Deaf Mentoring Services
CAE contracts with school districts to provide Deaf Mentoring services to families with deaf and hard of hearing children.

A Deaf mentor is a Deaf adult who is fluent in sign language and works in conjunction with the teacher and the family to provide services that support the student’s progress toward IFSP or IEP language goals.
Services Provided by the Deaf Mentoring
The Deaf mentor delivers personalized services, which include:

Meeting with the family weekly 
Teaching sign vocabulary and engaging the family in sign language communication
Modeling the use of sign language and visual cues when interacting with their child
Providing strategies for communication
Sharing information about Deaf Culture and the general experiences that Deaf people have
Introducing families to events in the Deaf Community
Appropriate Referrals for Deaf Mentoring Services
Referrals are generally deaf and hard of hearing children from age 0 – 5.

Our program also serves school-aged students needing support such as:

Improving sign language communication
Accessing school curriculum
Achieving IEP language goals
Benefits of Deaf Mentoring Services
The Deaf mentoring program offers significant benefits to the family and child:

Increase family communication at home
Support child’s language development
Increase family’s ability to support child academically
Serve as an additional resource for the family
Setting up Deaf Mentor Services at your School
A school district can contact CAE to set up a contract for Deaf mentor services. Upon request, CAE will provide a service description and hourly rate for service.

If you need assistance requesting your school to provide Deaf Mentoring as an approved IFSP or IEP service, contact our Client Advocate.