2025 Language First Conference
2025 Language First Conference
The 2025 Language First conference will be in-person at the Courtyard Marriott Tacoma Downtown at 1515 Commerce St, Tacoma, Washington on April 22-24, 2025. It will be from 2:45-4:00 pm on Tuesday, April 22, and 8:00 am - 4:00 pm on Wednesday, April 23 and Thursday, April 24.
ONLINE REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. PARTICIPANTS MAY REGISTER IN-PERSON AT THE CONFERENCE.
click here for the full schedule and session descriptions
ADVERTISE
Want to exhibit in-person or advertise your business in our conference booklet? Find out more here.
GROUP DISCOUNTS
Does your school have a group of professionals who would like to attend the conference together? Take a look at our group discounts.
GETTING THERE
We recommend flying into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
If you are renting a car, the hotel uses the Greater Tacoma Convention Center garage. View parking rates here.
If you’re looking for a rideshare or a roommate, join our Facebook group to meet others who are searching for the same.
SCHEDULE AT-A-GLANCE
Tuesday, April 22
12:00-2:30 pm: Registration and check-in
2:45 - 4:00 pm: Dr. Oscar Ocuto | Connecting Worlds: Navigating Family Interactions in Deaf Children's Home Environments
Wednesday, April 23
8:00-9:15 am: Dr. Qi Cheng | Early Language Experience Wires the Linguistic Brain: Evidence from Deaf Individuals with Varying Early Language Experience
9:30-10:45 am: Lori Bell & Melissa Mykle | What's up in Canada? A Look at BC's System of Early Language Services
11:00-11:30 am: Dr. Deirdre Curle, Kerianne Christie, & Krissy Walker | Teaching ASL Handshapes to Families of DHH Infants and Toddlers
11:45 am - 12:15 pm: Peyton Pruitt, Sarah Smith, & Jennifer Fazer | Connecting Communication: Collaborative Approaches to Multimodal Instruction
12:15-2:00 pm: LUNCH
2:00-3:15 pm: Dr. Brittany Lee | Know Better, Do Better: Setting Community-Informed Standards for Working with Signing DHH Children
3:30-4:00 pm: Heather Parker & Rachella Moore | Family Immersion Camp for DHH Children 0-5 and their Parents
Thursday, April 24
8:00-9:15 am: Morgan Lee | Intersectionality, Language Deprivation, and You
9:30-10:45 am: Megan Havens | Phonological Awareness Instruction in ASL
11:00-11:30 am: Megan Havens | The Science of Reading in Vocabulary Instruction for DHH Students
11:45 am - 12:15 pm: Michaela Hanley | Sign Language as a Human Right- Leveraging International Law to End Language Deprivation
12:15-2:00 pm: LUNCH
2:00-3:15 pm: Celena Ponce | Considerations for Working with DHH Children from Immigrant Families
3:30-4:00 pm: Dr. Sarah Honigfeld & Victoria Haggarty | Regional Early Acquisition of Language (REAL) Project
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.
Continuing Education:
This conference is offered for 1.1 ASHA CEUs and 1.1 RID CEUs. Only participants who attend the live event will receive a certificate of attendance. Participants who attend the entire webinar and fill out the self assessment form will be considered eligible to earn ASHA CEUs.
MassRID is an approved continuing education activity sponsor, and this event is being offered at 0.2 Professional Studies CEUs at the "some previous knowledge" content level. Attendance during the entire workshop is required for earning CEUs. A certificate is provided to those who request CEUs via the given link to a Google Forms document.
Accommodations:
This event will have ASL-English interpreters throughout. Please email info@language1st.org with requests for additional accommodations at least 21 days prior to the event.
Cancellation/Refund Policy:
Full refunds are available up to 21 days prior to the event. No refunds are available after that time. If Language First cancels or moves an event, all participants will be given the options of a.) receiving a full refund; b.) applying the amount paid to another event; c.) transferring their registration to the new date. If a registrant has a complaint or is unsatisfied with a webinar or event, please email info@language1st.org with “complaint” in the subject line.