Washington, D.C. – February 5, 2016 – The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) is pleased to unveil the award recipients for three of its prestigious awards and to introduce two new awards.
The AG Bell awards have a rich, 50-year history of recognizing those who have made the world a better place for children and adults with hearing loss by advancing listening and spoken language for individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing. The 2016 award recipients are:
AG Bell Presidential Award of Recognition - Judith Simser
This new award recognizes and honors individuals and organizations whose work serves as an inspiration and model to the field for their service, leadership and contributions that benefit people who are deaf and hard of hearing who are pursuing a listening and spoken language outcome.
Judith Simser, O.Ont., B.Ed., Dip. Ed. Deaf, LSLS Cert AVT, is an internationally acclaimed speaker and consultant on the education of children with hearing impairment who is credited with establishing therapist and parent teaching programs in auditory-verbal therapy in Canada, Taiwan and Singapore. Simser, formerly of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa, Canada, lived in Taiwan for six years, where she trained therapists and established two auditory-verbal centers. In Taiwan she helped parents Joanna Nichols and Kenny Cheng develop the Children's Hearing Foundation (CHF), an AG Bell international affiliate. During that time, she trained 36 teachers and helped establish two auditory-verbal centers that have served over 1,000 families. In Singapore she developed the AG Bell international affiliate program Listen and Talk A-V program in the Singapore General Hospital Cochlear Implant Centre.
AG Bell Award for International Service - Warren Estabrooks
This new award is given to an individual who has demonstrated outstanding and sustained accomplishments in international service by advancing listening and spoken language, promoting the Listening and Spoken Language Specialist (LSLS®) certification, improving the delivery of services, and/or advocating for the rights of people with hearing loss around the world.
Warren Estabrooks, M.Ed., Dip. Ed. Deaf, LSLS Cert. AVT, is the president and CEO of WE Listen International, Inc., a global training and consulting company, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. As a global consultant and professional trainer, he provides professional services in auditory-verbal therapy and practice, auditory rehabilitation and auditory learning for children and adults with hearing loss, their families, and practitioners and related health care providers who serve them. Estabrooks has made significant contributions to the literature, including most recently editing AG Bell’s 101 FAQs About Auditory-Verbal Practice (2012) and Plural’s Auditory-Verbal Therapy for Young Children with Hearing Loss and Their Families, and the Practitioners Who Guide Them (2016)
He was a founding director of the AG Bell Academy for Listening and Spoken Language. He is an honorary director of Bundesverein für Auditiv-Verbale Therapie Deutschland (BVAVT). Estabrooks has held the position of assistant professor at the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine. He was the director of the Auditory Learning Centre of the Learning to Listen Foundation (LTLF) in Toronto from 1980-2007 and was a founding director of Auditory-Verbal International Inc. Estabrooks has received numerous global awards including the AGBell Professional of the Year and the Susan Schmid-Giovannini Award and has been honored by the naming of the Warren Estabrooks Center in the Wickramarachchi Speech and Hearing Institute (WISH) in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
AG Bell Honors of the Association - Kathleen Treni
This award is given to an outstanding person who is involved with people with hearing loss and is recognized by the AG Bell Association.
Kathleen Treni, M.Ed., M.A., was the president of AG Bell from 2010-2012 and has been a member of the association for 42 years. She often credits her dedication to the listening and spoken language model in her program to her own experience in 1992 when she received a cochlear implant. In November of 2004, she received her second cochlear implant and now listens bilaterally. As the Principal of the Communication Skills Continuum for the Bergen County, New Jersey, Special Services District, Treni uses her education, experiences and insight to create a model program that demonstrates best practices in deaf education.
About the AG Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) helps families, health care providers and education professionals understand childhood hearing loss and the importance of early diagnosis and intervention. Through advocacy, education and financial aid, AG Bell helps to ensure that every child and adult with hearing loss has the opportunity to listen, talk and thrive. With chapters located in the United States and a network of international affiliates, AG Bell supports its mission: Advancing Listening and Spoken Language for Individuals Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Visit www.agbell.org.
-See more at: https://www.agbell.org
