Specialized Early
Intervention Classroom
for Students Who are
Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing
Delaware County Intermediate Unit

Manual Communication
◦ American Sign Language
◦ Signed English

Combined Approaches
◦ Total Communication
◦ Cued Speech

Auditory/Oral
◦ Lip-reading/visual
◦ Listening and Spoken Language Auditory/Verbal
Communication Options

Stefani Doyle: Supervisor of Hearing & Language
Programs, Speech Pathologist, LSLS Auditory-Verbal
Therapist

Kristen Palermo: Teacher of the Deaf

Alison Hefferan: Speech Pathologist, Teacher of the Deaf,
LSLS Auditory-Verbal Educator

Carolyn Bennett: Audiologist, Speech Pathologist, LSLS
Auditory-Verbal Educator

Irene Merenda: Audiologist

Connie Abbott: Teaching Assistant
Our Staff
 To
provide a family
centered program where
children who are deaf or
hard of hearing maximize
their communication skills
and potential for learning
Mission of our Program

A comprehensive evaluation is completed
through the transition or intake process to
determine the level of intervention
necessary to meet the child’s needs.

Children identified with hearing loss in
need of specially designed instruction in
order to access curriculum for whom less
restrictive levels of intervention would not
meet his/her needs
Who Qualifies for our Classroom

Aggressive audiological management

Favorable listening environment

Dependency on amplification

Integrating listening into daily activities

Development of advocacy skills

Language development
Classroom Components

Support for technology
◦ Hearing Aid(s)
◦ Personal and/or Sound field
FM system
◦ Cochlear Implant(s)
- Daily Listening /
Equipment
Checks
We Provide

Opportunities for children to be included
with typically developing peers
◦ Weekly music sessions with the YMCA
classroom at Marple Education Center
We Provide

Auditory-Verbal Therapy

Speech Therapy

Cochlear Implant
Habilitation

Multidisciplinary,
developmental evaluations
Our Classroom Includes

On-going diagnostic teaching

Acoustically managed
learning environments

Educational audiology
services and loaner
equipment

Parent Education
Our Classroom Includes

Inter-agency collaboration
◦ CHOP, DuPont, etc.

Related Services: Occupational, Physical,
and Vision Therapies as needed
Our Classroom Includes

The goal of this program is to provide students
with hearing loss access to preschool curriculum
and foster speech and language development
which will enable these students to participate in
mainstream activities and build relationships with
typical peers
We Provide