Saturdays Events!

Hey Y'all!

I have been told by the Nashville natives that my subdued joisey accent adds some additional depth to the southernly salutation. It seems to evoke a sidesplitting laugh after I enthustiatic greet people. Anyway, the registration is creeping close to 1,000 people! Today is the last day that the Exhibit Hall is opened and it is free to the public!

I attended the Resarch Symposium on Hair Cell Regeneration Research. I have a long list of notes that I complied from the three hour seminar. I am weeding through the words like p27, DAPT blocks, postalnatal (P3) Math1-GFP transgenic cochleas, y-secretase inhibitor, notch blockades, FGF, and GFP to make some sense of it all. :) The million dollar question of when will it be available - 10 to 15 years down the line.

Here are the events that will be happening here today. If you would like more information about these events or workshops - click to download the green version 2009 HLAA Convention Program Guide and the Convention Workbook which features all presentation slides for the different workshops and all sponsored by Verizon.

9 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.

• Chapter and State Newsletter Editors Meeting

Facilitator: Stephen Frazier

10 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.

• Navigating the Walk4Hearing™ Website

10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

• Exhibit Hall Open

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

• Food Concessions

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

• Chapter Development Panel

Moderator: Julie Olson

11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

• Digital Photography 101

Presenters:
Cindy Dyer, graphic designer and photographer for Hearing Loss Magazine
Michael Schwehr of JumpStart Computing

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

• Government Employees Who Work With Hard of Hearing People — Networking Meeting

Noon – 12:45 p.m.

• Want to Know More About Walk4Hearing™?

1 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

• Oticon: Advanced Technology Options for Severe Hearing Loss

2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

• Chapter Delegate Workshop

2 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.

• Meet Executive Director Brenda Battat

3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

• Exhibit Hall Social — Happy Hour

3:45 p.m. –5 p.m.

• HAT/Peer Mentors/Academy Reunion

6 p.m.

• Buses depart from Magnolia Lobby for the Grand Ole Opry (7 p.m. show)

Featuring Alison Krauss, The Whites, Rhonda Vincent, Point of Grace, Hal Ketchum, Sammy Johns, Jesse McReynolds

WORKSHOPS

8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.

• Dementia Misdiagnosis and Hearing Loss

Presenter:

Michael Bower, B.A., Activity Consultant Certified

• Hearing Loss, Stress, and Coping—It's a Family Affair

Presenter:
Kris English, Ph.D., President-Elect, American Academy of Audiology.

• Bringing Captioned Radio to Reality

Presenters:
Ellyn Sheffield Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Psychology, Towson University
Michael Starling, Vice President, Chief Technology Officer

• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and Its Importance for People with Hearing Loss Worldwide

Presenter:

Marcia B. Dugan, past president of the International Federation of Hard of Hearing People, the Hearing Loss Association of America National Board of Trustees, and HLAA-Rochester.

• The Job Search Process: It's Clear Communication is Critical!

Presenters:
Mary Ellen Tait, Assistant Director, Center on Employment, NTID
Mark Pfuntner, NTID Business Studies Department

10 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

• Overview of Sensorineural Hearing Loss

Presenters:
David Haynes, M.D., Director of Neurotology, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center
George Wanna, M.D., Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center

• Bridge Over Muddy Waters: An Interactive Workshop to Help Navigate Your Way to Successful Relationships

Presenters:
Donna Wayner, Ph.D., President & CEO, Hear Again, Inc.
Jeanne Kelley, HLAA Albany Chapter
Patricia W. Mirza, HLAA Albany Chapter

• Bilateral Cochlear Implant Panel

Moderator: Wayne Roorda
Panel includes:
Advanced Bionics: Sheila Adams and Abbie Cranmer
Cochlear Americas: Mark Doshier
Med El: Jimmy Mobley and Virgi Mills

• Hear to Work—Workplace Acoustics Based on ClassroomStandard ANSI S12.60

Presenter:
Donald Bataille, Architect, Bataille Architecture and Planning

• Social Networking

Presenter:
Jennifer Thorpe, president, HLAA Nashville Chapter

12:45 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.

• Living with Hearing Loss

Presenter:
Sam Trychin, Ph.D.

• Hidden Impact of Hearing Loss

Presenter:
Cathy Kooser, MSW

• TIA-1083 Hearing Aid Compatibility Standard

Presenter:
Rebecca Schwartz, J.D.

• Do's and Don'ts in the Workplace and Classroom

Presenter:
Esther Kelly, Pet-D, San Diego University, Deaf Action Center/Texas Department of Rehabilitation

• Classroom Accommodations: Find Out What You Have Been Missing

Presenters:
Jana Colter, RMR, CRR, CCP, National Court Reporters Association
Joyce Casey, RDR, CRR, CBC, CCP, National Court Reporters Association
Sherry Knox, CCB, CCP, National Court Reporters Association

2:15 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

• Post-Secondary and Lifelong Education of Men and Women Who Are Hard of Hearing

Moderator: T. Alan Hurwitz, Ed.D., President, National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID)
Panelists:
James J. DeCaro, Ph.D., Director,
PEN-International at NTID
Heidi Adams, PEPNet consultant
Patty Conway, CRC, Rehabilitation Consultant
Sara Schley, Ed.D., Senior Researcher and Associate Professor, NTID
Larry Scott, Associate Professor and Chair, Communication Studies, NTID

• Improving Communication Between People with Hearing Loss and Their Partners: Plan It—Practice It—Evaluate It

Presenters:
John Greer Clark, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Audiology, University of Cincinnati; President, Clark Audiology, LLC
Jill E. Preminger, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Audiology, University of Louisville School of Medicine

• Baha—Bone Anchored Hearing Device: Current Trends in Surgery, Fitting and Assessment

Presenters:
Andrea Hedley-Williams, Au.D., Vanderbilt University Medical Center
David Haynes, M.D., Director of Neurotology, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center
Krissie Rigsby, Au.D., National Center for Childhood Deafness and Family Communication, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

• Advocacy in Action - HLAA's Working for You

Presenter:
Lise Hamlin, Director of Public Policy and State Development, Hearing Loss Association of America

• The Hottest Mobile Apps

Presenter:
Matthew Gerst, J.D., Counsel, External and State Affairs at CTIA–The Wireless Association®

Friday Events!!!

Hey Y'all!

Since the 2009 Hearing Loss Association of America Convention officially kicked off at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center, my feet have really racking up some mileage here. Just a word of advice if you ever want to come here, flat shoes - all the way. This place is just dripping in luscious green scenery everywhere. This is a just one beautiful view!

Registration has been busy dolling out the lanyards with our names tags and our fancy schmacy red and black bags. You can thank Oticon and Med-El for providing those. Name tags just make everything so much easier when you are mingling. Don't forget the Exhibit Hall is opened to the public! So if y'all want to mosey on down here, feel free to come but wear comfortable shoes. :)

My plans for today:

• I am parking myself at the Research Symposium this morning to listen to four doctors: George A. Gates, M.D., Neil Segil, Ph.D., Douglas A. Catanche, Ph.D., and Hinrich Staecker, M.D., Ph.D. that have been instrutmental in the the latest information on Hair Cell Regeneration Research.
  
• I will then proceed to mingle in the Exhibit Hall grabbing all the freebies and checking out the latest products.
• Then tonight - the HLAA 30th Birthday Celebration!
  

As I have done yesterday, I have shared some of the events that will be happening here today. If you would like more information about these events or workshops - click to download the green version 2009 HLAA Convention Program Guide and the Convention Workbook which features all presentation slides for the different workshops and all sponsored by Verizon.

8 a.m. – 4 p.m.

• Registration & ALD Distribution

9 a.m. – Noon

• Research Symposium: An Update on the Latest Hair Cell Regeneration Research

Sponsored by

11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

• Food Concessions

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

• Exhibit Hall Open

Noon –12:45 p.m.

• Experiences with Walk4Hearing™

1 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.

• MED-EL: Assistive Listening Technology - Creative Tips and Tricks for Cochlear Implants

1 p.m. – 4 p.m.

• How to Start a New HLAA Chapter

Facilitators:
Linda Fowler, Ohio
Barbara Burton, Louisiana

2 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.

• Lifetone Technology

3 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

• HLAA Advocacy Q&A

3 p.m. – 5 p.m.

• Exhibit Hall Social — Sugar Rush
  

4 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.

• Sprint - Click. Listen. Read. Talk. It's that Simple!

5 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

• Advanced Bionics BEA Social

6:30 p.m. – 11 p.m.

• HLAA's 30th Birthday Celebration

Sponsored by

WORKSHOPS

1 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.

• Choosing to Laugh or to Cry—It's All About How We Look at It!

Presenter:
Julie Olson, former HLAA Board of Trustees President

• Bouncing Back

Presenter:
Susanna Dussling, Co-president of the HLAA Houston Chapter

• Dual Modality Cochlear Stimulation: Better Hearing from "Good Vibrations"

Presenters:
William Dickinson, Au.D., Hearing Aid Product Line Manager, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center
Meredith Moss, Au.D., Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center

• Hearing Aid Tax Credit and the National Healthcare Agenda

Presenters:
Brenda Battat, Executive Director, Hearing Loss Association of America
Andrew Bopp, Director of Government Relations, Hearing Industries Association (HIA)

• A Peer Panel for Young Adults and Challenges of Living with Hearing Loss

Moderator:
Christopher T. Sutton, Director of Development and Education, Hearing Loss Association of America

2:30 p.m. – 3:45 p.m.

• The Forgotten Spouse: Issues for the Hearing Partner

Presenter:
Gerald Adams, retired U.S. Navy

• "Just Text Me," It's Easy

Presenter:
Matthew Gerst, J.D., Counsel, External and State Affairs at CTIA–The Wireless Association®

• Cochlear Implants 2009

Presenters:
David Haynes, M.D., Director of Neurotology; Medical Director, Adult and Pediatric Cochlear Implant Program, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center
Tamala Bradham, Ph.D., Associate Director, National Center for Childhood Deafness, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center
Susan Amberg, Au.D., CCC-A, Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center

• Providing Educational Services to Military Veterans with Hearing Loss: Pilot Project of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf

Moderator:
Gerald Buckley, Assistant Vice President for College Advancement at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID)
Panelists:
T. Alan Hurwitz, President, NTID
Larry Scott, Professor and Chair, Communication Studies and Services Department, NTID
Allen Ford, Project Coordinator for the Military Vets with Hearing Loss Initiative, NTID/RIT

• Fostering Psychological Resilience for Hard of Hearing Young Adults

Presenter:
Michael Harvey, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist