FL3 Office Hours

Hands & Voices offers “FL3 Office Hours” on selected Thursdays throughout the year.  The time will alternate between 11 AM and 6 PM Mountain Time (MT) (see our 2024-25 Information flyer (pdf)) and the registration information below. Please adjust for your time zone).

The goal is for parent & DHH adult leaders, family liaisons, EHDI program staff and family-based organizations to network with one another, discuss the featured topic, share resources and have Q&A time.  The topics are chosen because of their importance to the work of providing parent-to-parent support for families with children who are deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH).  Each session is led by rotating Hands & Voices staff and guests. 

Please assign one Parent or D/HH Leader per program to attend and bring back information. 

Captioning will be provided.  For other access needs, please register 1 week prior to the date and indicate your needs.

Registration is required 48 hours in advance. (One week prior for communication access requests.)

Registration confirmation, Zoom access, password and captioning information will be sent to registrants the day prior.

Register For The FL3 Office Hours on Zoom Below.

May 15th, 2025

11-12 pm MT

Supporting Early Literacy Growth in Babies and Toddlers through Family Support

Registration Open

How do we best support families in nurturing their young child’s early literacy skills in the early intervention years? Join with other family leaders to discuss the topic and share your questions, resources, and strategies in this interactive discussion. One person per organization is preferred to keep the group manageable.

Registration is required at least 48 hours in advance: (One week prior for communication access requests.)

Objectives:

  1. The audience will be able to describe two key aspects of the Simple View of Reading.
  2. The audience will be able to identify several resources that support early literacy.
  3. The audience will be able to list different strategies to enhance literacy in everyday activities.

Presenters from the HATCH Lab-Idaho State University:

Dr. Kristina Blaiser, Director
Kat Ross, BA, Parent and Family Support Ambassador
Lesa Coleman, MS, Parent and Family Support Coordinator

Facilitator: Sara Kennedy, Hands & Voices HQ

Targeted Audience:

Parent & DHH Leaders providing family support, EHDI Program staff, family engagement liaisons.

Goal:

Improve capacity for family support, develop and engage family leaders through interactive education and discussion on timely topics. Facilitated by FL3 Technical Assistance Staff.

Assistance Staff

Bios:

Kristina Blaiser, PhD is a Professor at Idaho State University and the director of the ISU Helping Adults Talk to Children (HATCH) Family Support and the Idaho Hearing Education and Aural Rehabilitation (IHEAR) Graduate Training Program. Her research and clinical interests revolve around optimizing the outcomes of young children who are Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing by supporting families and training providers. 

Lesa Coleman is the mother of 6 children. Two daughters were born with moderate-profound hearing loss; one late identified and the other identified at birth. Having experienced both the difficulty of language acquisition with late diagnosis and the incredible benefits of newborn screening and early supports, Lesa is passionate about helping families engage in family support and early intervention, helping establish Idaho Hands & Voices in 2007 and serving on Idaho's EHDI board, Idaho Sound Beginnings, off and on for 20 years. She helped bring health insurance coverage to Idaho in 2019. Lesa has a master's degree in Family Ecology (University of Utah). She is an Idaho native and loves to explore national parks and historic sites.

Kat Ross is a parent of a child who has a hearing difference. Her passion for empowering other parents with information and resources keeps her engaged in the EHDI system and striving for positive outcomes for all children who have a hearing difference in her home state of Idaho.

Before joining the HATCH Family Support team, Kat was the Executive Director of Idaho Hands & Voices when state legislation for pediatric hearing aid insurance coverage was passed. She also worked in the Boise School District in several roles at elementary schools. Prior to moving to Idaho and starting a family, worked as a marketing associate at a private wealth management firm in San Francisco.  She holds degrees in Early Childhood Education and Psychology (BA, Columbia).  

Registration Open