Chapter #0271
WICHITA FALLS HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
“The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the activity. It means that this activity has met the HR Certification Institute’s criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit.”
The February meeting of the Wichita Falls HR Management Association (WFHRMA) will be:
1. What is a Hearing Loss Resource Specialist
2. Understanding basics of hearing loss
3. Barriers to effective communication
4. Communication is a two-way street
5. Assistive Technology
6. Q & A
Speaker Biography:
He moved to Dallas, TX in 1993 to attend Dallas Theological Seminary and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Christian Education emphasizing Family Ministry.
From the time he was in kindergarten till now he has lived with and interacted with people that have had different disabilities. He believes that this has helped him immensely in understanding, empathizing and generally feeling comfortable with those who have disabilities. He has a binaural hearing loss that is hereditary. This alone has been very beneficial to him in his current employment with Disability in Action and formerly with Deaf Action Center in Dallas, first as an STAP Coordinator and now even more so as a Hearing Loss Resource Specialist.
The consumers he has met over the last few years have greatly appreciated the fact that he, too, is “hard of hearing”, just like them, and that he understands what they go through on a daily basis, which puts them at ease in talking to him.
As a Hearing Loss Resource Specialist, He helps those who are hard of hearing and deaf to understand their hearing loss, understand hearing aids and cochlear implants, providing them with resource information and telling them about technology that supplements hearing aids in certain environments and situations where hearing aids and cochlear implants are not enough. He also helps them with coping skills and communication tips. He does free presentations to businesses, organizations, schools, government entities, etc. He works for Disability in Action located in Abilene, but his office is in Wichita Falls. His work is grant-funded. He has a contract with the Dept. of Assistive and Rehab Services (DARS) Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (DHHS). With this grant his main focus is on Vocational Rehab consumers who are working, looking for work or in high school or college, but he also works with anyone that has a hearing loss.
RSVP no later than noon Friday, February 10, 2017.