A grant of $1.25m has been awarded to Iona College in New Rochelle for 40 early intervention specialists to be trained to work with children who are deaf or hard of hearing over the next five years.
An Interdisciplinary Advanced Certificate in Deafness has been created by the departments of Disorders and Education and Communication Sciences to provide graduate students with these skills. Beginning in July 2022, the grant will support 40 graduate students. Each year, four students from each department will enroll in the program which runs over two summers and one academic year. Such colleges often turn to brochure printing to provide more details about such programs and their funding.
The money will be used primarily to fund scholarships to encourage students to enroll in the program. Once students earn their master’s degrees and the certificate, they then need to work with deaf children for two years in order to repay the funding.
Dr. Amanda Howerton-Fox who worked with Dr. Michelle Veyvoda to design the program and apply for the grant has said that families with a deaf child are often referred to early intervention providers who often do not have the experience to work with these children. She added that it is important for children at an early age to have experienced professionals who can help them avoid the effects of language deprivation later in life.
