Fostering Joy for Audiologists: Why and How to Embrace a "Joy Lens" in Working with Families

Tuesday, May 02, 2023
8:00 pm EST - 9:30 pm EST
Location: Zoom

This presentation introduced the LEND Audiology Fellows to the Fostering Joy movement, which aims to promote positive engagement between families and their deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) children, and to bolster professionals' ability to emphasize joy in the work that they do with children who are DHH. The presentation included descriptions of Fostering Joy and the science behind why doing so is important. It also offered suggestions for audiologists interested in embracing a "joy lens" in their work. 

Learning Objectives: 

1. Be able to define in one's own words the "Fostering Joy movement"
2. Differentiate between "happiness" and "joy" and describe at least two reasons why this difference can matter to audiologists and to families
3. List a minimum of two strategies that audiologists can use to fostering joy (a minimum of one for their own joy in work and at least one strategy to bolster joy in families)

Presenters:

Amy Szarkowski, PhD, is a psychologist who specializes in working with children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and their families. She is on the LEND faculty at Boston Children's Hospital/Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Dr. Szarkowski is also the Director of The Institute at the Children's Center for Communication/Beverly School for the Deaf (CCCBSD), which strives to generate and disseminate transformational ideas and practices to support children who are DHH. A founding member of Fostering Joy, she is passionate about promoting joy in families raising children who are DHH. 

Susan Mumby Gibbons, AuD, CCC-SLP/A, is an audiologist and speech-language pathologist at Boston Children's Hospital. She is a member of the cochlear implant team and provides direct clinical services to a variety of children who are DHH. As a new member of the Core Team for Fostering Joy, Gibbons is eager to spread the tenets of Fostering Joy to other audiologists and hearing health professionals as well as the families she supports.