• Communication: What Doesn't Get Said is Just as Important as What Does

    Roger C. Williams, LMSW, QMHI-S, CT, NAD V

    Mr. Williams is the Director for Deaf Services with the South Carolina Department of Mental Health. He received his B.S.W. from the Rochester Institute of Technology, his M.S.W., specializing in community mental health, from the University of Illinois and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of South Carolina, College of Social Work. Mr. Williams is a S.C. Licensed Master Social Worker and holds an RID Certificate of Transliteration and an SCAD/NAD IAP Level 5 and has been recognized at the state and national level for his leadership in mental health services within the Deaf community.

    Roger Williams - Man with gray hair, glasses, and a moustache.

    Video:


    Discussion Questions for Session:


    Here are a few questions for subsequent conversation:
    1)   What are the different ways people have thought about the relationship between language and thought?
    2)   When does language start?
    3)   Do hearing and deaf children learn language at the same rate? Why or Why not?
    4)   What advantages does fluency in spoken language provide to children?
    5)   What percentage of deaf children develop speech skills sufficient for full educational access?
    6)   What does the research tell us about cochlear implants?
    7)   What do we know works for children?
    8)   What is the difference between disfluency and dysfluency?
    9)   What is a language disorder and what are the causes?

    Additional information on this topic:
    • Gournaris, M. J., Hamerdinger, S., & Williams, R. C. (2010). Promising practices of statewide mental health models serving consumers who are deaf: How to advocate for your model in your home state. JADARA, 43(3), 152-182.
    • Gournaris, M. J., Hamerdinger, S., & Williams, R. C. (2012). Creating a culturally affirmative continuum of mental health services: The experience of three states. In N. Glickman (Ed.) Deaf Mental Health Care. New York, NY. Routledge.
    •  How Deaf Children Learn: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know  by Marc Marschark, Peter C. Hauser

    Discussion from Session: