ABOUT THE BOOK

Late to the Party: Extraordinary Stories of Hope After Late-Identified Hearing Loss

Title: Late to the Party: Extraordinary Stories of Hope After Late-Identified Hearing Loss
Author: Valerie James Abbott
Foreword by: Karl R. White, PhD
ISBN 979-8-9855979-2-9 Paperback
Publication Date: May 5, 2026

Guided by intimate interviews with sixteen families across the United States. parent advocate and award-winning author Valerie James Abbott has woven together a one-of-a-kind collection of true stories that illustrates what happens when hearing loss is identified later, outside of newborn hearing screening. When risk factors are overlooked, parent concerns are dismissed, and pediatric audiology services are difficult to access, families face an avalanche of emotions, and young children miss important developmental milestones. This collection offers validation, compassion, and hope for parents navigating this difficult journey. Students and stakeholders will find valuable case studies for group discussions and the development of more effective early childhood hearing screening programs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR.

Valerie James Abbott

Following her daughter’s diagnosis, Valerie became a parent subject matter expert and passionate champion for early childhood hearing health. Her award-winning children’s book, Padapillo, was published in 2021 and launched what became the Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness Campaign. Drawing from research and lived experience, Valerie speaks to audiences across the country, calling attention to the risk factors and signs of unidentified pediatric hearing loss, the critical importance of proactive hearing health monitoring, and the impact of late-identification on language, literacy, and social-emotional development.

Late to the Party: Extraordinary Stories of Hope After Late-Identified Hearing Loss is her second published book. Her first book, Padapillo, is based on her family’s experience with early childhood hearing loss and received a Moonbeam Award for excellence in children’s literature.

Moonbeam Award Winner 2021

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The Itinerant Teacher’s Handbook 3rd Edition

John Luckner, EdD & Carolyn Bullard, PhD

The wait is over – we are excited to announce the new edition of the Itinerant Teacher’s Handbook by John Luckner & Carolyn Bullard.

The Itinerant Teacher’s Handbook, Third Edition is a trusted, practical guide for professionals supporting students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Combining expert knowledge, real-world strategies, and personal insight, this edition helps educators navigate the technical and human sides of itinerant teaching. whether you’re new to the role or a seasoned professional, you’ll find fresh ideas and ready-to-se practices to support every student’s success.

All chapters have been updated with current references and resources.  New edition is available in downloadable format AND printed format with coil binding.

New sections include:

• Teaching is an Important Profession
• Overcoming Stress
• Addressing Data Collection
• Managing Paperwork
• Overcoming Lack of Administrative Support
• Using Your Car Efficiently
• Dealing with Criticism
• Attachment and Relatedness
• Importance of Friendships
• Acquiring a Language Sample Focusing on the Functions of Communication
• Hierarchy of Functional Communication Skills Development
• Sample Activities for Promoting Speech Skills

Significantly Expanded Sections Include:

• Work-Life Balance
• Time Management
• Using E-mail Effectively
• Being Organized
• Language
• Functions of Communication
• Literacy
• Students who are Deaf or Hard of hearing with Additional Disabilities
• Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing who are Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
• Social-Emotional Development – Seven to Eighteen Months
• Interventions for Promoting Social-Emotional Skills

Print Edition:  8.5′ x 11′ | 349 pages | $69.00

Digital edition:  349 pages |  $39.00

Available now!

Download Table of Contents

For program coordinators, universities, colleges, or teacher preparation programs, please contact Brenda Wellen at brenda@success4kidswhl.com for your unique coupon code to purchase your review copy at a discount. One per program/university.  Review copies available in print only.

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Cheryl DeConde Johnson, EdD,
Leeanne Seaver, MA
Janet DesGeorges

English and Spanish versions available!

New chapter on Early Intervention 2023 Updated Legislative and Policy information

The H&V Guidebook is the essential book for families, advocates, and professionals who support the education of children who are deaf and hard of hearing. Can also serve as a textbook for students in the field. 210+ pages.

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: Introduction to Special Education
Chapter 2: Special Considerations for Students who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Chapter 3: A Question of Eligibility
Chapter 4: The ABC’s of FAPE and LRE
Chapter 5: Assessment and Evaluation
Chapter 6: IEP’s
Chapter 7: Procedural Safeguards
Chapter 8: The Four R’s of Advocacy
Chapter 9: Leaping “Hurdle Talk” in an IEP
Chapter 10: Advanced Advocacy Strategies and Caselaw
Chapter 11: The finesse of Advocacy
Chapter 12: Back to the Beginning: Early Intervention and the IFSP

Appendix A: Key Federal Legislation and Reports Relative to Deaf Education
Appendix B: Key Advocacy Events in Deaf Education
Appendix C: General Provisions of IDEA Part C and Part B
Appendix D: Comparison of Pertinent Part B and Part C IDEA Requirements Related to Children and Youth who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Appendix E: IDEA 2004 Key Regulations Pertaining to Audiology and Deaf Education
Appendix F: Comparison of Pertinent Areas of Section IDEA Part B, 504 & ADA
Appendix G: OSEP RtI Policy Clarification
Appendix H: OSEP Letter to Clarke

The post Educational Advocacy For Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: The Hands & Voices Guidebook first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

The purpose of this book is to provide resources that will assist these students in optimizing their achievement through improved access and self-advocacy. Many publications provide information on supporting students with hearing loss who have academic or language learning needs. The information contained in this book targets the “expanded core curriculum,” or those skills that must be mastered in order to benefit from the core curriculum. This book is meant to be a practical ready-to-go resource for professionals who work with school-age children with hearing loss. Although applicable to students with hearing loss of all degrees, the information is especially pertinent to students who are mainstreamed into their neighborhood schools.

This is a valuable resource for professionals in training, new professionals and seasoned veterans. It also has almost 50 downloadable files for purchasers of the book (see Table of Contents).

Intended audience: Educators of deaf/hard of hearing, educational audiologists, speech language pathologists – the book has also been beneficial for family members!

“Your book, The Deaf Bible as I refer to it, has changed the way our DHH program supports our students and advocates for their learning.”

DHH Teacher, Florida

I LOVE the book, it is so helpful to me as a DHH Itinerant! Best, most concise and thorough collection of materials ever. A must for every Itinerant! DHH Teacher, California

The post Building Skills for Success in the Fast-Paced Classroom first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

Guide to Identifying Educational Needs for Students with Hearing Loss

Teachers have been asking “Help me pull all of this data together into better assessments so my kids can qualify for services and more appropriate programs!”

Karen Anderson, author/co-author of Building Skills for Success in the Fast-Paced Classroom,
Building Skills for Independence in the Mainstream, and SCRIPT has joined together with Lynne Price, author of the Steps to Success Curriculum and COACH: Self-Advocacy Skills and Transition Training  to develop Steps to Assessment.

The focus of this 290-page guide is appropriate assessment practices for children from transition to school at age 3 through high school. Categories of assessment are presented, as are ways to tease out information from assessment results to illustrate how to identify needs to support eligibility.

A variety of assessments are described for each assessment area. Case studies are provided that show how the teacher can choose appropriate test instruments and interpret the results, including determining possible goal areas.

A section describing self-learning application activities helps readers to integrate the information into daily practice and makes this Guide the perfect subject of a Professional Learning Community.

Teachers who use this guide will have a much better understanding of the vulnerable areas of development due to hearing loss, how the areas interconnect, and ultimately how they are the experts in using the ‘deaf lens’ to contribute to their evaluation teams and service planning. This information will assist educators of the deaf/hard of hearing, educational audiologists and specialist speech language pathologists in being able to advocate with school teams for appropriately tailored assessment and program planning for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Informational handout describing Steps to Assessment to share with your Team!

Steps to Assessment: Guide to Identifying Educational Needs for Students with Hearing Loss $64.00 + S/H

5 copies of Steps to Assessment all shipped to same address (15% discount) $272.00 + S/H: Enter Discount Code: STEPS15 at Check-out

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: The Assessment Process

Chapter 2: Speech Perception and Device Use

Chapter 3: Performance Review

Chapter 4: Auditory Skills Development

Chapter 5: Prosody, Phonologic Awareness, and Morphology

Chapter 6: Language Processing and Use

Chapter 7: Social Interaction: Pragmatic Language Use and Social Skills

Chapter 8: Self-Advocacy, Self-Determination and Independence with Amplification Devices

Chapter 9: Students with Additional Challenges

Self-Learning Application Activities for Individual and Professional Learning Communities

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Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 3rd Edition provides a clear roadmap to the laws and how to get better services for all children with disabilities.

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 3rd Edition has expanded to include other laws that affect special education for children with disabilities, including:

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act of 2004
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Americans with Disabilities Act of 2008
• Family Educational Records Privacy Act
• McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
• Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, U.S. Constitution
• Analysis, Commentary, and Interpretation
• Selected Topics in Special Education Law

Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 3rd Edition is designed to meet the needs of parents, teachers, advocates, attorneys, related services providers, school psychologists, administrators, college professors, hearing officers, and employees of district and state departments of education.

Table of Contents and Selected Topics
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. History of Special Education Law and Litigation
Chapter 3. Overview of Statutes, Regulations, Caselaw, Courts, and Legal Research
Chapter 4. Overview of IDEA, Section 504, and ADA
Chapter 5. Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq.
Chapter 6. IDEA Regulations, 34 CFR Part 300 et seq.
Chapter 7. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. 794 et seq., 34 CFR Part 104
Chapter 8. Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq., 28 CFR Parts 35+36
Chapter 9. FERPA, McKinney-Vento, Other Statutes / Laws
Chapter 10. Selected Topics

Synopsis

Twenty-five years ago, Pete and Pam Wright posted the first articles on Wrightslaw.com and published the first edition of Wrightslaw: Special Education Law.

We expanded Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 3rd Edition to include additional laws about educating students with disabilities, from preschool through graduate school and professional licensing exams.

In this new edition, you’ll find answers to questions like these:

• What do the laws say about child find? Are children who attend private schools, religious schools, and charter schools eligible for special education and related services?
• What do the laws say about evaluations, reevaluations, and parental consent? What do the laws say about evaluating a child before a change of placement?
• What do the laws say about Individualized Education Programs? Section 504 Plans? Who is entitled to accommodations?
• Can the school refuse to provide an IEP or a Section 504 Plan to a child who is making good grades? What do the laws say about parental access to educational records?
• What do the laws say about least restrictive environment, inclusion and a child’s placement?
• What do the laws say about bullying at school? Restraint and seclusion? Compensatory education?
• What do the laws say about suspensions and expulsions? Is a child with a disability entitled to educational services after being suspended or expelled from school?
• How do IDEA and Section 504 define a “free appropriate public education”?
• Who enforces IDEA? Who enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act?
• If a child has a disability and an IEP, is the school required to provide the child with physical education?
• If a child has an Individualized Health Care Plan, is the school required to follow the plan?
• Are colleges or institutions of higher education required to provide the accommodations and modifications in a child’s IEP or Section 504 Plan?
• Is an IEP or a Section 504 Plan better for a child with special needs?

About the Authors

Pete Wright and Pam Wright built Wrightslaw.com, the #1 ranked site about special education law and advocacy and have written more than a dozen books about special education law and advocacy topics.

As Adjunct Faculty at the William & Mary Law School, for three semesters, Pete and Pam Wright taught a three credit hour class about Special Education Law and helped to create the Special Education Law Clinic (PELE Clinic). For ten years, they taught at the week-long Institute of Special Education Advocacy (ISEA) sponsored by the Law School.

The Wrights now teach at the Special Education Advocacy Summit (SEAS) at St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio, TX each summer. Pete Wright is an attorney who began representing children with disabilities and their parents in 1978. He represented Shannon Carter before the U.S. Supreme Court in Florence County Sch. Dist. IV v. Shannon Carter, 510 U.S. 7 (1993) where, in a unanimous 9-0 decision, he won a landmark victory that has benefited all children with disabilities. 

Pam Wright is a psychotherapist who began working with children and families in the 1970s. Pam writes about raising, educating, and advocating for children with disabilities. She is the Editor of The Special Education Advocate, the free online newsletter about special education law and advocacy.

Early Reviews

“Wrightslaw has been an invaluable resource for parents and for individuals needing legal help for a long time.” – Louisa Moats, Ph.D., Author, Literacy Expert, Consultant

“Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 3rd Edition is outstanding. I’ve been doing this work for 10 years but I learned so much valuable information from this new edition.” – Brett Tingley, Parents for Reading Justice

“Very clear and easy to navigate.” – Dr. Benjamin N. Powers, Head of Southport School and Director of Haskins Global Literacy Hub

”My overall impression is this: Wrightslaw: Special Education Law, 3rd Edition *really* is for everyone: attorneys, special education directors, administrators, educators, and parents.

“A parent with a child who has been newly identified with a disability will get a quick overview of their rights in a way that lets them get enough information without drowning.

“A special education director, like myself, would get a good review but also enough information, resources, and strategies to help them plumb the depths of special education law.

“Wrightslaw: Special Education Law is exactly what it promises to be – it is solidly rooted in law without conjecture. As a special education director, I can trust using it as a key resource.” – Jaclyn Knapp, Director of Special Education

485 pages | perfect bound

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Both Gina A. Oliva and Linda Risser Lytle know what it is like to be the only deaf student in a mainstream school. Though they became successful educators, they recognize the need to research the same isolation experienced by other deaf and hard of hearing persons. In this way, they hope to improve education for current and future deaf students. Their efforts have culminated in Turning the Tide: Making Life Better for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Schoolchildren.
Turning the Tide presents a qualitative study of deaf and hard of hearing students who attended mainstream schools. The authors conducted three focus groups in different regions in the country, enlisting six to eight participants with diverse backgrounds for each session. They also gathered information from 113 online respondents who answered the same questions used in the focus groups. The respondents discussed many issues, including the difficulties of finding friends and social access, the struggle to establish an identity, the challenges of K-12 interpreting and class placement, and the vast potential of summer and weekend programs for deaf students. Their empowering stories clearly demonstrate that no deaf or hard of hearing student should be educated alone. The authors also elicited comments on other changes that parents, advocates, and other allies could work toward to improve further the educational environment of deaf children.

Paperback 250 pages | 6.0 x .06 x 9.0”

The post Turning the Tide first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

Table of Contents:

Copyright 2015

The post Thirty Million Words first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

When you’re teaching students who have special needs, what are your legal responsibilities? How can you provide appropriate, legally compliant special education services—and avoid pitfalls that could lead to due process hearings and court dates? Turn to this interactive quick guide for concise, accessible answers. The antidote to thick, cumbersome legal volumes, this book gives educators and administrators the basics of special education law in an engaging, easy-to-read format. With the jargon-free definitions and reader-friendly descriptions of laws and court cases, you’ll build a storehouse of knowledge you can apply in your own classroom. And with the thought-provoking activities and real-life scenarios in each chapter, you’ll see law-abiding practices in action and put your knowledge to the test so you’re ready to fulfill your important responsibilities.

An essential addition to every teacher’s professional library—and an ideal supplementary text for teachers in training—this guidebook will help you adhere to the law as you teach students with disabilities and special health care needs.

LEARN YOUR LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES WHEN

• collaborating with parents and colleagues to build strong partnerships
• developing and implementing IEPs as part of a team
• supervising students and protecting them from abuse and harm
• conducting behavioral interventions fairly and without bias
• documenting the progress and behavior of students, communication with parents and colleagues, and the results of your students’ IEPs
• storing and managing your students’ school records and personal information
• monitoring your own behavior both inside and outside school (including on social media)

• An Introduction to Special Education Law
• The Parent–Educator Partnership: A Critical Ingredient for Student Success
• The Importance of the Collaborative Team: Partnering with Peers, Administrators, and Paraprofessionals
• Basic Principles of the IEP
• Supervision and Protection of Students
• Implementing Appropriate Behavioral Interventions
• Understanding the Importance of Documentation
• The Rules of Record Keeping and Confidentiality
• Using the Team to Make Appropriate Decisions: Avoiding Unilateral Action
• Presenting a Positive Image: Monitoring Yourself Inside and Outside School

The post Your Classroom Guide to Special Education Law first appeared on Supporting Success For Children With Hearing Loss.

• All chapters revised to reflect current terminology and best practices
• A new feature called “Nuggets from the Field” which offers practical information from experienced educational audiologists currently working in school settings
• Revised and updated chapter on legislative and policy essentials
• Latest perspectives on auditory processing deficits
• Contemporary focus on student wellness and social competence
• Expanded information and resources for access to general education
• Updated perspectives on hearing loss prevention
• New information on the development of remote audiology practices
• Materials and recommendations to support interprofessional collaboration
• Updated and more comprehensive technology information with multiple handouts and worksheets
• Resources for students in all current learning environments
• Expanded focus on coaching to support students and school staff

606 pages
Softcover: 8.5” x 11”
ISBN13: 978-1-63550-108-7</p>
© 2021

View Table of Contents

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