Workshop description

This presentation is designed to give participants a brief history of Cued American English (CAE) and how it can be used to develop core literacy and language skills such as phonological awareness, decoding, vocabulary knowledge, and language structures. Participants will have an opportunity to learn the 8 handshapes and 4 placements of CAE and join a practice session to see how it can be implemented in instruction.

Presented by Sarah Ideen and Heather Stoesz. 

Sarah Ideen

Sarah Ideen has a Master's in Special Education: Deaf/Hard of Hearing from the University of MN; she has taught in both the itinerant and resource setting, with most of her experience in elementary resource education for learners who are DHH. She has served as the lead teacher for ISD 917's DHH Resource Program for the past 3 years. Sarah completed the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) to advance her knowledge of the science of reading. She has also received extensive training in the brain-based Conscious Discipline social/emotional learning strategies. In addition to working with students who are deaf/hard of hearing ranging in ages from birth-transition, she has worked with students who are DeafBlind, 'deaf-plus' (labeled deaf with other diagnoses), students with ASD, and students who use AAC. Sarah has presented on the use of Cued American English to support literacy and language development at the local and state levels.

Heather Stoesz

Heather Stoesz has worked as a speech/language pathologist for ISD 917 for the past 30 years. She has worked with a variety of student populations pre-K through 12th grade that have included DHH and other diagnoses such as DeafBlind, Deaf Plus, EBD, ASD, severe Apraxia, and students who use AAC. She is fluent in American Sign Language and Cued American English. She has given numerous presentations at the local and state levels and has had the honor of presenting at one ASHA convention. Topics have included phonological/phonemic awareness, the effectiveness of Cued American English for speech/language pathology, evaluating the speech and language skills of DHH learners and teaching in a bilingual-bicultural model. Recently, she contributed an article for the book that was published by NCSA: "Our Chosen Path: The Transformative Impact of Cued Language."