Mr Mark Douglas1, Mrs Rebekah Zwies1
1Ministry Of Education NZ – Te Mahau, , New Zealand
The LENA programme was first trialled by Advisers on Deaf Children (AODC) in the Otago/Southland region in 2018. After a successful trial, the LENA programme has been approved for national use since 2021. The LENA programme is in the process of being rolled out across the country as one of the tools available in the AODC kete (toolbox). AODC are using the LENA programme with families and whānau of Deaf and Hard of Hearing children aged 0-3 years old. The LENA programme provides objective data and feedback to whānau about the quantity and quality of the language used in the home. AODC support whānau to understand the information provided by LENA and, through a coaching framework, support whānau to improve their awareness of language and communication development and how to improve the quality of language and communication used in the home.
This presentation provides an overview of how AODC are learning to incorporate the LENA programme into their practice, the benefits that have been gained and the issues, challenges and solutions to using cloud-based technology in the public sector.
Biography:
Rebekah Zwies trained as a Teacher of the Deaf in 2001 and has been working as an Adviser on Deaf Children in Southland New Zealand since 2012. Rebekah has a Master of Special Education Hearing from the University of Newcastle, Australia.
rebekah.zwies@education.govt.nz
Mark Douglas trained as a Teacher of the Deaf in 1991 and has been working as an Adviser on Deaf Children in Auckland New Zealand since 1996. Mark has a Master of Special Education Hearing from the University of Newcastle, Australia.
mark.douglas@education.govt.nz