View the conference schedule, presenters, and conference layout below.
Agenda
Saturday, October 10th
8:00 - 8:45 am
Registration / Breakfast / Vendors
8:45 - 9:00 am
Childcare drop-off
9:00 - 9:15 am
Welcoming Remarks
Presenter: Erin Kline - DeafBlind Program Coordinator, DE Statewide DeafBlind Program
9:15 - 9:30 am
iCanConnect
Presenter: Allison Berdoulay - Project Coordinator, DE Assistive Technology Initiative, UD
9:30 am - 11:30 pm
(with a 10 min break)
"An Individualized & Personalized Approach to Communication & Literacy Development"
Presenter: Dr. Susan Bruce, Special Education Consultant & Professor Emerita, Boston College
11:30 - 11:45 pm
Childcare pick-up
*Childcare staff will be unavailable from 11:45 - 1:15
11:45 - 1:15 pm
Lunch / Vendors
1:15 - 1:30 pm
Childcare drop-off
*The DB Team to join DB Caregiver/Parent Panel
1:30 - 2:30 pm
DeafBlind Caregiver /
Parent Panel
*DB Team to join
Facilitators: Daiana M., Gretchen Y.
Families: Meyda G., Cassidi S., and Elizabeth A.
2:30 - 4:30 pm
(with a 10 min break)
"Access, Meaning, and Participation: CVI Informed Approaches for School & Home"
Presenter: Jonathan Hooper, M.Ed., CTVI & ATP Teacher of Students with Visual Impairments, Assistive Technology Professional & Disability Advocate
4:30 - 4:45 pm
Childcare pick-up
*Childcare staff will be unavailable after 4:45 pm
6:00 - 9:00 pm
Dinner & Family Networking Dance Party
"An Individualized & Personalized Approach to Communication & Literacy Development"
Presenter: Dr. Susan Bruce, Special Education Consultant & Professor Emerita, Boston College
"An Individualized & Personalized Approach to Communication & Literacy Development"
Presenter: Dr. Susan Bruce, Special Education Consultant & Professor Emerita, Boston College
"An Individualized & Personalized Approach to Communication & Literacy Development"
Presenter: Dr. Susan Bruce, Special Education Consultant & Professor Emerita, Boston College
"An Individualized & Personalized Approach to Communication & Literacy Development"
Presenter: Dr. Susan Bruce, Special Education Consultant & Professor Emerita, Boston College
"An Individualized & Personalized Approach to Communication & Literacy Development"
Presenter: Dr. Susan Bruce, Special Education Consultant & Professor Emerita, Boston College
Presenter: Erin Kline - DeafBlind Program Coordinator, DE Statewide DeafBlind Program
Presenter: Erin Kline - DeafBlind Program Coordinator, DE Statewide DeafBlind Program
Location Breakfast: Ballroom - Brandywine & Chirstiana
Location Vendors: Conservatory
Location: Lavender, Rosemary or Parlor 180
Location: Le Chameleon
Location: Le Chameleon
Location: Le Chameleon
Location: Lavender, Rosemary or Parlor 180
Location Lunch: Ballroom - Brandywine & Christiana
Location Vendors: Conservatory
Location: Lavender, Rosemary or Parlor 180
Location: Le Chameleon
Location: Le Chameleon
Location: Lavender, Rosemary or Parlor 180
Location: Le Chameleon
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