June 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For Further Information Contact:
Steve Hamerdinger, President-Elect Steve.hamerdinger@...

ADARA ANNOUNCES ON-LINE FORUM ON SERVING FOCUSING ON DEAF PROFESSIONALS

Annette Reichman, Chief of the Deafness and Communicative Disorders
Branch of the Federal Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services, will be facilitating an ADARA on-line forum, "Professionals
Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Meeting the Challenges" on Monday,
June 20th in the ADARA Chat Room. The forum, which is one of the
continuing series of educational opportunities offered by ADARA, will
begin at 8:00 PM Eastern Time (5:00 PM Pacific Time). Liz Hill, the
chair of the Deaf Professionals Special Interest Section of ADARA, is
scheduled to moderate this session. She will be joined by Steve
Hamerdinger, the incoming President of ADARA.

Reichman, who is deaf, is one of the ranking people in Federal
government and has a wealth of experience in negotiating barriers and
prejudices throughout her illustrious career with the Department of
Education. This forum will be focused on sharing ideas and suggestions
on personal skills rather than on "accommodations."

"An important part of ADARA's mission sensitivity to the unique needs
and perspectives of its members who have hearing loss," said
Hamerdinger. "We are an organization that provides a very unique
opportunity for professionals who are deaf or hard of hearing and who
work with other deaf people to come together for mutual support and
encouragement." Hill, commented that. " The one of the goals of the
Deaf Professionals Special Interest Section is to create more leadership
opportunities for deaf and hard of hearing professionals regardless of
the discipline they are in. This online discussion forum is one step
forward in that direction."

ADARA invites anyone interested in discussing how deaf or hard of
hearing people in professional roles can meet the challenges they face
in their daily work lives to join in this forum. There is no charge.

To log onto the chat, go to www.adara.org, scroll down to the
"Community" box and click on the "Chat Room" button. Follow the
instructions to log in.

ADARA is an organization of professionals networking for excellence in
service delivery with individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing. ADARA
strives to be the leader among professional organizations in
transforming the paradigm of rehabilitation of Deaf people to enhancing
the quality of life with people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

For more information see www.adara.org.


Steve Hamerdinger, Director
Office of Deaf Services
Alabama Department of Mental Health
and Mental Retardation
(334) 353-4701 (TTY)





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