Great Start

Lucas in Oct. '08 at the Nittany Lion Shrine!

I just returned from a conference on hearing loss. Great Start is part of the Pennsylvania Low Incidence Institute, which is held yearly at Penn State. The first 2 days of the conference are devoted to hearing loss. Best of all, it was completely free to parents!!

I went by myself, because Lucas is not old enough for the Children's Institute. Maybe next year. I attended 4 sessions, 3 of which were great. The 4th had a misleading title, and had no valuable information for parents, but rather service providers and support coordinators with early intervention.

I thoroughly enjoyed spending a few days at my Alma Mater. I pretended like I was a college student again, walking around campus and visiting all of my favorite places. I met up with two old friends from high school, and even had dinner with a former student who is just beginning her years at Penn State. If there was a time in my life that I could repeat, it would be my years spent in Happy Valley.

The conference also provided networking opportunities for parents. There were about 20 other parents attending, and they organized a time for us to meet one afternoon. I got to talk to Jim from CiCircle again, and that was VERY helpful! He is so full of great information and experience!

I hope I get to go again next year, WITH the whole family this time. I don't need an excuse to spend a few days in State College.

Tomorrow we are visiting Clarke School for the Deaf. I'M SO EXCITED!