About Clarke Speaks Up
Families and professionals rely on Clarke Speaks Up to learn about uplifting stories from the Clarke community and up-and-coming news from a leader in the field.
The Clarke Speaks Up blog is the exciting evolution of the annually released Clarke Speaks magazine, allowing Clarke to publish content on a regular basis for our community.
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6 min read
“When my mom was looking for a ballet class… she was told, ‘No, sorry. I cannot take her in. Deaf children don’t dance. It’s going to be too difficult, and I don’t have time for this,’” says Simoné Welgemoed, a professional ballerina who is deaf.
6 min read
5 min read
In 2020, American Girl doll Joss Kendrick—a surfer who wears hearing aids—was selected as “Girl of the Year.”
5 min read
5 min read
“Pop culture is such a great educator,” says screenwriter Alexandra Dean Grossi. “And there is so much confusion around the deaf experience… I want to show there’s no right way to be deaf.”
5 min read
5 min read
“All of the characters in my book represent one or several students that I’ve had throughout my career in deaf education,” says Jessica Jordan-Hogan, teacher of the deaf and children’s author.
5 min read
4 min read
Like most caregivers who discover their child was born with a hearing loss, Nina and Spencer worried at first how their infant daughter would communicate and if she would struggle academically and socially.
4 min read
4 min read
Clarke preschoolers received a visit from NASA scientist Dr. Mike Hecht in 2021 and had the opportunity to ask questions about outer space.
4 min read
6 min read
Kindergarten is a major transition for young children and their families, and the skills required to take this exciting step won’t be established with last-minute worksheets and number games. At Clarke, preparation for kindergarten begins when a family enrolls in our early intervention (EI) services—and ideally before a baby is even six months old.
6 min read
6 min read
Clarke may be best known for its expertise in helping children with hearing loss develop their listening and spoken language skills, but this process takes place within a larger framework of support to develop many other crucial skills, like executive function and interpersonal communication.
6 min read
4 min read
Educational audiologists, like those at Clarke, help with the pragmatic skills kids need to gain confidence and autonomy regarding their hearing loss and hearing technology.
4 min read
3 min read
Already a fierce advocate for the deaf, Anita Diemand left Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada, in 1970 to enter Clarke’s teacher training program in Northampton, Massachusetts.
3 min read
3 min read
Ryan was 18 months old when his parents learned he was hard of hearing. He began wearing hearing aids at age two and then enrolled at Clarke as a boarding student when he was five.
3 min read
3 min read
“Clarke helped me with hearing and building confidence—tremendously,” Christine says. “Because of their trust in me and the confidence they built in me, I was able to go to a mainstream school with hearing people and be around all people—deaf and hearing.”
3 min read
