VOICES FROM AG BELL
Conversations
With Alex Graham
I
n case you haven’t noticed, leadership is the theme of this edition
of Volta Voices. As the executive
director, I feel very fortunate to
work with so many talented volunteer
leaders from all aspects of the AG
Bell community. For this column, I
would like to introduce you to Corrine
Altman – a long-time AG Bell member
and co-president of the AG Bell Nevada
Chapter, and now a new AG Bell
national board member.
member and I’m glad I did. When you
become a parent of child who is deaf,
there are emotional and educational
needs to be met. The personal testimonies and stories in the association’s
newsletter and Volta Voices gave me
hope and a “stick with it, you can do it
attitude.” So here I am, 26 years later!
Alex Graham: How did you first get
involved in AG Bell?
C.A.: After so many years involved with
hearing loss and families it is hard to pick
just one. Cochlear implants and hearing aides are incredible tools. However,
there is a lot more to making them
work for you than just having them.
My wisdom would come in the form of
a mandatory action list for parents: do
your best to accept your child’s hearing
loss; make sure that you have regularly
scheduled audiology appointments to
monitor progress and the effectiveness
Corrine Altman: Two professionals,
Cathy Cottle, teacher of the deaf in the
Clark County School District in Las
Vegas, Nev., and Pam Hansen, a speech
therapist, recommended that I get
involved. My two oldest children were
diagnosed with severe to profound hearing loss. As a family, we chose spoken
language as our desired outcome. I took
their suggestion and became an AG Bell
A.G.: If you could share one piece of
wisdom for a parent who has just
received their child’s diagnosis, what
would it be?
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Meet Corrine Altman
Patricia “Corrine” Altman is
co-president of the AG Bell
Nevada Chapter. She and
her husband, Arnie, own
Rainbow Media Productions,
Inc., a video production,
photography and event
coordination company in
Las Vegas, Nev. She is the
mother of five children; her
eldest two, now adults, were
born profoundly deaf and
learned to listen and talk.
Altman was instrumental
Corrine Altman in front of the Volta Bureau, AG Bell’s
historic national headquarters, in Washington, D.C.
in the passage of newborn
hearing screening legislation
in Nevada, which took effect in 2002. Since 2006, along with a team of
volunteers, she has helped revive the AG Bell Nevada Chapter, which
received the Chapter Education Award at the AG Bell 2008 Biennial
Convention. With the guidance of the John Tracy Clinic she started and
runs a monthly support group for parents of children with hearing loss.
36 of your child’s device, such as updates
to mapping for a cochlear implant; take
guidance and direction from qualified
educators; continue on-going speech
therapy; and get involved in a support
group that connects you to others on the
same journey. Support groups help both
the child and the family. Also, if listening
and spoken language is your outcome, it
is time sensitive, so get busy! While the
first few years will feel non-stop, the pace
won’t last forever and the rewards are
worth it. For me, AG Bell and the John
Tracy Clinic were the best resources for
these early years.
A.G.: What’s it like to be a leader at
the grassroots level?
C.A.: Two words come to mind when
I think of volunteer grassroots leadership: disheartened and awakened. First,
disheartened. We live in a “quick fix”
society and everyone from parents to
hearing specialists to educators need to
be reminded that listening and language
will not have instant results. Everyone
involved in the journey needs to be dedicated to the work ethics that produce the
proven results for a child with hearing
loss. For example, in the 1990s when
a family went through the candidacy
evaluation for receiving the cochlear
implant, follow-up therapy was mandatory, almost as important as the surgery
itself. This type of counseling is not
consistently happening today. We need
to paint the whole picture for families
and professionals. Hearing technologies
are not a quick fix. They offer ongoing
solutions that allow individuals to reach
their potential, but along the way there
will be many hills to climb. But it is so
worth the climb! As a leader, I feel awakened. 2010 is a different age for families,
individuals and professionals who deal
with hearing loss. The sky is really the
limit for opportunities and options as
early detection and intervention are
6 /,4! 6 /)# % 3s - !9 *5 . % producing amazing results. At times it is
exhausting, but when you see lives being
changed and potential being reached, it’s
rewarding!
A.G.: To what do you attribute the
success of the Nevada Chapter?
C.A.: Passion, relationships and hard
work – in that order! Passion drives
the relationships and hard work. The
Nevada Chapter was originally founded
in 1997 and in 2006, Cathy Cottle and
Kim Sorenson (a mother of a daughter
with hearing loss and professional in
our local school district) approached my
husband, Arnie, and me about rekindling the Chapter. It was the combined
passion, talents and gifts of the above
individuals that turned this spark into
a flame. It’s not a one-man show and
it’s not about a title or position. It’s
about embracing a worthy cause and
working together to make something
happen. We let the mission statement
of AG Bell, “Advocating Independence
through Listening and Talking,” be our
guide. Everything we do, from educa-
tion to purpose-driven events and
support meetings, reflects the mission
statement. Tap into your community for
support by forming relationships and
educating others about AG Bell’s mission. You will be amazed how many caring people and companies will partner
along side of you. And don’t forget those
seasoned families, the ones that have
been on the journey for a while. Their
lives might be a little more flexible to
help here or there. Lastly, our Chapter
looks different than it did four years
ago. We just keep adjusting to meet the
needs of our local Chapter members.
A.G.: Are there any issues on the
horizon for families living in the
presence of hearing loss that AG Bell
should address?
C.A.: During this journey of raising and
educating our children with hearing
loss, there will always be issues. For the
past 100+ years AG Bell has reached out
to the professionals, individuals and
families affected by hearing loss. What
can AG Bell the organization do and
continue to do to help in this area? Just
recently, being appointed to the board
of directors, I attended my first board
meeting at the Volta Bureau building,
AG Bell’s historic national headquarters
in Washington, D.C. There was something very magical about sitting in the
building that Alexander Graham Bell
built. For me, it was a reminder to never
forget where we came from and to look
with great anticipation on where we
are going. So, back to the question…I
say keep doing what you are doing! AG
Bell has been providing resources and
quality information that brings about
education, hope and change. The AG
Bell Academy is vital because it equips
and certifies educators and therapists
to work with our children in this everchanging area. Please, don’t lose the
passion this organization was built on
and continues to thrive on.
Editor’s Note: To learn more about the
AG Bell Nevada Chapter, read “AG Bell
Chapters: Community Building” on page 26
or visit www.agbellnv.com.
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