View the conference schedule, presenters, and conference layout below.
Agenda
Friday, October 9th
8:00 - 8:30 am
Registration opens / Coffee / Vendors
8:30 - 9:00 am
Welcoming Remarks
Presenter: Erin Kline - DeafBlind Program Coordinator, DE Statewide DeafBlind Program
9:00 - 9:45 am
iCanConnect
Presenter: Allison Berdoulay - Project Coordinator, DE Assistive Technology Initiative, UD
9:45 - 10:00 am
Coffee / Vendors
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
(with a 5 min break)
Sessions
"Personalizing Literacy Instruction: Story Boxes, Experience Books, & Authentic Choice-Making"
Presenter: Dr. Susan Bruce, Special Education Consultant & Professor Emerita, Boston College
"Looking, Seeing, & Understanding: A CVI Overview" - Part 1
Presenter: Jonathan Hooper, M.Ed., CTVI & ATP, Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments, Assistive Technology Professional & Disability Advocate
12:00 - 1:00 pm
Lunch / Vendors
1:00 - 3:00 pm
Sessions
(with a 5 min break)
"Personalizing Literacy Instruction: Story Boxes, Experience Books, & Authentic Choice-Making"
Presenter: Dr. Susan Bruce, Special Education Consultant & Professor Emerita, Boston College
“Access, Meaning, & Participation: CVI-Informed Approaches for School & Home”- Part 2
Presenter: Jonathan Hooper, M.Ed., CTVI & ATP, Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments, Assistive Technology Professional & Disability Advocate
3:00 - 3:30 pm
Evaluation & Closing
6:00 - 8:00 pm
DeafBlind Family Meet & Greet
*Private event for families only.
7:30 - 8:30 pm
Childcare Meeting & Set Up
Location: Pre-function area
Location: Ballroom - Delaware
Location: Ballroom - Delaware
Coffee: Pre-function area
Vendors: Conservatory
Location: Ballroom - Delaware
Location: Lavender Room
Lunch: Ballroom - Brandywine & Christiana
Vendors: Conservatory
Location: Ballroom - Delaware
Location: Lavender Room
Location: Ballroom - Delaware
Location: Lavender Room
Location: Rosemary Room
Friday
Presenters
Dr. Susan Bruce
Jonathan Hooper, M.Ed., CTVI & ATP
Danielle Pepin
Dr. Susan Bruce is a Professor Emerita, Boston College. Much of Dr. Bruce’s research has focused on communication development and intervention with children who are deafblind or visually impaired with additional disabilities. She has more than 110 publications, with 90 being about learners who are deafblind or visually impaired with additional disabilities. Dr. Bruce continues to be an active researcher as well as conducting assessments and providing consultation to schools and families.
Jonathan Hooper has over a decade of experience working with learners with visual impairments, including cortical visual impairment (CVI), blindness, low vision, deafblindness, and complex needs. He is a certified Assistive Technology Professional (ATP), bringing specialized expertise in selecting, implementing, and training teams on accessible technology solutions.
Although he began his career as a reading teacher, Jonathan has taught in specialized schools for the blind, public and private schools, early intervention programs, and general education classrooms. After teaching in New York City for 12 years, he joined Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy’s team in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to support children with CVI and collaborate with educational teams and families to improve access to learning.
A graduate of Vanderbilt University, Jonathan has published research in the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness and Exceptional Children on evidence-based braille instruction and the use of tangible symbols as augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). He is deeply committed to ensuring students with visual impairments receive equitable, meaningful, and accessible educational experiences.
Danielle Pepin is