifted our focus from educating children and counseling children to really supporting parents.

Mary Reaves:

And we've had the opportunity to serve over 400 families all across South Carolina who have a deaf or hard of hearing child, we're statewide, anywhere from birth to age 21. I'll tell you, one of the most exciting parts about the journey that this past 10 years has been is the relationships that we've established with businesses, and partners, and organizations all across the state. And we really spent the early part of our career focusing on really the micro aspects of a child and family like, what does this one family need? And we've since really come to realize that we have to take a macro view because the lack of access to language and communication impacts our entire community.

Mike Switzer:

Tell us what the causes are here of lower rates of college education among the deaf and hard of hearing. And why is that?

Mary Reaves:

Well, a lot of that really kind of boils down to there has for a long time been a lack of identification. About 8% of children in South Carolina who have a permanent hearing loss or deaf or hard of hearing, only about 8% of those have an individualized education plan, which means they're really getting direct instruction. We're identifying what their needs are. So, when we have children who are showing up to school, they might have arrived at school with a delay in language already. Maybe their parents didn't have supports and services or they lived in a very rural area. That's a significant barrier for a number of families, lack of providers.

Mary Reaves:

But then, we get children who go into schools and this has always been considered a low incidence disability. We at Beginnings love to call it low counting because really there are 9,232 kids in South Carolina alone, school age, to six to 18, who are not getting appropriate services. And so, when you leave high school with potentially a fourth grade reading level, which is a national statistic but is still common, college is often not accessible.

Mike Switzer:

And so, you're finding the solution to this issue is to provide more resources to the parents?

Mary Reaves:

Absolutely, absolutely. When parents are given information about all the ways that their child can be successful, that having a hearing loss doesn't mean their child can't achieve, but they need supports, they need services, they need quality intervention, they need appropriate services in the school, and they need to be embraced by their community.

Mike Switzer:

All right. Now, tell us how your organization is working with the business community.

Mary Reaves:

We have been really excited about a partnership with Dominion Energy. And they have a group of folks, all Dominion Energy employees, it's called DiverseAbility, and they're really working to expand the talent pool of folks who come to work at Dominion. And so, we've been really excited about opportunities to partner with them, to share information about how to reach the deaf and hard of hearing community. But then also, they have shared a way that they can help us serve our families, using some of the tools and resources that they have like how to write a resume. And we've all been in Zoom land for so long. My children, because they have typical hearing, overhear me having a business meeting. They hear the language that happens from that.

Mary Reaves:

Children who have a hearing loss often don't, most often don't. And so, they don't have this incidental knowledge of what a business meeting looks like for example. And so, the folks in DiverseAbility with Dominion Energy are going to help us educate our parents on that. What topics do we need to make sure that we're hitting? And that's not something that we have found in the myriad resources available for families. And then we have a number of partners across the state that have allowed us, for example, to screen 7,000 children for hearing loss in South Carolina, and that's just been really huge.

Mike Switzer:

Well, Mary, thank you so much for what you are doing and for spending time with us today.

Mary Reaves:

Thank you so much for having me, Mike. I really appreciate it.

Mike Switzer:

Mary Reaves is the director of programs at Beginnings SC. She joined us by phone from her office in West Columbia, South Carolina. We will have a link to the organization posted at our webpage so you can learn more, southcarolinapublicradio.org, where you can also hear this show again and you can find us wherever you find your podcasts. With the South Carolina Business Review, this is Mike Switzer.

Speaker 3:

The views expressed on the South Carolina Business Review do not necessarily reflect those of South Carolina Public Radio.

Get Back To School Ready!

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 09:14:51 GMT

Cara shares some great tips & resources to help you feel prepared going into the new school year!

Cara Smithwick • 08/11/22

It’s that time of year–new school supplies, new clothes, and new teachers! And that means a whole new group of people need to learn about your child. More than likely, the teacher of the deaf/hard of hearing will do an inservice for the core school team about working with DHH kids, but YOU need to meet the school staff, too. [If you don’t have a teacher of the deaf, let us know! They are critical for school success!] You are the expert about your child. You know the most, so share that with the school. That means classroom teachers, related areas/arts teachers, guidance counselors, lunchroom staff…whoever might interact with your son or daughter. You can use any of these resources below to help you address the people at their school. Our Parent Education Specialist and mom of a deaf son, Lisa Jolly, suggests meeting with the teachers by making an appointment–NOT on the Open House night. Go to the Open House but use it to look around, not to try to have an important conversation with the teacher.

Helpful Hints for the School Environment : Tips for Teachers and Staff: Give this to the people with whom you meet
Max’s Cheat Sheet: Fillable and a sample to help guide you
Information about my Child : Another way to introduce your child
Accommodations and Modifications for DHH Students : Which strategies help your child?

Also, go ahead and start going to bed early. Make a schedule for night and morning and include pictures and words. Here are some different types of visual schedules . These are focused on the classroom, but you can make most of them with some paper, tape, and a little crafting. You may also want to practice getting ready for school, especially with younger children. Make sure there is a location to do homework and a certain space to put bookbags and papers that need to go back to school.

Make sure your child understands all that will be happening. Transition and changes can be difficult with a language delay. Perhaps your child is worried about the school year but doesn’t have the language skills to express their feelings. Reviewing what will be happening is a great way to calm your child (even if you don’t think they are nervous!) and give them some ownership of the back to school process. That’s a great way to give them a little control, too, which might go a long way in reducing frustration/helplessness.

Any questions? Give us a call at Beginnings at 803-216-1171.

A Letter from Co-Founder Mary Reaves

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 08:56:46 GMT

To My Beginnings Family,

After 10+ years I have made the incredibly difficult decision to step away as Director of Programs at Beginnings. But, how does one even begin to write a farewell letter to so many important people? I have certainly read my fair share of creative ways to say “This isn’t goodbye, it’s see you later!” yet I still find myself without the right words. Since first having the wild idea of starting something from nothing right up until today, this has been the adventure and honor of my lifetime. I have learned so much from so many. I have been humbled, proud, sad, elated, shocked, frustrated, motivated, uncertain, and determined. I have pushed myself to learn and grow and get things wrong and get up and do it all again – all with an amazing team of supporters and champions by my side. The opportunity to share the experiences I have with so many amazing people – so many of whom have become family – is something that will guide and inform me for the rest of my life. I have watched babies learn to walk, young adults become colleagues working alongside me, children graduate and move on to become thriving, courageous, successful adults. The joy I have felt is too great to detail. What started as a dream has grown into a respected organization with an incredible team, dedicated board, and wonderful circle of volunteers and friends who have supported our mission, those we serve, and me personally.

And yet, there is still much work to be done in the field of disabilities. One specific area is that of accessibility. Toward that end, I have accepted the position of Director of Community Access at Able South Carolina where I will be responsible for training, assessing, and advising the community at large on the importance of accessibility and the full, and total inclusion of people with disabilities. This new position will most importantly give me more time to spend with my family – especially my three children, as well as friends, and give back to the community. Starting a nonprofit is hard, and over the years has included late nights, weekends, and long hours. It’s time for me to reprioritize and give Griffin, Oliver, and Livvy my attention.

I count myself lucky to have been trusted by so many families and colleagues to walk alongside them as they discover how beautiful life is, even as it might look a little different than expected. I am eternally grateful for the opportunities, education, forgiveness, encouragement, support, and guidance I have received by so many. From the bottom of my very full heart – thank you.

Never goodbye – just see you soon!