Name: The Road to Readiness: What Educators Should Know about DHH Early Intervention
Start: 2026-09-15T14:15:00-0400
End: 2026-09-15T15:15:00-0400

The Road to Readiness: What Educators Should Know about DHH Early Intervention

Tuesday September 15, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm EDT

502 East Event Centre

Session Description:
This session guides participants through Indiana’s early intervention system, First Steps, as it specifically relates to DHH infants and toddlers, highlighting DHH‑specialized services, CDHHE Network referral procedures, family‑centered practices, and cross‑agency collaboration, with an overview of the transition process and available educational opportunities.

Session Abstract:
Supporting infants and toddlers who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) requires a coordinated and informed approach within Indiana’s early intervention (EI) system. This session offers an overview of First Steps as it relates specifically to DHH infants and toddlers, highlighting eligibility, service delivery models, and the Family Guided Routines‑Based Intervention philosophy, which emphasizes caregiver coaching. Participants will also learn about DHH‑specialized services—including Deaf Mentor, Listening and Spoken Language, and Family Navigator—and how these supports promote early language, communication, and developmental outcomes. The session will also describe how Indiana’s seamless EI structure operates as both a statewide hub and a safety‑net system in direct collaboration with EHDI’s 1‑3‑6 benchmarks to ensure timely identification and connection to services.

Additionally, participants will explore effective cross‑agency collaborative practices, including data sharing, coordinated teaming, and the involvement of EI providers in the transition process to ease the transition experience for caregivers and improve information transfer between Part C and Part B services. An overview of educational opportunities available at age three, including the Indiana School for the Deaf and St. Joseph Hearing + Speech, will also be provided.

Session Goals:

Participants will describe how Indiana’s early intervention system functions for children who are DHH, including statewide processes, available DHH‑specialized services, and the Family Guided Routines‑Based Intervention philosophy, and will explain how these elements work together to support language, social‑emotional, and developmental outcomes that influence later educational success.
Participants will describe EHDI benchmarks for children who are DHH and identify ways educators can support timely referrals, collaboration, and family engagement with audiologists, parent guides, and specialized DHH service providers throughout a child’s educational journey.
Participants will explain the First Steps transition process and describe effective collaboration practices among early intervention providers, LEAs, and teachers of the deaf through shared information, coordinated planning, and family-centered teaming. Participants will also identify programs available through the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education, St. Joseph Hearing + Speech, and the Indiana School for the Deaf to support children and families during and after transition.

Speakers

Kyndal Gonzalez

Indiana School for the Deaf

Kyndal Gonzalez: Kyndal Gonzalez works as the Family Engagement Coordinator and Deaf Mentor Program Lead for the Indiana School for the Deaf. She holds a BA in Sign Language Interpreting and an MA in Marriage and Family Services. Most of her professional career, spanning 16 years... Read More →

Kjari C. Newell, MA

Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education

Kjari C. Newell, M.A., serves as the CDHHE Network Lead & Compliance Manager and has dedicated nearly two decades to supporting deaf and hard of hearing children and their families. Her experience includes eight years as an itinerant Teacher of the Deaf and over a decade in early... Read More →

Caitlin Stacy, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT

Early Intervention Lead, St. Joseph Hearing + Speech

Caitlin Stacy is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and certified Listening and Spoken Language Specialist/Auditory-Verbal Therapist. Caitlin has been with St. Joseph Hearing + Speech for 13 years and currently serves as the Lead of St. Joseph’s Early Intervention Program and... Read More →

Tuesday September 15, 2026 2:15pm - 3:15pm EDT
502 East Event Centre 502 E Carmel Dr, Carmel, IN 46032, USA

Deaf/Hard of Hearing

INSAIL 2026

Kyndal Gonzalez

Kjari C. Newell, MA

Caitlin Stacy, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT

Attendees (1)

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INSAIL 2026

Kyndal Gonzalez

Kjari C. Newell, MA

Caitlin Stacy, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT

Attendees (1)

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