Family Support Services

The educational liaison works with children with hearing loss and their families by building and maintaining positive relationships with educators and other professionals to achieve optimal educational outcomes. To download the brochure, click here.

Our goal at Texas Hearing Institute is early identification of hearing loss combined with early intervention. Early intervention teams involve teachers, day care providers, and other service providers.

The educational liaison is available to provide training to outside providers and to connect them with the Texas Hearing Institute team. When meeting with day care providers and other outside professionals, the educational liaison can review hearing aid/cochlear implant retention strategies, tips for developing listening and spoken language skills, and troubleshooting tips.

To aid the transition from the Melinda Webb School to a mainstream school, the educational liaison works with families to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible. This support begins while students are enrolled at the Melinda Webb School, and continues into the school year after the student transitions. Here are a few ways the educational liaison supports families:

• Assistance with finding the correct classroom/school placement based on a child’s needs
• Virtual or in-person amplification training with teachers, school nurses, and others who work with children with hearing loss in school settings
• One-on-one classroom teacher meetings to discuss children’s individual needs
• Read-aloud visits with children’s classes to teach fellow students about hearing loss and amplification
• Regular email and/or phone correspondence with children’s teachers to monitor children during the transition to mainstream schools
• Provide support and guidance during admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) and 504 meetings

Support for Texas Hearing Institute clients who attend local schools: The Educational Liaison works with each child’s team at Texas Hearing Institute to structure a comprehensive approach to their education. This includes:

• Providing community outreach education about topics related to hearing loss.
• Educating parents and professionals about hearing loss, technology, troubleshooting tips and the impact of hearing loss in the classroom .
• Ongoing support for mainstream teachers throughout the school year.
• Establishing a line of communication between children’s Texas Hearing Institute providers and outside providers (school audiologist, mainstream teacher, physical therapist, etc.).
• Guiding and supporting families during FIE, ARD and 504 processes.
• Helping find the most advantageous classroom/school placement for children’s individual needs.

Support Groups

Texas Hearing Institute hosts in-person and virtual family support groups. All parents, grandparents and caregivers of children with hearing loss are invited to attend. The group is a great place to connect with other families and to share similar experiences, regardless of where families are in their hearing loss journey. The group hosts guest speakers and covers a variety of topics throughout the year (for example: transition to public and private school, understanding FM systems, audiology 101).

To learn about and register for upcoming Family Support Group and Family Education meetings, click here.

Texas Hearing Institute also hosts bi-yearly Family Support Group meetings specifically for families of children and young adults who are newly diagnosed with hearing loss. If you are interested in joining our next Newly Diagnosed Family Support Group meeting, click here to learn more and register.

For additional questions, contact Stacie Terhark at sterhark@texashearing.org.

Buddies at Texas Hearing is a group for kids with hearing loss who are 11-16 years old. Buddies events occur every other month throughout the school year to facilitate friendships, build self-advocacy skills, and create a feeling of community for kids in the Houston area who are deaf or hard of hearing. Past Buddies events have included bowling, escape room challenges, and a gingerbread house building contest. Kids who utilize any communication modality are welcome to attend all Buddies events.

For more information and to register for spring 2024 Buddies events, click here.

For questions about Buddies, please contact Stacie Terhark at sterhark@texashearing.org.

Junior Buddies at Texas Hearing is a brand new group for children with hearing loss who are 6-10 years old. The group hosts events during the school year to promote the growth of social skills and inclusion. Junior Buddies at Texas Hearing was created to give deaf or hard of hearing children in the Houston area a chance to spend time with peers who also have hearing loss. Children who utilize any communication modality can attend Junior Buddies.

For questions about Junior Buddies, please contact Stacie Terhark at sterhark@texashearing.org.

Resource Fair and Play Date in collaboration with Texas Hands & Voices

When: Saturday, April 6, 2024 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.

Where: Texas Hearing Institute

3100 Shenandoah St.

Houston, TX 77021-1042

Let your kids play while parents connect with important resources and other parents. Please click here to RSVP.

For additional questions, please contact Peyton Stephens at pstephens@texashearing.org.

Vendors

• Texas Hands & Voices
• Cochlear
• MED-EL
• Advanced Bionics
• Phonak
• ODHHS - Resource Specialists
• Texas Technology Access Program
• Oticon

** ASL interpreters and facilitators will be present. If you require other language accommodations, please contact pstephens@texashearing.org 10 days before the event. Every reasonable effort will be made to provide accommodations.