Good afternoon,
I have inquired with ASHA and was told that there is currently no one petitioning for a Clinical Specialty Certification Board for SLPs working with the deaf and hard of hearing population. As we see more and more specialization in our field, I feel this is an area that deserves board recognized certification as it is unique.
I would love your feedback as to whether you feel like this is worthwhile and if you are interested in joining me on this adventure. I have introduced myself here before but I will provide some information on my background. I am currently an SLP working in Rochester, NY at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology. I work one on one with deaf and hard of hearing college students using an adult therapy model, in which students take a leading role in developing their goals. We support students of all communication modalities and backgrounds. My students range from having a deaf family spanning generations using ASL to fully oral students with bilateral cochlear implants. All of our SLPs sign and are able to provide direct instruction. My department teaches communication courses as well. I will be teaching a communication based problem solving course to our students with very low English and general language skills. To learn more about our department visit
CSS and to learn more about NTID
click here. We also offer an educational website about this population. You can find that at
SLPros. I also have experience working with preschool and middle school age deaf and hard of hearing students in the public schools.
My goal for petitioning for a Clinical Specialty Certification is to advance this area of knowledge and connect all of the wonderful SLPs working with this population. My wish is that this will be an inclusive certification and not exclusive of communication modality or educational philosophy. It will be differentiated from the Listening and Spoken Language certification from AG Bell.
Please provide your feedback and let me know if you may be interested in joining this effort.
Thank you,
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Nicole Chow M.S., CCC-SLP
Rochester Institute of Technology/National Technical Institute for the Deaf - LBJ 3843
Communication Studies & Services Department
52 Lomb Memorial Drive
Rochester, NY 14623-5604
E-mail
nlcnca@rit.eduPhone 585.475.6227
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