Children should be able to speak.
Some can’t.
With help, they can communicate…
and learn.
New Voices works to improve educational opportunities for children with severe communication and mobility disabilities.
New Voices and Durham Public Schools Soar with the Easley Eagles!
New Voices Foundation and Durham Public Schools have joined forces to create the Durham Model Assessment Classroom (DMAC) at Easley Elementary in Durham, NC. It is the first classroom in North Carolina established to focus specifically on the complex needs of children with significant communication and physical disabilities. Students included in this project will receive comprehensive assessments by PT, OT, and Speech therapists from Durham Public Schools and have immediate access to assistive technology for trial and use in the classroom. School staff will receive additional training and support about including technology in the classroom. There will also be an outreach component to address the needs of children in their current school setting who fit the disability criteria of the project. To learn more about the classroom and ways that you can help click on the “Learn More” button.
Learn More >-
The Storm Zone Learning Lab Opens with a Visit from Stormy!
The Carolina Hurricanes’s mascot Stormy made a special visit to Easley Elementary in Durham, NC to officially open the “Storm Zone Learning Lab” for students with severe communication needs. Stormy kicked off the event by using switch adapted scissors to cut the blue ribbon to the Storm Zone Learning Lab, showing off some of the advanced technology the students in Mrs. St. John’s class will use to better communicate and learn. The Storm Zone Learning Center has been made possible by a grant from the Carolina Hurricanes’s Kid’s ‘N Community Foundation and New Voices Foundation.
Attention Parents of Children AAC Users!
New Voices Foundation is sponsoring a social group for youth that use augmentative/alternative communication in the Research Triangle Park, NC area.
The purpose of the group is to give kids the chance to practice using their communication skills/devices and have fun! We are lucky to have graduate students from the UNC Speech and Hearing Department to coordinate the events. It will be a once a month event on a Sunday from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
If you would like to learn more, please contact Sandy McMillan via email at mcmillan_sandy@bellsouth.net.
Congratulations Lara Jane Parker Award Winners!
Amanda Hummel, Charlotte Hughes, Luanne Holland, Trudy Maness
Photograph by Dara Morgan Photography
The Awards for Excellence were won by Amanda Austin Hummel, a pre-K teacher at Hilburn Academy of Wake County Schools, Luanne Holland, a speech/language pathologist from Durham County Schools and Trudy Maness, a special educator K – 5 at Morehead Elementary of Durham County Schools. The award for Advocacy was won by Charlotte Hughes a physical therapist from Orange County Schools.
The Lara Jane Parker Awards Program was instituted to provide both reward and recognition to outstanding people who work daily to improve the lives of New Voices children. These individuals help improve their schools and communities in ways that allow these children to be fully included in all aspects of their daily lives.
Have You Seen Certain Proof – A Question of Worth?
Additional showings are on:
- Monday, June 3rd
- STARZ Kids & Family Channel 11:35am
- Thursday, June 6th
- STARZ Kids & Family Channel 6:55am
- Friday, June 14th
- STARZ Kids & Family Channel 1:30pm
Wondering How the Certain Proof Kids are Doing Today?
Click Here
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Friends of New Voices Say...
“In my 36 years at UNC’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, I always felt my work could help make a difference in the lives of children and their families. That was important to me. It’s the same with my work with New Voices. I believe we are creating something that can change the future for children with severe communication and mobility disabilities, their families, and their teachers.”Tal Black, Child Development Programs Consultant and New Voices Board Member -
Friends of New Voices Say...
“In many years of practice as a pediatric physical therapist, I have often felt frustrated when my clients with severe physical and communication issues entered public school - those children require an investment of time and expertise that was often difficult to provide. New Voices is addressing that situation in a way that benefits the children, their parents, their teachers and their therapists. The long-term payoff will be enormous!”Susan Attermeier, Professional Physical Therapist in Private Practice -
Friends of New Voices Say...
“As we begin the college process with SATs and campus visits, I realize how easily things could have been different for my daughter, Kay. She has been the “perfect storm” in a good way, showing how a kid that can’t read out loud or write a sentence can be included in a regular classroom. This is what New Voices is all about—chances, technology, and support. With your help, we can create more chances for kids like Kay!”Sandy McMillan, former IBMer, parent of a New Voices child and New Voices Board member -
Friends of New Voices Say...
“New Voices is engaging with schools and families to take active, responsive steps to provide voices for children whose needs have been too long overlooked in our communities. School is the work of children and all children have the right to all the support they need to learn and grow and become authentic participants in their communities. They have a lot to say...New Voices is developing ways for all of us to be able to listen!”Patricia Porter Health and Human Services Consultant to the NC General Assembly -
Friends of New Voices Say...
“As a parent of a child who had communication and physical challenges, I know first hand what a difference an organization like New Voices can make in the lives of the children and their families. As a former teacher and special educator, I know the value of the training opportunities that New Voices provides. I cannot think of a more worthwhile non-profit to support!”Missy Lohr Parent , Special Educator and co-founder of New Voices -
Friends of New Voices Say...
“Every child deserves a safe learning environment where they are connected, they are appreciated, and they can flourish. New Voices offers access to schooling for children who would otherwise be isolate during a time of challenge. For a child, attending school is a key part of "normal" life and New Voices makes this possible. What a wonderful gift!”Mary Ruth Coleman, Ph.D. is a Senior Scientist at the FPG Child Development Institute at UNC-CH -
Friends of New Voices Say...
"The great thing about the New Voices program is its attention to removing health barriers to inclusion. This recognizes the importance of school health services as a key element in assuring access and student achievement for New Voices children."Mayrilyn Asay, Retired State School Nurse Consultant, NC Department of Health and Human Services -
Friends of New Voices Say...
“As a community leader, I was deeply moved by the challenges many local families face in their efforts to provide an inclusive and supportive educational environment for their elementary-aged children with physical and communicative disabilities. New Voices provides much needed advocacy to help these children reach their potential.”Eugene Lofton, Merck Inc. executive -
Friends of New Voices Say...
“A unique feature of the New Voices program is its requirement that each New Voices child have a medical home. Many New Voices children have special health needs. Unless health barriers to inclusion are removed, educational inclusion is difficult and hampered ; a smart part of the New Voices service model .”Dr. Olson Huff, Pediatrician, former Director of the Ruth and Billy Graham Center at Mission St Joseph’s Hospital in Asheville, and Chairman of the NC Partnership for Children -
Friends of New Voices Say...
“New Voices Children are children after all and have the same needs and aspirations of all children, and a bit more. There is no reason that their communication and mobility challenges cannot be successfully addressed in a way that will allow full inclusion in our schools and community. New Voices does that.”Don Stedman, retired Dean of Education at UNC Chapel Hill and co-founer of New Voices