2027 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 22-24, 2027 • Bellevue, WA
3/17/2026 | 10:10 AM - 10:40 AM | Uncommon Ground: Finding Shared Language in Deaf Education and Early Intervention | Orlando
Uncommon Ground: Finding Shared Language in Deaf Education and Early Intervention
One of the earliest ideological clashes on how to provide early intervention and deaf education surfaced in a Massachusetts State Legislature session in 1867, where educators, philanthropists, and legislators gathered in agreement about establishing a school for the deaf but quickly entered a tautological debate on language and pedagogy centering around oralism versus manualism. More than 150 years later, these opposing perspectives persist, often reinforced by shared terms defined in divergent ways. The result has been parallel conversations whose lines deepen division within deaf education and early intervention for children who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing (d/DHH).
We trace the historical use of contested terms and examine their modern implications to ensure lessons of our past are not repeated. Special attention is given to terms such as natural language, language deprivation, isolation, parent choice, and language choice, which carry significant weight in advocacy, policy, and practice. This session highlights professional perspectives from within Deaf Culture, as well as the Listening and Spoken Language community, and invites those who hold positional power to leverage influence by "walking across the aisle" to foster greater shared understanding in deaf education and early intervention.
Through guided analysis and role play, participants will operationalize sensitive terminology, clarifying definitions and intentions to foster respectful exchange. The goal is not to erase differences but to model constructive approaches for navigating them, creating opportunities for authentic dialogue(s), reducing harm, and identifying shared ground that can inform equitable and inclusive educational initiatives for children who are d/DHH.
- The participant will be able to describe the historical and present impact of contested terminology on dialogue in deaf education and early intervention.
- The participant will be able to identify at least two benefits and two risks of specific word choices when communicating with community partners and families.
- The participant will be able to generate and apply operational definitions of sensitive terms during role play to promote shared understanding and clearer dialogue.
Presentation:
View Presentation File
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference
Presenters/Authors
Kameron Carden
(Primary Presenter,Co-Presenter), Samford University , kcarden1@samford.edu;
Dr. Kameron C. Carden is an Assistant Professor and Director of Clinical Education at Samford University. She is also the Director of their Listening and Spoken Language Focused Study Initiative. She has over 15 years of clinical experience serving young children who are deaf/hard of hearing as a speech language pathologist and listening and spoken language specialist in oral preschool programs, early intervention, and outreach. Dr. Carden is a board member of the Division for Communication, Language, and Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DCD) of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC). She also serves on Alabama’s Special Education Advisory Panel (SEAP) and the Alabama Hands and Voices board of directors as a parent of a child with a hearing difference. Her research interests include complex language development, ecologically valid language assessment practices, and special education eligibility determination practices for preschoolers who are D/HH.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary,Grants for Employment from Samford University.
Nonfinancial -
• Has a Personal
(parent of child who is D/HH)
relationship for Board membership.
• Has a Professional
(co-chair of the Educator Special Interest Group)
relationship for Volunteer membership on advisory committee or review panels.
• Has a Professional
(certification )
relationship for Other volunteer activities.
• Has a Professional
(board member)
relationship for Board membership.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with Samford University.
Nature: Salary from Samford University; Grant Support from Listening and Spoken Language Focused Study Initiative through Samford University; Board Member - Division of Language, Communication, and Hard of Hearing of the Council for Exceptional Children; Co-Chair of the Educator Special Interest Group for the American Cochlear Implant Alliance; Board member - Alabama Hands and Voices; ASHA and AG Bell certified .
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Tommy Horejes
(Co-Presenter), The Access Foundation, Thorejes@gmail.com;
Thomas “Tommy” Horejes, Ph.D. has decades of academic and professional experience in legal policy & advocacy. His training in both the academic and professional canon is a multi/inter/trans disciplinary focus on law, advocacy, social justice & impact, policy studies, communication accessibility, and public administration. He takes great passion doing research & development on law, data, policy trends, education, consumer service, and innovation with the denominating factor in making a positive social impact to and for all.
Academically, Dr. Horejes has 15+ years of teaching disability policy, law, and sociology in higher education, 13+ peer-reviewed published articles including (Re)conceptualizing Disability Policy Frameworks for the Journal of Policy Practice, and presented 70+ scholarly works on legal policy, accessibility, education, and justice studies for industry conferences, including the International Sociological Association and the American Educational Research Association.
Professionally, he is current Chief Advocacy Officer for SignWow and former Director of Policy & Advocacy for Telecommunications for the Deaf/HH (TDI) as a national leader in policy advocacy, education, and innovation to foster full accessibility, equity, and inclusion in Information and Communications Technology. Prior to SignWow, Thomas was Associate Provost for Gallaudet University; and Executive Director of Deaf Empowerment Awareness Foundation (DEAF, Inc.), a non-profit organization dedicated to empower, raise Awareness, and bridge a sustainable Foundation of advocacy, communication and accessibility for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, and the Hearing communities. He was also a former advocate for the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness (GLAD), the largest deaf-run non-profit organization that provided legal advocacy and empowerment to deaf and hard of hearing consumers.
Tommy currently serves on the Board for State of Maryland’s Hands & Voices, Deaf Youth Sports Foundation (dysf.org) and member of Maryland Department of Health’s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Advisory Council. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri where he attended Central Institute for the Deaf (CID), he?? currently lives in rural Maryland with his wife and blended family of very active children. When he is not busy with legal policy advocacy work, he enjoys watching his kids play baseball, soccer, basketball, and volleyball along with road biking, cooking, and tending to his small farm and animals.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with .
Nature: Board Member of Maryland's Hands & Voices .
Nonfinancial -
Non-Financial relationship with .
Nature: Board Member of Maryland's Hands & Voices .