Beth S. Benedict

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Beth S. Benedict is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Gallaudet University, [1] advocate for the deaf, and a mentor for families with deaf children. [2] Her research focuses on early intervention, [3] [4] early language acquisition, and family involvement. [5] Benedict is also an advocate for the use of bilingualism in education of the deaf - incorporating the value of American Sign Language in deaf children. [6] Benedict advocates for deaf-hearing partnerships, [7] avoiding audism, [8] [9] the importance of bilingual education, deaf culture [10] and the use of sign language [11] while also working as a family mentor for families with deaf children. [12] Recently, she was a keynote speaker for an International Deaf Studies conference [12] and the featured speaker for the deaf education summit. [13] Benedict takes what she researches about deafness and education and shares it broadly by way of talks [14] and application - for example, she has helped the Georgia School for the Deaf work on developing bilingual education in their programs. [6] In 2015 Benedict was the featured speaker at the Deaf education summit in Louisiana - a conference that brought together practitioners, educators, and parents to discuss local issues surrounding education of deaf children. [15]

Contents

In a video Benedict [16] explains how children who use sign language are not hindered in their ability to learn speech.

Education

Benedict received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Gallaudet University in 1980. From there, she attended New York University to pursue a master's degree in communication, which she finished in 1981. After some time, Benedict returned to Gallaudet University to work on a doctoral degree in Education, which she completed in 2003. [17]

Career

Much of Benedict's work focuses on research and spreading knowledge about early childhood intervention and the usefulness of using American Sign Language. [18] Below is a summary of some of her accomplishments:

Awards

Beth Benedict received the Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence in 2010 at the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention conference in Chicago, Illinois. [25] The following lists other awards she has earned as a professional scholar:

Personal life

Benedict is married to A. Dwight Benedict (Dean of Student Affairs at Gallaudet) [26] and has two Deaf daughters, Lauren and Rachel. [17] She, her husband, and both of their daughters were involved in athletics during their time at Gallaudet - in 2012 their family was featured in Gallaudet's "Bison Legacy" series for families with a history of Deaf athletes [27]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gallaudet University</span> Private university for those with hearing loss in Washington, D.C.

Gallaudet University is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school for the advanced education of the deaf and hard of hearing in the world and remains the only higher education institution in which all programs and services are specifically designed to accommodate deaf and hard of hearing students. Hearing students are admitted to the graduate school and a small number are also admitted as undergraduates each year. The university was named after Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, a notable figure in the advancement of deaf education.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaf culture</span> Culture of deaf persons

Deaf culture is the set of social beliefs, behaviors, art, literary traditions, history, values, and shared institutions of communities that are influenced by deafness and which use sign languages as the main means of communication. When used as a cultural label especially within the culture, the word deaf is often written with a capital D and referred to as "big D Deaf" in speech and sign. When used as a label for the audiological condition, it is written with a lower case d. Carl G. Croneberg coined the term "Deaf Culture" and he was the first to discuss analogies between Deaf and hearing cultures in his appendices C/D of the 1965 Dictionary of American Sign Language.

The history of deaf people and deaf culture make up deaf history. The Deaf culture is a culture that is centered on sign language and relationships among one another. Unlike other cultures the Deaf culture is not associated with any native land as it is a global culture. By some, deafness may be viewed as a disability, but the Deaf world sees itself as a language minority. Throughout the years many accomplishments have been achieved by deaf people. To name the most famous, Ludwig van Beethoven and Thomas Alva Edison were both deaf and contributed great works to culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Theatre of the Deaf</span> American theatre company

The National Theatre of the Deaf (NTD) is a Connecticut-based theatre company founded in 1967. It is the oldest theatre company in the United States with a continuous history of domestic and international touring, as well as producing original works. NTD productions combine American Sign Language with spoken language to fulfill the theatre's mission statement of linking Deaf and hearing communities, providing more exposure to sign language, and educating the public about Deaf art. The NTD is affiliated with a drama school, also founded in 1967, and with the Little Theatre of the Deaf (LTD), established in 1968 to produce shows for a younger audience.

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is an organization for the promotion of the rights of deaf people in the United States. NAD was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1880 as a non-profit organization run by Deaf people to advocate for deaf rights, its first president being Robert P. McGregor of Ohio. It includes associations from all 50 states and Washington, DC, and is the US member of the World Federation of the Deaf, which has over 120 national associations of Deaf people as members. It has its headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Veditz</span> American deaf educator

George William Veditz was an American educator, filmmaker, and activist who served as the seventh President of the National Association of the Deaf from 1904 to 1910. He is remembered as one of the most ardent and visible advocates of American Sign Language (ASL) and was one of the first people to film ASL. His 1913 film "Preservation of the Sign Language" was added to the National Film Registry in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Cogswell</span>

Alice Cogswell was the inspiration to Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet for the creation of the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaf education</span> Education of the deaf and hard of hearing

Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settings, and other interventions designed to help students achieve a higher level of self-sufficiency and success in the school and community than they would achieve with a typical classroom education. There are different language modalities used in educational setting where students get varied communication methods. A number of countries focus on training teachers to teach deaf students with a variety of approaches and have organizations to aid deaf students.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Black Deaf Advocates</span> U.S. non-profit organization

The National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA) is an advocacy organization for Black deaf and hard of hearing people in the United States.

Robert J. Hoffmeister is associate professor emeritus and former director of the Center for the Study of Communication & Deafness at Boston University. He is most known for his book, Journey into the Deaf World. He is also known for supporting the American deaf community and deaf education.

Terrylene Sacchetti is a deaf actress from Chicago, Illinois. She graduated from the Model Secondary School for the Deaf in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deaf rights movement</span>

The Deaf rights movement encompasses a series of social movements within the disability rights and cultural diversity movements that encourages deaf and hard of hearing to push society to adopt a position of equal respect for them. Acknowledging that those who were Deaf or hard of hearing had rights to obtain the same things as those hearing lead this movement. Establishing an educational system to teach those with Deafness was one of the first accomplishments of this movement. Sign language, as well as cochlear implants, has also had an extensive impact on the Deaf community. These have all been aspects that have paved the way for those with Deafness, which began with the Deaf Rights movement.

Language deprivation in deaf and hard-of-hearing children is a delay in language development that occurs when sufficient exposure to language, spoken or signed, is not provided in the first few years of a deaf or hard of hearing child's life, often called the critical or sensitive period. Early intervention, parental involvement, and other resources all work to prevent language deprivation. Children who experience limited access to language—spoken or signed—may not develop the necessary skills to successfully assimilate into the academic learning environment. There are various educational approaches for teaching deaf and hard of hearing individuals. Decisions about language instruction is dependent upon a number of factors including extent of hearing loss, availability of programs, and family dynamics.

Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES) is a private day school serving deaf and hard of hearing students from birth through grade 8 on the campus of Gallaudet University in the Trinidad neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Alongside Model Secondary School for the Deaf, it is a federally funded, tuition-free demonstration school administered by the Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center at Gallaudet University.

Mervin "Merv" Donald Garretson was an American educator, leader, and deaf community rights advocate. His works were primarily directed towards changing mainstream opinion about deaf culture and about the deaf community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Hamerdinger</span> American deaf professional and advocate

Steve Hamerdinger is an American deaf professional and advocate for deaf and hard of hearing people. He is the current Director of Deaf Services for the Alabama Department of Mental Health. His work revolves around contexts related to deaf and hard of hearing persons and their mental well-being from childhood to end of life. He is an advocate for Deaf rights and has been a prominent influence in this field since the early 1980s.

Gertrude Scott Galloway was an American educator and administrator working with deaf children. She was the first female president of the National Association of the Deaf. She is among the first deaf women to head a school for the deaf in the United States. Galloway was an advocate for deaf women throughout her life.

Roslyn "Roz" Goodstein Rosen is an American advocate for the Deaf community. Rosen was the president of the National Association of the Deaf from 1990 to 1993 and was a board member for the World Federation of the Deaf from 1995 to 2003. She served in multiple academic administrator roles throughout her career, including as the Vice President for Academic Affairs at Gallaudet University, and was the director of the National Center on Deafness from 2006 to 2014.

Melissa Malzkuhn is an American deaf advocate and founder of Motion Light Lab at Gallaudet University. She was a 2018 Obama Fellow.

Out of nearly 59 million people in Italy, about 3.5 million Italians have some form of hearing loss. Among them, around 70,000 people are severely deaf. The European Union for the Deaf reports that the majority of the deaf people in Italy use Italian Sign Language (LIS). LIS has been an official sign language in Italy since 2021. Italy, among other countries, ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and is slowly improving conditions for deaf humans in Italy. Many major organizations in Italy fight for deaf rights and spread awareness to the Italian National Agency for the protection and assistance of the Deaf and Associated Italian Families for the Defense of the Rights of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals (FIADDA). Newborns in Italy also receive universal hearing screenings. Education in Italy is directed towards oralism, although sign language is also used. LIS is a stable language and is used by approximately 40,000 users in Italy.

References

  1. ↑ "Live Auction | National Association of the Deaf". Archived from the original on 2015-05-02. Retrieved 2015-06-25.
  2. ↑ "Deaf Person of the Month". Deafpeople.com. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  3. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-06-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ "NDEP - National Deaf Education Project". Ndepnow.org. Archived from the original on 2015-03-12. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  5. ↑ Beth Benedict deafchildren.org
  6. 1 2 "Beth Benedict | Forever Free | Georgia Pathway to Language & Literacy". Georgiapathway.wordpress.com. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  7. ↑ "NAD Educates EHDI Professionals on Value of Teaching Deaf Babies ASL". National Association for the Deaf. 3 November 2010. Archived from the original on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  8. ↑ Are you interested in learning something new? Here's an opportunity! iowa.edu
  9. ↑ Audismfreeamerica (3 February 2012). "AUDISM FREE AMERICA: AFA Plans for St. Louis EHDI".
  10. ↑ "Deaf Culture & Community". Hands and Voices.
  11. ↑ Deaf culture handsandvoices.org
  12. 1 2 "Speakers | Deaf Studies Today | Home". Uvu.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  13. ↑ Associated Press 10:06 a.m. CST January 23, 2015 (2015-01-23). "Deaf education summit set for Saturday in Port Allen". Theadvertiser.com. Retrieved 2015-06-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "Early Intervention NEEDS Your Involvement". 51st Biennial National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Conference. 4 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "Deaf education summit set for Saturday | Education | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, Louisiana". Theadvocate.com. 2015-01-27. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  16. ↑ "CAD (California Association of the Deaf)". www.facebook.com.
  17. 1 2 "Beth S. Benedict, Ph.D. - Gallaudet University". Gallaudet.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  18. ↑ "Dr. Beth Benedict Presents ASL Talk at Kane Hall on Oct. 24 | Department of Linguistics | University of Washington". Linguistics.washington.edu. 2014-10-08. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  19. ↑ "Search results for "benedict" - American Society for Deaf Children". deafchildren.org.
  20. ↑ "Board - American Society for Deaf Children". deafchildren.org.
  21. ↑ "National Committees - Council on Education of the Deaf (CED)". councilondeafed.org.
  22. ↑ "American Society for Deaf Children - American Society for Deaf Children". Test.sweetwatermedia.com. Retrieved 2015-06-22.[ permanent dead link ]
  23. ↑ "NAD Education Advocates | National Association of the Deaf". Nad.org. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  24. ↑ "TEDxGallaudet". TED.com. 2014-02-28. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  25. ↑ "Dr. Beth Benedict gets Antonia Brancia Maxon Award". Jewish Deaf Community Center. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
  26. ↑ "A. Dwight Benedict - Gallaudet University". Gallaudet.edu. Archived from the original on 2015-07-11. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
  27. ↑ Gallaudet University (2012-11-08). "Bison Legacy: The Benedict Family - Gallaudet". Gallaudetathletics.com. Retrieved 2015-06-22.
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