Dr. Carrie Spangler
The Summit County Educational Service Center (SCESC) is pleased to announce the addition of Summit County’s only auditory/oral preschool classroom, T.A.L.K. (Teaching Auditory and Listening skills to Kids), for students with hearing loss throughout Summit and surrounding counties.
“The T.A.L.K. program offers a unique setting for young children to develop a strong foundation to be successful in their K-12 educational career. The classroom setting is designed to meet each individual learner at his or her educational level and provide the necessary supports for acquiring language. Early and intensive intervention is proven to develop skill sets in children that have a lasting effect on educational performance, achievement and positive transitions,” said Summit County ESC Student Services Director N’ecole Ast.
Led by SCESC Educational Audiologist Carrie Spangler, Au.D., the hearing impaired classroom provides an appropriate preschool option for parents and families who have chosen spoken language for communication.
A Summit County native, Dr. Spangler has been serving students of all ages for 15 years. Among her accomplishments was the development of the Hear and Learn Educational Audiology Outreach program at The University of Akron, and she also implemented a support group for teens with hearing loss in the Summit, Stark and Cuyahoga County regions. Her work has been published in textbooks and journals, and she is a well-renowned audiology speaker both locally and nationwide. She serves as co-chair of the Ohio Medical Advisory Council Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Committee and was most recently appointed to the Ohio Board of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology by Governor John Kasich.
In addition to her professional expertise, she brings a personal perspective to the field. Born with hearing loss, Dr. Spangler successfully utilizes hearing aids and assistive technology to live well with hearing loss.
“My mission is to positively support students with hearing loss and auditory needs in the school and the community. This is achieved by offering comprehensive audiology services to school districts which have children with hearing loss, preschool through graduation. Collaborative connections between families, school and community is instrumental in success for students with hearing loss. Ultimately, we want to provide the continuum of support to ensure that students with hearing loss are successful and live well with hearing loss,” said Dr. Carrie Spangler.
Through short and long range planning, the T.A.L.K. program will enable children with hearing loss to develop listening skills that enable them to effectively express their wants and needs to others in natural and playful ways. The child with hearing loss will have the opportunity to interact with their peers with and without hearing loss by fostering self-acceptance and self-advocacy.
The primary goal of the program is to prepare children to return to their home school district so they can be educated and ready for kindergarten with their hearing peers, as well as to gain a strong auditory, speech and language foundation in order to be ready for literacy!