This webinar will be hosted via Zoom for national and international attendees on Sunday, December 6, 2026 from 1:00 - 3:00 pm ET.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial disclosures: Kim is the owner of Language First and is receiving payment for presenting.

Nonfinancial disclosures: Kim is a member of ASHA, ABCLLD, and ABDHHS.

Content disclosure: This presentation will focus solely on the Language First Early Language Centers (ELCs).

Course Description:

This session introduces a scalable Early Language Center (ELC) model designed to ensure early, robust language access for Deaf and hard of hearing children through bilingual ASL–English development and intentional family involvement. Participants will explore the core components of the ELC model, including Deaf-centered practice, language-rich environments, family coaching, and coordinated services—and how this approach bridges long-standing gaps between early intervention and educational systems. We’ll share how ELCs function as both a clinical and community-based solution, offering a replicable framework that can be adapted nationwide. Language deprivation is not inevitable—it is fully preventable. This session challenges us to move from awareness to action and to reimagine what true language equity can look like for Deaf children and their families.

Agenda

1:00-1:30: Early Language Environments (ELEs)

1:30-2:00: ELEs for DHH Children

2:00-2:40: Early Language Centers (ELCs)

2:40-2:45: Future Directions

2:45-3:00: Q&A and discussion

Learner Outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

1. Define the core components of the Early Language Center (ELC) model

2. Explain how Deaf-centered, bilingual ASL–English environments support early brain and language development

3. Apply key principles of the ELC framework to their own setting

Registration information:

This is a digital purchase only; no physical ticket is provided. A form will populate for you to complete your registration and then your purchase will be added to your cart in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. You will receive an email with instructions on how to participate as well as a Google Calendar invite with the Zoom link one week prior to the event. Registration ends one day prior to the webinar. All registrants will receive a copy of the presenter’s PowerPoint and the presentation recording. Please email info@language1st.org with any questions.

This webinar will be hosted via Zoom for national and international attendees on Sunday, October 4, 2026 from 1:00 - 4:00 pm ET.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial disclosures: Amanda is receiving payment from Language First for presenting.

Nonfinancial disclosures: Amanda is a member of RID and NAIE. In collaboration with Dr. Laura Polhemus (Bethel University), she is researching neurodiversity in the interpreting profession and runs @SLINeurodiversity on FB/IG.

Course Description:

Neurodiversity has become a hot topic on social media, however, research and discussions have been limited within the interpreting field despite many neurodivergent interpreters and consumers regularly experiencing stigma due to their perceived differences. Systemic barriers within the medical, mental health, and education systems have a profound impact on hard of hearing, d/Deaf, DeafBlind, and DeafDisabled consumers. Specifically, BIPOC students are significantly less likely to receive a diagnosis and more likely to be referred for disciplinary action compared to white students. For Deaf students, access to diagnoses and accommodations is further complicated by the fact that assessments are standardized towards the hearing norm and administered in English. In addition to embracing their intersectional identities, it is critical to gain a better understanding of neurodiversity as a whole in order to address the unconscious bias, stigma, and discrimination.

Drawing from lived experience, professional practice, and research, Amanda will introduce participants to the behavioral, socio-emotional, linguistic, and ethical considerations interpreters encounter while working with neurodivergent hard of hearing, d/Deaf, DeafBlind, and DeafDisabled students in educational settings. As participants examine these considerations and the stigma surrounding neurodiversity, they will also integrate research and best practices to develop strategies for ethical, effective, and neuro-affirming interpreting services as part of the educational team.

Although this workshop is presented from an interpreter’s perspective, teachers, related service providers, and other educational team members are welcome to attend.

Agenda

1:00-1:05: Introduction & Educational Objectives

1:05-1:50: Stigma & Stereotypes

1:50-2:30: Behavioral & Social-Emotional Considerations

2:30-3:00: Linguistic Considerations

3:00-3:45: Ethical Considerations

3:45-4:00: Wrap-Up: Q&A, References & Resources

Learner Outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

1. Provide at least two examples of how students are impacted by the intersectionality of race, deafness, neurodivergence, and/or other identities.

2. Describe at least one consideration from each of the following categories: behavioral, socio-emotional, linguistic, and ethical.

3. Integrate research in order to formulate interpreting strategies to utilize while working with neurodivergent students, including atypical language users, such as teaming, technological resources, and props.

Registration information:

This is a digital purchase only; no physical ticket is provided. A form will populate for you to complete your registration and then your purchase will be added to your cart in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. You will receive an email with instructions on how to participate as well as a Google Calendar invite with the Zoom link one week prior to the event. Registration ends one day prior to the webinar. All registrants will receive a copy of the presenter’s PowerPoint and the presentation recording. Please email info@language1st.org with any questions.

This webinar will be hosted via Zoom for national and international attendees on Thursday, November 12, 2026 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm ET.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial disclosures: Dr. Willhite is receiving an honorarium from Language First for presenting.

Nonfinancial disclosures: Dr. Willhite serves as the Board President of the Convention of American Instructors for the Deaf (CAID). She is the founder of the Facebook group DeafEd Collaborative, where she promotes her educational consultation services for school districts. She is also the founder and administrator of the Facebook group Educational Interpreters and TODs Working Together.

Course Description:

Collaboration among the Deaf Education team is essential to ensuring equitable access and meaningful educational outcomes for DHH students. This presentation explores how the unique roles of each team member align to support student success and why intentional collaboration is critical. Participants will examine common barriers to effective teamwork, identify information that can and should be shared among team members, and learn practical strategies for improving communication and coordinated service delivery. Attendees will receive tools, templates, and resources that can be adapted to establish collaborative systems tailored to their own educational teams, fostering sustainable partnerships that strengthen student access, participation, and achievement.

Agenda

6:00-6:15: Introduction, presentation objectives, and why collaboration matters for Deaf and hard of hearing student outcomes

6:15-6:35: Roles and responsibilities of Teachers of the Deaf, educational interpreters, and other educational team members, including how these roles align to support student success

6:35-6:50: Common barriers to effective collaboration and strategies for overcoming communication and systems challenges

6:50-7:10: Information sharing among team members—what can be shared, when collaboration is appropriate, and establishing effective communication practices

7:10-7:45: Demonstration of practical tools, templates, and collaborative resources, including examples of how to adapt and implement them to build sustainable systems for your educational team

7:45-8:00: Q&A

Learner Outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

1. Compare and contrast the roles and responsibilities of Deaf Education team members and how their roles align to support DHH students

2. Identify at two strategies to improve collaboration and communication within your educational team

3. Describe how one tool, template, or resource from the workshop can be implemented or shared within your Deaf Education team to strengthen collaboration and establish effective team systems

Registration information:

This is a digital purchase only; no physical ticket is provided. A form will populate for you to complete your registration and then your purchase will be added to your cart in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. You will receive an email with instructions on how to participate as well as a Google Calendar invite with the Zoom link one week prior to the event. Registration ends one day prior to the webinar. All registrants will receive a copy of the presenter’s PowerPoint and the presentation recording. Please email info@language1st.org with any questions.

This webinar will be hosted via Zoom for national and international attendees on Wednesday, October 14, 2026 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm ET.

Speaker Disclosures:

Financial disclosures: Dr. Zarchy receives a salary from California State University, Sacramento and summer income from Gallaudet University. He is also receiving an honorarium from Language First for this webinar.

Nonfinancial disclosures: Dr. Zarchy has no relevant non financial disclosures.

Course Description:

Language deprivation in deaf and hard of hearing children is a developmental emergency, and identifying it early is critical. Yet many families lack clear guidance on whether their child is getting enough language access at home. The Language Access Profile Tool (LAPT) was designed to fill that gap — it helps evaluate how accessible the home language environment actually is for a deaf or hard of hearing child, including in households where both spoken and signed language are used. This study asked a crucial question: does limited language access at home predict whether a child hits key language milestones? The findings have direct implications for early intervention, helping clinicians and educators work with families to identify and address gaps in their child's language environment before those gaps become lasting.

Agenda

6:00-6:10: Introductions and disclosures

6:10-6:30: Background literature - what we already know

6:30-6:55: Methods with brief demonstration

6:55-7:20: Results of this study

7:20-7:45: Discussion and future directions

7:45-8:00: Q&A

Learner Outcomes:

Participants will be able to:

1. Explain the need to measure the home language environment to better understand language deprivation in deaf children

2. Identify strengths and weaknesses of the Language Access Profile Tool as a measure of Limited Access

3. Demonstrate how the present data provide evidence for the predictive validity of the Language Access Profile tool, as evidenced by the link between estimates of Limited Access and the likelihood of missing key language milestones

Registration information:

This is a digital purchase only; no physical ticket is provided. A form will populate for you to complete your registration and then your purchase will be added to your cart in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. You will receive an email with instructions on how to participate as well as a Google Calendar invite with the Zoom link one week prior to the event. Registration ends one day prior to the webinar. All registrants will receive a copy of the presenter’s PowerPoint and the presentation recording. Please email info@language1st.org with any questions.

The first-ever CISIGN Conference will be held virtually, on Zoom, on January 31, 2027 from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm. Find out more about our CISIGN Campaign here.

SCHEDULE

Sunday, January 31

9-9:30 | Welcome, Introduction to the CISIGN Campaign

9:30-10:30 | Dr. Kimberly Ofori-Sanzo, Dr. Michelle Veyvoda, & Dr. Amanda Howerton-Fox, The Science of Cochlear Implants and Early Language Development

Session description: Cochlear implants have provided auditory stimulation for some deaf children, but they have not eliminated the need to ensure complete and accessible language acquisition. This presentation reviews current research on cochlear implant outcomes, variability in auditory access, language development, and brain plasticity, while examining persistent misconceptions surrounding spoken language outcomes and signed language exposure. Participants will discuss current controversies in cochlear implant counseling and intervention and consider the ethical responsibility of professionals to prioritize complete language access for every deaf child. The session concludes with practical recommendations and a call to action for clinicians, educators, and early intervention providers.

Agenda:

9:30-9:45: Current research and outcomes for cochlear implants

9:45-10:00: Language development, brain science, and neuroplasticity

10:00-10:10: Evidence for early ASL-English bilingualism

10:10-10:20: Considerations for professionals

10:20-10:30: Q&A

Learner objectives:

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe current research regarding language and developmental outcomes for deaf children with cochlear implants.

2. Explain how brain development, neuroplasticity, and sensitive periods influence language acquisition in children with cochlear implants.

3. Discuss the rationale for an ASL-English bimodal bilingual approach for young deaf children with cochlear implants.

Speaker disclosures: Dr. Veyvoda and Dr. Howerton-Fox are receiving honorariums from Language First for presenting. Dr. Ofori-Sanzo is the owner and founder of Language First.

11-12 pm | Dr. Sarah Sparks, When Communication Plans Aren't Enough: Developing Multimodal Communication Agility

Session description: Communication planning is a key aspect of overall educational planning for DHH students. School-based team members create individualized communication plans documenting language(s), mode(s), hearing technologies, and various tools that DHH students need throughout the school day for communication. But are these plans enough to enable robust language and communication access at school? And more importantly, in life? Why does communication planning often fail to deliver on its intended goal of consistent access, and what can we do to change that? This presentation will address these questions and propose strategies for building DHH students' multimodal communication agility.

Agenda:

11:00-11:05: Introduction

11:05-11:20: Communication Planning and Its Pitfalls, with Examples

11:20-11:40: What Is Multimodal Communication Agility? with Examples

11:40-11:50: How to Build Multimodal Communication Agility

11:50-12:00: Conclusion and Questions

Learner objectives:

Participants will be able to:

1. Define the term "multimodal communication agility."

2. Describe at least 3 pitfalls of communication planning and 3 solutions for these problems.

3. Apply the concept of multimodal communication agility to case examples of DHH students.

Speaker disclosures: Dr. Sparks is a full-time employee of Baltimore City Public Schools, an adjunct instructor for Gallaudet University, Boston University, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, and Flagler College. She is the founder of Audiology Outside the Box, a member of ASHA, AAA (Accessibility Task Force Chair), and EAA (VP of Online Communications) as well as the DC Speech-Language Hearing Association (CE Administrator) and the Maryland Speech-Language Hearing Association (Director of Audiology). She is receiving an honorarium from Language First for presenting.

LUNCH

1-2 pm | Sara Miller, Listening and Signing: A Cochlear Implant User's Perspective

Session description:

Agenda:

1:00-1:10: Personal background and hearing history

1:10-1:25: Life with a cochlear implant, expectations versus reality, what the implant does and does not provide

1:25-1:40: How sign language changed communication, identity, relationships, and access

1:40-1:50: What professionals and families should know, common misconceptions, advice for supporting deaf children today

1:50-2:00: Q&A

Learner objectives:

Participants will be able to:

1. Describe Sara’s lived experience as a cochlear implant user (both the upsides/downsides).

2. Explain why access to ASL can remain valuable for deaf individuals with cochlear implants.

3. State how lived experience can complement research evidence when making family-centered recommendations about communication and language development.

Speaker disclosures: Sara is receiving an honorarium from Language First for presenting. She has no relevant nonfinancial disclosures.

2:30-3:30 pm | Dr. Marie Coppola, Language is Central: Early Access to Signed or Spoken Language Promotes Age-Appropriate Cognitive Development

Session description: This large study of 404 deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing children (ages 3–10) tested how language modality (signed vs. spoken) and timing of language access (from birth vs. later) affect cognitive and academic development. Across nearly all measured skills—vocabulary, counting, executive function, and even nonverbal tasks—timing of access mattered far more than modality. Children exposed to language from birth, whether ASL or English, showed comparable outcomes, underscoring the need for early, fully accessible language input alongside any hearing technology.

Agenda:

2:30-2:45 Introduction, review of number development in hearing children who have full access to language from birth, study design

2:45-2:55: Results: Development of foundational number concepts in deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing children

2:55-3:05: Results: Mapping between different representations of quantity (signed/spoken words, Arabic numerals, objects)

3:05-3:10: Results: Mathematic calculation fluency

3:10-3:15: Results: “Nonlinguistic” tasks

3:15-3:30: Q&A

Learner objectives:

Participants will be able to:

1. Explain the evidence that timing of language access — not language modality or hearing status — predicts cognitive and academic outcomes.

2. Identify why cochlear implantation alone cannot guarantee timely language access, and describe the risk this poses during the candidacy-to-activation period.

3. Apply the study's findings to counsel families and design interventions that support bilingual (signed + spoken) language exposure from birth.

Speaker disclosures: Dr. Coppola receives a salary from the University of Connecticut. Her views on promoting early access to language are based in scientific evidence and lifelong experience in the deaf community, as a CODA.

This is a digital purchase only; no physical ticket is provided. A form will populate for you to complete your registration and then your purchase will be added to your cart in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Please email info@language1st.org with any questions.