The public was invited to learn about the Shared Reading Project at Mill Neck Manor School for the Deaf through a ribbon cutting ceremony on Sept. 30.
The exciting new program will teach hearing parents how to read to their deaf children using American Sign Language (ASL)/English while being trained by deaf mentors who come to the child’s home and work directly with families and loved ones.
Started by Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., the program has quickly spread around the country fostering a new and exciting literacy process for deaf children designed to improve their reading scores, improve overall communication and foster meaningful relationships with their parents.
Mill Neck has spent a year planning for this project and has hired Cathi Conticello, the coordinator of the Shared Reading Project, and Micah Covelli, a deaf mentor. Deaf mentors are already working with seven families in the children’s homes in Long island and Queens. The free in-home program is available to deaf and hard of hearing infants ages 0 to 5 years old whether they attend Mill Neck School or not and has proven to be highly effective in improving literacy, communication and family bonding.
—Submitted by Mill Neck Manor School for the Deaf
