All the major news outlets covered it. Newsweek, HuffPost, you name it. Dr. Dre made headlines by announcing that there would be deaf rappers at the halftime show of the LVI (56th) Super Bowl. It is a big deal. A really big deal. This is the FIRST time in NFL history that ASL interpreters have been part of the actual show. From HuffPost: Sean Forbes and Warren “WaWa” Snipe will become the …
So Many Wonderful Things in the World
I don’t know about you, but I find it really easy to succumb to negative news, to go down the “rabbit hole” of fear, sadness, or anger at things going on in society. You can read all kinds of posts about the negative effects of social media on mental health. It’s not a mystery. To top that off I live in an area that has had below freezing temperatures for a few weeks straight, so finding things to …
Finding the Balance (Parents During a Pandemic)
Back in the day, in a previous life almost, I was a counselor for domestic violence offenders. They came to a group session two times a week, essentially as an alternative to going to jail. I could write dozens of blog posts about it that would be interesting but not necessarily helpful for you. What I have been thinking about that is definitely helpful is something we taught in those classes …
Applying For a Grant With The Orange Effect Foundation
We receive many questions each year about how our application process works. This article appeared a few years ago but the information is always timely. If you have additional questions after reading, please reach out to us at info@theorangeeffect.org. Grant applications are reviewed quarterly. You can mail them to us at any time but the deadline to be included in the review means having your …
Women Are Autistic Too
Here at The Orange Effect Foundation (OEF) our focus is on kids and early intervention. In keeping up with all the latest research on speech therapy we come across a lot of interesting information. Recently, two articles were written on the same day by The Guardian. They focused on women who always knew there was something different about themselves but didn’t know what it was. Unfortunately, they …
Kids Teach Us So Much
I really enjoy spending time with kids because they are so smart and so aware of the world around them. They generally are not judgmental (yet) and often so willing to try new things. The 5th Grade Class at Lakewood Catholic Academy (LCA) in Lakewood, Ohio is one such group. As a service project, they participated in our second annual Silence for Speech campaign to help recognize the …
Being Grateful For the Little Things
We at The Orange Effect Foundation find it easy to be grateful. To be specific, we have 276 reasons to be thankful. Since December 2015, we have reached 276 kids in 34 states by purchasing 69 speech devices and 5,600 hours of speech therapy. We are making a difference. We are grateful to all our sponsors who help make this happen. To show how far the gratitude goes, here is what some of our …
Expanding Diversity and Fostering Greater Compassion in Speech Therapy
Here at The Orange Effect Foundation, our goal is to make a difference in the lives of children whose families cannot afford speech therapy or a device for communication. One of the things we love is learning about programs designed to help those who may not have access to resources many of us take for granted. Similarly, ASHA, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, recognizes the …
The Need For Autism and Behavioral Specialists
The following is from an article in Onward magazine (the alumni magazine of John Carroll University), Fall 2021 edition. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the expected job growth for autism and behavior specialists is 19%, significantly faster than the average growth across all professions. Why? About 6 million people in the US alone have autism. However, there are currently …
Teaching and Learning With Masks On
I had an amazing lunch with Dr. Lauren Calandruccio, a professor at Case Western Reserve University, who specializes in all things audiology. I learned fascinating things. For example, when she has one of her typical students try out a cochlear implant simulator in class, and she is teaching with a mask on, some students comprehend as little as FIVE PERCENT of what she is saying. I was shocked. We …
I Have No Idea what AI Is, But It’s Great
I had the pleasure of hearing it in an-person (wow!) presentation by my super smart friend, Paul Roetzer. Paul is the brains behind the Marketing AI (Artificial Intelligence) Institute. In his presentation, Paul talked about some amazing things you can do with AI. For example, AI can learn when people are more likely to open an email from you based on your previous habits. AI can almost …
Is it Ever Too Late For Speech Therapy?
This post originally published on the OEF blog on October 4, 2018. Due to its usefulness we are reposting it here for you. Continuing in our series of blog posts answering some of the frequently asked questions that we get here at The Orange Effect Foundation, we have reached out to our experts to find out if you are ever too old to start speech therapy. We started the series last month by …
