Idaho State University awarded $2.2M to benefit children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing

Idaho State University has been awarded $2.2 million in grants to train students and educators who will work with children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Idaho State University’s Department of Communications and Disorders was awarded two grants from the Office of Special Education Personnel Preparation that will make $2.2 million in grant funding available over the next five years, according to a news release last week by Idaho State University.

The Idaho Hearing Education and Aural Rehabilitation program, often referred to as the HEAR program, will use the grant funding for training, tuition and stipends for 42 students who are studying to become service providers in speech language pathology or audiology, university officials said. Grant funding will also support educators who teach children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

“The model we have running family-to-family support through a university is unique in the country and comes with benefits that are particularly helpful in a rural state like Idaho,” Idaho State University professor Kristina Blaiser, the grant recipient and principal investigator for the HEAR program, said in a written statement.

“The integration of technology helps bring families together, regardless of their geographic locations. Instead of feeling isolated with a low incidence diagnosis, families feel connected and empowered.”

Idaho State University officials said the program will benefit Idaho parents and families because there is a shortage of speech language pathologists, audiologists and early intervention personnel throughout the state.

“As a parent of a child who is hard of hearing, I can attest that there is significant need for this type of training program,” Pocatello parent Shelly Estevez said in a written statement provided by ISU.

University officials said they plan to accept the first cohort of students into the HEAR program in the fall .

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