CLLE stands for the Campaign for Language and Literacy Excellence. CLLE is a statewide initiative to promote early language and literacy development and prevent language deprivation in deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind children. CLLE is a partnership between the New Jersey Department of Human Services, Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DDHH) and The College of New Jersey’s (TCNJ) Center for Sensory and Complex Disabilities (CSCD).
Overview
CLLE is comprised of 4 activities/projects:
- Family Language Immersion Opportunities
- Early Literacy Project for Families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children
- Statewide Educational Campaign for Language Equality
- Statewide Symposium (conference) on Language Deprivation in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Young Children
Family Language Immersion Opportunities is a series of events for families to come together in small groups to learn and practice American Sign Language, Deaf culture/identity, develop relationships with other families and members of the Deaf community, and access language development resources.
Early Literacy Project for Families with Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children is a training and technical assistance initiative that works closely with the Family Language Immersion project to provide literacy development opportunities through a variety of evidence-based practices as well as new/emerging strategies used to encourage parents who lack confidence in developing visual language skills to read stories in ASL to their children ages 0-5. Individuals who are Deaf and fluent in ASL will model reading books using ASL, objects, and pictures and provide hands-on support. The Early Literacy project will provide free materials and resources for families attending these events.
Statewide Educational Campaign for Language Equality is a collection of efforts that will heighten the awareness of the linguistic and cultural resources of New Jersey’s deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind community through the development and dissemination of a common set of understandings for families, providers, and others. This is accomplished by building relationships between the NJ deaf community, families of infants/children, and professionals in related fields.
Statewide Symposium on Language Deprivation in Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deafblind Young Children is an annual conference that is designed to engage in outreach opportunities to providers to assist with referrals of families who have children who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind. Outreach opportunities will focus on spreading awareness of the benefits of visual language learning for deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind children ages 0-5 as well as engaging providers in partnership opportunities. This annual conference will provide participants (parents, professionals, and students) with
- a forum to foster Common Ground;
- specific information from professional sectors such as Speech & Language Specialists, Audiologists, Pediatricians, Teachers, and Child Care Specialists;
- Research Forum; and
- a mini expo of related family/professional organizations, agencies, and other services.
Statewide Symposium on Language Deprivation in Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Deafblind Young Children Spring 2022
On June 2nd, 2022, CLLE hosted the first Statewide Symposium on Language Development in Young Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind Children held at The College of New Jersey, Ewing, NJ. In attendance we had over 40 people from New Jersey who were parents/guardians of deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind children; medical professionals and educational professionals working with deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind children; and deaf community members.
Family Fun Carnival Spring 2022
New Jersey families were invited to join CLLE at The College of New Jersey for our first in-person event. Families of deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind children ages 0-5 in New Jersey and people who are language models in each child’s life (siblings, grandparents, babysitters, nurses, etc.) joined us for a day full of fun activities! Our families enjoyed our special guest, Cole the Deaf Dog, lots of fun family-friendly activities, various take-home resources as well as the opportunity to meet representatives of other state programs providing services to young deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind children in New Jersey. National Deaf News provided coverage for our event.
Fall 2021 Workshop Series (self-paced)
New Jersey families are invited to participate in the first of a series of events to bring families together for learning opportunities focused on early literacy development, access to language development resources, and the opportunity to connect with families and members of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.
After completing the self-paced fall workshop series, you will:
- Gain skills to promote language acquisition for your child
- Capitalize on the use of ASL to improve English literacy
- Improve ASL literacy
Each family received FREE materials sent to their homes to use with their child! Still interested in this workshop series? Feel free to view the self-paced workshops by using the QR codes from this link.
Get Involved
CLLE continues to expand each part of this project with members from the following groups:
- Deaf/Hard of Hearing/DeafBlind Community
- Professionals working in the Deaf/Hard of Hearing/DeafBlind Community
- Families with children who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing or DeafBlind
CLLE continues to “get the word out” about our efforts as well as the complementary efforts of the Language Instruction Program for the purposes of
- Sharing our events and information
- Like/Follow/Share CLLE on social media @NJCLLE
Learn more about the New Jersey Department of Human Services’ Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing’s Language Instruction Program origins here.
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