JTC families, friends, alumni and supporters gathered at Mother’s Beach in Long Beach, California on Sunday August 1st for the first ever JTC Spin-a-Thon. The fundraiser brought together spinning fanatics and novices alike, thanks to the efforts of event organizers Michelle Zarzana and Bonnie Smith. Michelle and her husband David Larson participate with their child Noah in JTC’s Parent/Infant Program. David and Zarazana Chiropractic staff volunteered at the event and sponsors included local businesses:

Zarzana Chiropractic
Frog’s Fitness
CVS Pharmacy
Long Beach Boot Camp
Bershtel Family
Ramy N. Elias, MD
Premier Medical Equipment Distributors, Inc
Oracle Imaging Center
Yogurtland

The four-hour session was led by Michelle, local spin instructors, enthusiasts and JTC Alumni Laura and Chad Ross, Brianna and Alicia  Hallerbach, Rogers and Erika Printup. Volunteers made sure to keep dozens of participants hydrated and motivated with water, fruit and encouragement.  The event grossed $30,000 toward JTC’s free services to families with hearing loss.

More photos and video from the event are on JTC’s Facebook page.

JTC recently added some Summer Session 2010 items to the JTC CafePress store. Friends, family and alumni can shop online; proceeds benefit JTC’s free services to families of children with hearing loss.

JTC will be the beneficiary of a four hour spin-a-thon on August 1st in Long Beach! You can enter as a team of four each spinning one hour, or you can enter to spin all four hours on your own. Learn more and register online by clicking here!

John Tracy Clinic is partnering with Sandy North and the Ling family to make the Ling Speech Cards available again as a valuable resource for professionals.

The Ling Speech Cards, by Daniel Ling and Sandy North, are in a new format – a 3-ring binder with tabs for each speech category.  Each card includes a wealth of information for each phoneme/aspect:
Principles
Prerequisites
Placement
Phonetic Strategies
Phonologic Strategies

The Ling Speech Cards are $50.00 each, plus mailing.  A display copy of the English Ling Speech Cards and order forms will be available at the A. G. Bell International Conference in Orlando, June 25-28, 2010. You can also download the flier by clicking here. An online ordering option will be available soon.

The Spanish Ling Cards will be available in December of 2010.

When José was diagnosed as profoundly deaf in Mexico, the audiologist told his mother, Elsie, that her little boy might never be able to speak.  She was stunned.  Then a doctor told her that in America there was a place called John Tracy Clinic that might be able to help.

Elsie contacted JTC immediately and enrolled in the International Summer Session.  The year was 1990, José was three years and seven months old, and had uttered no more than a few single words in Spanish. After three weeks of intensive parent classes, along with a sibling program for her daughters and speech and language training for José, her little boy was speaking in phrases, and not just in Spanish but in English as well. When they returned to Mexico, Elsie continued to read and speak to her son every day, while practicing all the techniques and activities she learned at JTC. His language steadily improved.

By the age of five, José was speaking virtually on par with his hearing friends and mainstreamed in a regular kindergarten classroom.  He excelled in school from the very beginning, graduating from high school among the top in his class. Last year, a passion for film led him to apply to one of Mexico’s most prestigious universities.  Out of 700 applicants only 15 slots were open, and Jose was among those accepted.  Elsie recently returned to John Tracy Clinic to share the good news. “John Tracy Clinic made everything possible for José and me,” she said.  “You taught me everything. You were my inspiration.”

Elsie, proud mother of Jose and Angie Stokes, JTC Director of Education Services.

JTC recently welcomed some visitors from India. The Deshmukh Family participated in the Distance Education for Parents Courses in the 1960s when young Vidya was diagnosed with severe hearing loss. Her brother Prasad also has hearing loss and as children he and Vidya were placed in the same classroom in order to help each other learn.

Vidya is now married with two daughters. She attended university, is assistant manager of a bank and knows five languages! Prasad lives in San Francisco and works for Nestle.

Vidya and Prasad are pictured above with their mother and Vidya’s two teenage daughters.

On the evening of April 13th, JTC “skyped” a parent workshop in Los Angeles to N-Courage-Mint, a Las Vegas support group for parents of children with hearing loss mentored by JTC Vice President of Programs Jill Muhs. Using Skype’s video and voice over internet technology, JTC Speech and Language Teacher Jenny Regnery Reeder provided parents in both Los Angeles and Las Vegas with an overview of beginning speech development. Parents in both locations were able to interact, ask  questions and share their experiences.  The session concluded with thumbs up on screen from Nevada and applause in person in California.

The JTC Preschool is hunting for eggs this week! The children are building language about holiday events, socializing, negotiating, and working on reading skills.  Parents and teachers talk with the children about hunting (“Is it in the tree or in the grass?”), help the children read the names on the eggs (“Whose name is on the egg?”), discuss whether it’s theirs or not (“It’s not yours, you have to leave it for him”) and help them share with their classmates about their discoveries (“Let’s tell Sarah we found her egg!”).  Springtime at JTC is about learning and having fun!

The second annual Latin American Convention on Cochlear Implants and Related Sciences is scheduled to take place December 1-3, 2010 in Cartagena, Colombia. Dr. José Antonio Rivas of Clínica Rivas, Colombia’s foremost ear, nose, and throat center, is president of this year’s convention. Presenters and exhibitors from the fields of medicine, technology, rehabilitation, and education will be featured. More information is available here (website is in Spanish).

JTC preschooler Hannia and mom Claudia check out the poster now displayed in the hallway.

The John Tracy Clinic Poster Presentation at the 2010 Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Conference in Chicago won an “Outstanding Poster” award. The poster, entitled “Comprehensive Parent Education for Diverse Families” shows the multi-faceted components of JTC’s approach to parent education and support. JTC was commended for its focus on the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse families. The poster is now on display at JTC to illustrate the parent education program for new parents and visitors.

JTC preschooler Hannia Acosta gives the award-winning poster a thumbs-up.