On 20th April, 2018 the conference “Hearing. Speech. Thinking.” took place at the Agency fo Strategic Initiatives in Moscow. The event was timed to the 85th birthday of Emilia Ivanovna Leongard, the author of a unique method of teaching deaf and hard of hearing children.
The conference allowed gathering together the representatives of modern scientific disciplines which confirm the principle of inseparable connection between hearing, speech and thinking, as well as the practitioners — specialists in rehabilitation and education of children with hearing impairments. During the conference there was an opportunity to discuss fresh scientific data, forecasts and research directions, trends in technology development as well as the chance for parents to have a conversation with the specialists. All of those things will help to create a full-fledged future for children with hearing impairment in Russia.
The organizers and partners of the conference were:
GUIMC;
Non-government organization “Leongard Center of learning and socio-cultural rehabilitation of deaf children“;
Sonova Rus LLC (an official representative of the PHONAK brand in Russia);
“Connection” — Deafblind support foundation;
“Melody of Life” — Charitable fund of after cochlear implantation support.
Reports were made by scientists and practitioners in psychology, pedagogy, hearing physiology, philosophy, etc. as well as parents of children with hearing impairment:
Emilia I. Leonhard, Ph.D., BMSTU professor;
Inna V. Koroleva, Herzen University, St. Petersburg professor;
Stacey Rich (Stacey Rich), audiologist at Sonova pediatric group (Stefan, Switzerland), translated by Teimuraz G. Gvelesiani, head of training department of Sonova Rus LLC, Phonak official representative in Russia, Ph.D.
Larisa P. Kiyashchenko, Doctor of Philosophy, Leading Researcher, Institute of Philosophy of RAS.
Maria E. Baulina, neuropsychologist, candidate of psychological sciences, associate professor of the Department of Clinical Psychology of the Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis.
Elena E. Kravtsova, Institute for the Study of Childhood, Family and Education of the Russian Academy of Education, Doctor of Psychology.
Nailya Galeeva, the director of the charity foundation for support after the cochlear implantation “Melody of Life”, the mother of a child with a cochlear implant.
Natalia Meliksetyan, the director of the Resource Center for Support of People with Multisensory Violations and Their Families “Yaseneva Polyana”.
Mikhail I. Klimachev, Deputy General Director of Istok-Audio Group.
The conference gathered an impressive number of participants. It was attended by more than 250 people, in person or online: the students of Emilia Ivanovna, their relatives, psychologists, neurologists, scientists, technicians, bloggers, media representatives, employees of pre-school and school educational institutions, rehabilitation, medical and educational centers, representatives of Russian and foreign suppliers of hearing aids and cochlear implants, organizations that perform hearing aids, charitable foundations and many others.
The geography of the participants is also impressive: Smolensk, Taishet (Irkutsk region), Kovrov (Vladimir region), Dzerzhinsk (Nizhny Novgorod region), Yamalo-Nenets AO, Irkutsk, Belgorod, Ostrogozhsk (Voronezh region), Penza, Severodvinsk (Arkhangelsk region ), Elista, Saratov, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Kursk, Samara, Yaroslavl, Tyumen, Tula, Surgut, (Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District – Yugra), Novosibirsk, Astrakhan, Krasnodar, Vladikavkaz, Moscow region (Elektrostal, Ruza, Mytischi, Korolev, Domodedovo, Kolomna, Balashikha, Istra, Odintsovo, Fryazino, Resurrection to, Dubna, Ivanteevka, Pavlovsky Posad, Khimki, Chekhov) and others.
Representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia read out a congratulatory address from the Deputy Minister T.Y. Sinyugina and gave the Minister’s gratitude for “Contribution to the development of pedagogical education and the system of teaching children with hearing impairments”.
