2004 PEPNet Conference Introduction
Conference Proceedings: PEPNet Conference 2004
Planning for Success: Initiatives for Positive Outcomes
Introduction
How may an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing focus on success? How can we as professionals best promote environments that will facilitate achievement and positive outcomes for these individuals? Planning for Success: Initiatives for Positive Outcomes, the PEPNet conference held in April 2004, was a conference dedicated to answering these questions and many more. Educators and service providers from across the nation and the world gathered together at the fourth biennial PEPNet Conference to share concepts, ideas, facts, technologies and successful practices that have helped to achieve these goals. And PEPNet is dedicated to the concept that we no longer have to work in isolation. Bringing challenging issues and promising solutions together in a collaborative atmosphere establishes solid networks that enhance one-on-one service delivery to clients and students who are deaf and hard of hearing.
There are many conferences that are structured to address issues related to provision of services to individuals who have other disabilities, but PEPNet is the only one that centers its focus entirely on the individual who is deaf and hard of hearing. And how are these individuals being served by the many postsecondary institutions and training centers across our nation? PEPNet 2004 attempted to bring together professionals with interest and training in service provision, disability support, rehabilitation, state and federal government, educational and technological arenas to share successes, challenges, initiatives, issues, encouragement and support. Through their willingness to share new, exciting and creative ideas, PEPNet conference participants were given a wealth of workable ideas to improve their own service delivery efforts.
The PEPNet 2004 conference offered sessions that were of interest to disability support services staff, administrators, counselors, interpreters, tutors, and faculty members from developmental studies as well as college-level courses. In addition, faculty and staff from secondary education programs and service providers from rehabilitation also participated. Students in related professional areas such as rehabilitation counseling and interpreting were welcomed at the conference. The conference featured sessions that offered practical, replicable strategies for providing services to students who are deaf or hard of hearing and attending postsecondary educational programs. This publication offers the reader a small sample of the information that was exchanged during the conference. It is our hope that these sessions will truly support each reader to develop an effective plan for success!
Kay Jursik, M.A., Editor
PEC Special Projects Coordinator
The University of Tennessee: Center on Deafness