51 years ago today, Barb Meyers, CED, entered the field of Deaf Education.
She began teaching children with hearing loss before cochlear implants, digital hearing aids, rechargeable batteries, Early Intervention, iHear teletherapy, laptop computers, hybrid cars, and any Apple products were even invented. I chatted with her recently about those early days.
The listening technology in the late 60s-early 70s was quite antiquated. There was no newborn hearing screening, so most of the children were profoundly deaf. They wore body hearing aids and learned to talk/lipread. When working in a group, they all wore cumbersome headphones, which were hooked up to an amplifier, and the teacher spoke into a microphone.
After 51 years in this field, working so closely with my students and their families has been a gift to me. Working so closely with our SJI staff (past and present) who are like family is priceless!
S. Roseanne had a classroom down the hall from Barb. She shared with us what she remembers most about Barb during their years working together:
She was an amazing teacher of the youngest students. She was patient, kind, and able to adjust her teaching to best meet the needs of each student.