This webinar will be hosted via Zoom for national and international attendees on Wednesday, January 7, 2026 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm ET.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial disclosures: The presenter is receiving payment from Language First for presenting.
Nonfinancial disclosures: The presenter has no relevant nonfinancial disclosures.
Course Description:
Whether you are brand new or a veteran in early intervention and deaf education, your journey of professional growth is never over. While many of us feel we are self-aware of our skills and biases, neutral self-assessments are key in shedding light on areas we may not be able to see within ourselves (or, perhaps, do not want to see). Taking a risk to see where we can grow -- and having tough conversations with ourselves, our colleagues/programs, and our families -- is essential to those we serve. As part of a self-assessment commitment, participants in this workshop will complete the Beliefs About Deaf Education scale. Developed by the Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2), “the BADE scale provides a mechanism to frame future opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing children who most often are born to hearing families. This scale can help parents, early interventionists, and teachers analyze their own attitudes and beliefs in order to better meet the needs of young deaf learners.” In addition to analyzing one’s individual BDAE scores and how that impacts work with families and colleagues, we will talk about the value of assessing linguistic competence in ASL, which can impact the personal biases that infiltrate our work. This workshop is applicable to providers of any discipline, regardless of years of experience, hearing status, primary language, language goals for families/children. Come ready to look within yourself, both past and present, to see how it can shape your professional practice in the future.
Agenda
6:00-6:05: Intro, housekeeping, objectives
6:05-6:25: Bias in deaf education, including parent stories
6:25-6:35: Intro to the BDAE and its applications
6:35-6:50: How to take/score the BDAE. Self-test and obtain 4 subscores
6:50-7:05: – Trends and open discussion
7:05-7:25: The why’s of ASL assessments for hearing providers
7:25-7:45 – The SLPI and the ASLPI
7:55-8:00: Take-aways, Q&A (10 minutes)
Learner Outcomes:
Participants will be able to:
Complete the BADE (Beliefs About Deaf Education) questionnaire and obtain four sub-scale scores
Analyze their personal BADE scores to shed light on their own beliefs and how they influence work with families and children
Name two ASL assessments for their own use and discuss the accountability that ongoing self-assessment provides
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, January 7, 2026 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm ET.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial disclosures: The presenter is receiving payment from Language First for presenting.
Nonfinancial disclosures: The presenter has no relevant nonfinancial disclosures.
Course Description:
Whether you are brand new or a veteran in early intervention and deaf education, your journey of professional growth is never over. While many of us feel we are self-aware of our skills and biases, neutral self-assessments are key in shedding light on areas we may not be able to see within ourselves (or, perhaps, do not want to see). Taking a risk to see where we can grow -- and having tough conversations with ourselves, our colleagues/programs, and our families -- is essential to those we serve. As part of a self-assessment commitment, participants in this workshop will complete the Beliefs About Deaf Education scale. Developed by the Science of Learning Center on Visual Language and Visual Learning (VL2), “the BADE scale provides a mechanism to frame future opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing children who most often are born to hearing families. This scale can help parents, early interventionists, and teachers analyze their own attitudes and beliefs in order to better meet the needs of young deaf learners.” In addition to analyzing one’s individual BDAE scores and how that impacts work with families and colleagues, we will talk about the value of assessing linguistic competence in ASL, which can impact the personal biases that infiltrate our work. This workshop is applicable to providers of any discipline, regardless of years of experience, hearing status, primary language, language goals for families/children. Come ready to look within yourself, both past and present, to see how it can shape your professional practice in the future.
Agenda
6:00-6:05: Intro, housekeeping, objectives
6:05-6:25: Bias in deaf education, including parent stories
6:25-6:35: Intro to the BDAE and its applications
6:35-6:50: How to take/score the BDAE. Self-test and obtain 4 subscores
6:50-7:05: – Trends and open discussion
7:05-7:25: The why’s of ASL assessments for hearing providers
7:25-7:45 – The SLPI and the ASLPI
7:55-8:00: Take-aways, Q&A (10 minutes)
Learner Outcomes:
Participants will be able to:
Complete the BADE (Beliefs About Deaf Education) questionnaire and obtain four sub-scale scores
Analyze their personal BADE scores to shed light on their own beliefs and how they influence work with families and children
Name two ASL assessments for their own use and discuss the accountability that ongoing self-assessment provides
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.
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