The New Jersey Deaf Mentor Program’s Kick-Off Event took place on Saturday, June 8th at Kidz Village in Woodbridge. Families with a Deaf or hard of hearing child attended the event to meet New Jersey’s Deaf Mentors. The Event provided the families the opportunity to learn from the unique perspectives of Deaf and hard of hearing adults.
The New Jersey Deaf Mentor Program is a free program for families in New Jersey that provides 3 types of Deaf Mentor’s: Snapshots Deaf Mentors, ASL Deaf Mentors and ASL Deaf Language Associates.
Snapshots Deaf Mentors are adults who are Deaf or hard of hearing representing the full range of hearing levels, communication choices, technology use, and educational placement.
ASL Deaf Mentors are Deaf adults, fluent in ASL, who will travel state-wide to conduct weekly home visits to assigned families and provide instruction according to the SKI HI Deaf Mentor Curriculum.
ASL Deaf Language Associates are Deaf adults, fluent in ASL, who will support a child with hearing loss in a childcare setting by being an ASL language model.
For more information about the NJ Deaf Mentor Program, please contact Pam Aasen, Director of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Mentoring & Family Engagement Project at SPAN Parent Advocacy Network at paasen@spanadvocacy.org.
