Welcome to the 2020-2021 School Year. This year is beginning

like no other. Here in the DCIU Hearing and Language Pro-

grams, we have been working diligently to respond to the

needs of our students, families and all of the school districts in

Delaware County who rely on us. This has been daunting this

year as teachers and staff have had to adapt to ever-changing

reopening plans. We understand and empathize with the stress and uncertainty that the COVID-19 Pan-

demic has placed on schools and families. We thank you for your patience and grace as we work

through the details to bring students back to in-person schooling. In an effort to increase communica-

tion from our department, look for this newsletter to be shared four times a year. We hope you will find

it useful and informative. Also be sure to check out the DCIU website (www.dciu.org) for additional in-

formation and updates. Thank you!

This video is an overview of our DCIU Language

Support Classroom. Please take a look to learn

more about the highlights of our program.

DCIU Language Program Overview.webm

drive.google.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CE7TsD4jcxoRYPlvLWUhOphnljVphtN6/view

Welcome Back

Spotlighting the DCIU Language Program

Hearing/Language Newsletter Distributed Quarterly, Fall 2020

N E W S L E T T E R D A T E V O L U M E 1 , I S S U E 1

The DCIU offers elementary classrooms (K through

5th grade) to address the needs of students in the areas

of language acquisition, comprehension and expression

that are impacting access to curriculum.

Social/Emotional Check-in

No Tech Literacy Strategies Try these ideas for non-tech activities that are fun AND promote lan-

guage, literacy and learning. Many of these activities are suitable for

both younger and older children.

Hold a “Chopped” Cooking Party or Family Night: Create a shop-

ping list, draft the rules, prepare baskets of ingredients, form teams,

and let the kitchen creativity fly. Other members of your family can

be the judges. Or just pick a recipe, make a list and cook together as

a family.

Initiate a Weekly Game Night: Board games, charades, bingo and card games are

low budget and high interaction—and fun! These games can also help encourage turn

taking, rule following and memory skills. Check out our kid-beloved, mom-

approved snacks: https://ptaourchildren.org/kids-approved-game-night-snacks/

Trade Spaces: The popular show Trading Spaces is back—consider bringing it to your

house. Have siblings redesign each other’s rooms. Set a small budget, brainstorm de-

sign ideas, shop for materials (dollar stores or five-dollar stores have plenty of options),

and get to work. Alternatively, tackle a redesign project for a shared space together—

such as the basement. These are just a few ideas to get your family started. All of

these activities offer wonderful opportunities for face-to-face communication, conversa-

tion, interaction, and cooperation—which can help boost kids’ language, reading and

writing, problem-solving and planning skills.

H E A R I N G / L A N G U A G E N E W S L E T T E R

There is a great deal of uncertainty that we are all enduring during this unique schoolyear in the

midst of a pandemic. It is essential to teach children how to sit with uncertainty and how to cope

with the feelings that accompany it. Below are some tips on using counseling skills for navigating

conversations about uncertainty with children and adolescents.

Remind your children of something tangible that they can do to gain a sense of control, and in turn to

keep themselves and their family members safe (e.g., hand washing, wearing a mask in public).

Model for them how to talk about feelings by sharing about your own. For example: “I’m sad/nervous/

frustrated/have a lot of big feelings about the changes with school, work, and what we are able

to do on the weekends.”

Validate your child’s feelings and experiences, “This is a lot for all of us to try to think about and

try to understand.”

Reassure them, “No matter what happens, I will be here to help and support you and so will

______________ (another adult who your child trusts).”

Empower your children, “I am really proud of you for how hard you have been working this

year, even through all of the changes.”

This article has additional strategies for supporting children who are feeling anxious: https://

childmind.org/article/what-to-do-and-not-do-when-children-are-anxious/

Audiology Corner

Upcoming Events

Hearing the sounds of people speaking around us is how we learn language. Babies start learning language from the moment they are born, hearing their parents and care-

givers talking. Children learn the language that surrounds them – from talking to friends, parents, family members, teachers and other adults. Most of what children learn

though, is from overhearing other people talking. Over-hearing conversation is hard when someone has a hearing loss. Listening and overhearing are hard for everyone

when social distance and wearing a mask are necessary. Below is a YouTube video that explores “Which mask is best for hearing?”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=4bUp2TosgzE&feature=youtu.be&t=107

Which mask is best for hearing? - YouTube Face masks make it more difficult to understand speech, especially for people with hearing loss. Our research team at the University of Illinois measured the...

www.youtube.com

CELEBRATING 15 YEARS OF RAISING AWARENESS AND UNITING PEOPLE WITH HEARING LOSS

Since 2006, over 105,000 walkers and 9,200 teams

have participated in the largest nationwide fundraiser

for hearing loss. Join the Walk4Hearing and help

make a difference in your community!

Sunday, October 18, 2020

It will be a virtual celebration.

Sign up and make a donation to TEAM DCIU. A generous portion of all team donations is re-turned to the DCIU Hearing Program to benefit our students.

The link below will take you directly to the TEAM DCIU page where you can register.

http://hlaa.convio.net/site/TR/Teamraiser/PennsylvaniaWalk?team_id=49505&pg=team&fr_id=2643

Let’s make this a successful walk, even though we can’t be there in person!

The DCIU Hearing and Language Program provides

supportive educational services for the school districts in

Delaware County. Teachers of the deaf along with

educational audiologists are able to provide evaluations,

instruction and support to children with hearing loss

from the age of birth to 21. Speech language pathologists

instruct students in the language program to address

language/literacy needs which have impacted access to

the general education curriculum. Program psychologists

ensure that students receive social skills training and

social emotional support. Our comprehensive programs

assist students with varying needs by offering

consultative and direct services with individualized

levels of educational support.

Delaware County Intermediate

Unit

200 Yale Avenue

Morton, PA 19070

Phone: 610-938-9000

40th Anniversary of Recognition Night Every year we dedicate an evening to recognizing the graduating seniors from the DCIU Hearing Program. 2020 marked the 40th anniversary of Recognition Night. Students, their families, friends, and teachers from years past gather to celebrate our graduating seniors accomplishments. Each student has a unique and personal story to tell chronicling their journey from the time their hearing loss was diagnosed to gradu-ation day. No two student paths are the same and there are many turns, twists and bumps along the way. However, what each graduate has in common with one another is their dedication, commitment, hard work, enthusiasm, drive to succeed, resilience, determination, and gratitude to-wards everyone who has been a part of their journey.

Since schools were closed due to Covid, last years Recognition Night cele-bration was not able to take place in person. We could not let such an im-portant night for our seniors pass without letting them complete this 40 year old tradition, marking the end of their time in our program. Click on the link to watch our 2020 graduates tell their story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_t4ib61A1E

DCIU COVID Updates As you know, these are unchartered and unprecedented times with guidance being fluid and ever evolving. The DCIU has been working with our families to hear from them how they would like their children to return to our programs. Many families have indicated they would like in person instruction while others would like the flexibility of a virtual model. The DCIU continues to develop plans to meet the needs of families as well as all stakeholders, including our school districts. The DCIU Health and Safety Plan to serve as our organization’s guidelines for all programs and services to reopen safely can be found here: DCIU Reopening Health and Safety Plan