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ODYSSEY

New Directions in Deaf Education

WE ARE NOW ACCEPTING ARTICLE SUBMISSIONS FOR THE 2023 ISSUE OF ODYSSEY ON THE TOPIC OF “ACCESS AND EQUITY IN DEAF EDUCATION.”

Call for Submissions
2019 ISSUE

Parent-School Advocacy

View the 2019 issue in its entirety here

The 2019 issue of Odyssey takes a look at advocacy, a critical component necessary to support the education of students who are deaf or hard of hearing. The issue explores how families, professionals, and schools are working together to encourage parent advocacy as well as the strategies they have used, the challenges they have faced, and the outcomes they have achieved in their quest to gain necessary services and supports for their deaf or hard of hearing children or students.

This issue includes 18 articles written by a total of 25 professional and parent authors on such topics as:

  • Supporting families in program transition and the hard truths of early language
  • Importance of deaf and hard of hearing students learning to self-advocate
  • Impact of family advocacy on deaf and hard of hearing students’ lives
  • Parent Advocacy app, a new tool to assist families of K-12 deaf and hard of hearing children in navigating IEP meetings, 504 meetings, and other meetings
  • How a parent of a Deaf Plus child challenged the system to get her son needed services
  • Learning about advocacy experiences of families of color-multiple perspectives guiding the Clerc Center’s research process
  • Reflections of a VR counselor-tips for families whose children are transitioning out of high school
  • Parent’s journey of advocating for a deaf child who identifies as transgender
  • Hands & Voices Advocacy, Support, and Training (ASTra) Program


We invite you to share with us on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtags of #ClercCenter and #DeafEd how these articles have impacted you, or to reach out to us at Odyssey@gallaudet.edu with your thoughts.

Issues

  • Supporting Families in Program Transition and the Hard Truths of Early Language: What Should We Say to Parents? By Amanda Howerton-Fox and Jodi L. Falk
  • Of Serpents and Doves: My Experience Learning to Work with the Educational System By Traci Penland
  • Education Advocates: A New Frontier of Advocacy By Tawny Holmes Hlibok
  • Learning to Self-Advocate: Why Active, Early Parental Involvement is Key By Steven J. Wright
  • Parents and Appropriate Assessment: Critical to the Education of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children By Ashley N. Greene-Woods and Natalie J. Delgado
  • A Family’s Advocacy: Reflections of a Deaf By Oscar Ocuto

Seeking Submissions
for the 2023 Issue of Odyssey

THEME: Access and Equity in Deaf Education

The next issue of Odyssey will focus on how deaf and hard of hearing students are being provided with equitable access to education, ensuring they have the resources and services they need to fully participate and succeed in both school and the community—as young children, as students, and, later, as adults.

Often the concept of “access” is defined by experts or regular users of a given system instead of according to the experiences and expectations of exceptional users who engage with the system. Who defines accessibility? The deaf or hard of hearing child or the people surrounding that child? In addition to determining what access means and how it will be provided, accessibility by itself may not be enough. Abundance of experience and ease of use are also important, especially in interactions involving language and socialization. Full and comfortable participation may be the ultimate measure of equitable access.

We want to know how families and educators are providing equitable access and enabling full participation for their deaf and hard of hearing children or students not only through technology but also through programming, activities, and strategies that promote maximum opportunities for learning and interaction:

 

    • Which assistive tools and online technologies have been shown to support academic success and social-emotional development? How can we measure the efficacy of such tools?

 

    • What unique strategies help create inclusive environments and promote an abundance of accessible and interactive language for deaf and hard of hearing children in their families and communities as well as in schools?

 

    • How do we involve deaf and hard of hearing students in determining what access they need? How do we ensure they continue to receive both academic and social-emotional support? 

 

    • What have we learned from our own deaf and hard of hearing children and students, especially about what works best for them? How have we supported their advocacy and self-determination? 

 

The Clerc Center is particularly interested in articles focused on serving students who are deaf or hard of hearing from traditionally underserved groups, including those students who are lower achieving academically, who come from families that speak a language other than English in the home, who are members of diverse racial or cultural groups, who are from rural areas, and/or who are deafdisabled.

Please e-mail your ideas to Odyssey@gallaudet.edu. We will begin accepting submissions on June 13, 2022, and continue until December 2, 2022, or until the magazine reaches capacity. Contact us at any time with questions or to discuss your ideas.

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A woman with dark, curly hair is reading a book to three deaf or hard of hearing boys. The two boys on the left are in Pre-kindergarten and the third boy is a toddler. The middle boy in a short-sleeve button up shirt is using American Sign Language with the woman reading.

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