experts

Role: Peripatetic teacher Special Education Kentalis Nijmegen.

Expertise: Developmental language disorder (DLD), deafness and hard-of-hearing, interaction and communication guidance (in Dutch: ICB), specializing in executive functions and Theory of Mind, teacher of visualization, DLD and reading skills, social-emotional development Galan trainer.

Summary: Teaching since 1989 as an elementary school teacher and participating in the school's management team. In 2001, Anneke started working as an itinerant service teacher focusing on developmental language disorder and deafness and hard-of-hearing. In 2004, she became an education center coordinator and in 2017 a trainer at the Kentalis Academy. In spring 2023, she moved on to process counseling where the team examines whether children/youth are admissible for support from or education by Kentalis.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Tanzania.

Role: Speech and language therapist and BA (sign) linguist.

Expertise: Speech and language therapist and BA linguist specializing in sign languages. Andrea has a lot of experience in working with children and adults who are hearing impaired or have communication or language impairments as well as a cognitive or learning impairment. She works mostly with their parents and other people in their social network to optimize their communication skills and always from a Total Communication or Alternative and Augmentative Communication point of view.

She gives lectures and workshops on communication and language developmental issues, TC/AAC, and sign classes. Andrea has developed training for people on a bachelor's degree level, who want to be able to give classes on signing according to the Weerklankmethod and an instructional DVD that shows how to use signs and sign language in communication with people with different levels and possibilities.

Specialism: Language development and pathology, auditory development and pathology, sign languages, cognitive impairments, Total Communication / Alternative, and Augmentative Communication.

Publications (in Dutch):

Hubbers A., Möller E. en Prijt, A. van der (2001) Gehoorscreening bij verstandelijk gehandicapten. Een vergelijking tussen twee screeningsinstrumenten. In: L.J.M. van Bogaert en J.J. Lambert (red.), Stichting Logopedie Fonds Prijs 2001, Gulpen, 2001, 131 - 146.

Hubbers, A. (2009) Gebaren met verstandelijk gehandicapten. In: KomCom (ISAAC-NF), 4:1, 2-7

Hubbers, A. en anderen (2010) DVD-ROM Gebaren volgens Weerklankmethodiek, Nederlands Gebarencentrum te Bunnik.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

Role: Coordinator Deaf Education at Kentalis Guyotschool Haren for deaf and hard-of-hearing students and teacher of Art and Culture.

Expertise: Visual thinking, brings ideas to implementation, artist with a practical mindset.

Summary: One of Anja's children being deaf threw her right into a new culture. This culture, with three-dimensional language, taught her to perceive better. As an artist, she likes to share what she sees around her, and thereby give others the opportunity to gain new insights.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Suriname.

Role: Peripatetic teacher Special Education Kentalis Nijmegen, Coordinator Training Centre Kentalis Nijmegen.

Expertise: Vocabulary training, Dutch as a second language, mind mapping, coaching, autism spectrum disorder

Summary: Teacher Special Education (Australia/New Zealand), drama teacher/therapist, Teacher Dutch as a second language.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Romania, India, Indonesia, and Tanzania.

Role: Senior Researcher

Expertise: Executive functioning of DHH children and children with primary language impairment, quality of instruction in educational programs for DHH children, bimodal and unimodal bilingualism.

Summary: Daan has been working for Kentalis since 2000, when he finished his PhD in Applied Linguistics at the University in Nijmegen. At Kentalis, he generally works on projects that deal with deaf or hard-of-hearing children in primary education.

Publications (from 2014 onwards):

Hermans, D., Wauters, de Klerk, A., & Knoors, H. (2014). Quality of Instruction in Bilingual Schools for Deaf Children. Through the Children’s Eyes and the Camera’s Lens In M. Marschark, G. Tang & H. Knoors (eds.). Bilingualism and Bilinguals Deaf Education (pp 271-292). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Hermans, D., De Klerk, A. Wauters, L. & Knoors, H. (2014). The Twinschool : A Co-enrollment Program in the Netherlands Lens In M. Marschark, G. Tang & H. Knoors (eds.). Bilingualism and Bilinguals Deaf Education (pp 396-423). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Hermans, D., Vugs, B., van Berkel, L., & Knoors, H. (2015). Deaf children’s executive functions: from research to practice. In H. Knoors & M. Marschark (Eds.), Educating deaf learners: Creating a global evidence base (pp. 231–260). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Vissers, C., Koolen, S., Hermans, D., Scheper, A., & Knoors, H. (2015). Executive functioning in preschoolers with specific language impairment. Frontiers in psychology, 6. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01574.

Hermans, D., Wauters, L., Willemsen, M. & Knoors. (2016). Vocabulary acquisition in Deaf and Hard-of-hearing children: research and intervention. In M. Marschark & P,E, Spencer (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Deaf Studies in Language (pp 161-180). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Sikora, K., Roelofs, A., Hermans, D., & Knoors, H. (2016). Executive control in spoken noun-phrase production: Contributions of updating, inhibiting, and shifting. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 69, 1719-1740. DOI:10.1080/17470218.2015.1093007.

Sikora, K., Roelofs, A. & Hermans, D (2016). Electrophysiology of executive control in spoken noun-phrase production: Dynamics of updating, inhibiting, and shifting. Neuropsychologia, 84, 44-53. DOI:10.1080/17470218.2015.1093007.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Kenya.

Role: Teacher

Expertise: Dutch Sign Language, Deafness and hard of hearing, social emotional development, the Reading Method for Early Literacy and Video Interaction Guidance.

Summary: Nearly 20 years employed at Kentalis with experience in both Deafness and hard of hearing and complex communication needs. Dominique has taught Dutch Sign Language courses to parents and Kentalis staff. She currently work as a group teacher with a focus on the social well-being of deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Côte d'Ivoire and Zambia.

Role: Clinical physicist audiologist.

Expertise: In September 2000, Erwin Baas started working in the field of clinical audiology, after a 4-year PhD program at the University of Delft in radiation physics and chemistry. In his work as an audiologist, he tries to combine clinical work with counseling and participating in research and development, although his research and development work in audiology has been limited since his appointment is on clinical audiology.

Summary: Experienced in clinical audiology, counseling, teaching, and presenting clinical and scientific work in both national and international environments.

Publications:

Logopedie en Foniatrie 11 (2003) 358-362 "Luister Vaardiger! Trainingssoftware voor auditieve verwerkingsproblemen".

Tijdschrift voor Remedial Teaching, Jrg. 15 (September 2007) Nr. 4 “Kinderen met auditieve verwerkingsproblemen (AVP)”.

Journal of Hearing Science (2011) 1(3): EA 52 - 53 “Educational audiology: methodology for auditory processing disorders”.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Uganda.

Role: Itinerant teacher special education Kentalis Nijmegen, Trainer at the Kentalis Academy for new teachers.

Expertise: Developmental Language Disorder, Video Feedback in Education and training, Deaf Culture.

Summary: As an itinerant teacher, Eva visits primary school children and helps them achieve their communicational goals in the classroom. By video feedback with the teacher, she supports the realization of the best learning environment for the children.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.

Role: Psychologist, Psycho and Trauma Therapist, Teacher and Trainer.

Expertise: Psychological development and pathology in deaf and hard‑of‑hearing individuals; Teacher/Trainer (on‑the‑job) in special education; EMDR Europe Practitioner; Trauma‑Sensitive Education; Supervisor in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Schema Therapy; Trainer in Video Interaction Guidance and Video Home Training; Floorplay Specialist; Expertise in cognitive impairments and Total Communication.

Summary: Hinke has extensive experience as a psychologist, teacher, and trauma and psychotherapist. She works with children and adults with auditory or communication challenges and psychological difficulties and provides individual therapy to address psychological and traumatic issues and to strengthen social, emotional, and communication skills. As a trainer, she supports teachers, parents, and social networks in developing strong communication and educational skills. She is also involved in developing and innovating educational and treatment programs with UNESCO and Kentalis.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Tanzania.

Role: Speech and language therapist and teacher at the Kentalis Academy.

Expertise: Total communication, auditory communicative disability, auditory training, developer Hearing Game (in Dutch: HoorSpel), coach Video Interaction Coaching (VIC), sensory stimulus processing.

Summary: Ingeborg has been working at Kentalis for over 20 years as a speech therapist, especially with the target group with complex communication needs. She specializes in communication and sensory stimulus processing and is a video coach in Interaction and Communication. In 2017, she developed the Hearing Game (HoorSpel) program with colleagues to use music and sounds to train the hearing of these children. In the past, she has also worked as a speech therapist at a school for deaf children in Paramaribo, Suriname.

Role: Itinerant teacher special education Kentalis Nijmegen.

Expertise: Developmental Language Disorder, language development, children with specific language disorders, deaf and hard-of-hearing children, children with multiple disabilities, communication disorders, Dutch sign language, Deaf Culture.

Summary: Ilona is a teacher for the Deaf and hard of hearing, who has worked with children with multiple disabilities for over 15 years. She started working as a teacher and has worked as an internal supervisor for the past few years. Currently, she guides young children with developmental language disorder in primary schools, coaches their teachers and provides training to the teams around them.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Zambia.

Role: Counselor deafblind.

Expertise: Deaf culture, Dutch sign language, Arabic sign language, tactile gestures, total communication, developing and providing courses and workshops.

Summary: Judith has worked as a researcher at a deaf school in Jordan where she conducted research in Total Communication within an institute for the deaf and deafblind. Back in the Netherlands, she provided and developed workshops and courses since 2019 in baby and child gestures for parents, professionals, and interested people. In addition, since 2021 within Kentalis, she is involved in individual counseling of a woman with Usher's Syndrome.

Role: Speech and language therapist.

Expertise: "AJONGH" training and train-the-trainer version (translation AJONGH: If Your Ears Don't Hear Well), audiometry, hearing rehabilitation for adults/children with CI, and children with a developmental language disorder.

Summary: From 1989 to 2000, Jacqueline worked at the (former) Institute for the Deaf with Deaf children and adults. She was part of the Audiological Centre and the CI team. From 2000 onwards, she started working at a Cluster 2 school (Kentalis de TaalSter Nijmegen) as an in-house expert in deaf and hard-of-hearing/audiometry. From 2014 to 2016, she participated in the re-development of the AJONGH training in collaboration with the Kentalis Academy. In 2022 and 2023, she supported updating the AJONGH training as well as providing the training itself to children and the train-the-trainer version. Furthermore, outside of work she coaches a befriended speech therapist in Kenya.

Role: Consultant Deaf and hard-of-hearing and Coordinator expertise network Deaf.

Expertise: Social worker young Deaf people, management skills, Dutch Sign Language, Deaf culture, trainer of ‘Young Deaf Men’, Deaf Role Model for young Deaf people.

Secretary of Deaf Club Groningen foundation (website in Dutch).

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Indonesia and Suriname.

Role: Speech and language therapist.

Expertise: Language development, children with specific language disorders, deaf and hard-of-hearing children, children with multiple disabilities, communication disorders, Dutch sign language.

Summary: Lisette is a speech and language therapist and Master of Science in child educational studies. Currently, she gives individual therapy and group training for children focused on developing and improving communication, social and emotional skills. She is also involved in developing treatment programs for children with specific language disorders, as well as for deaf and hard-of-hearing children.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Ethiopia and Nepal.

Role: Teacher at Kentalis Dr. P.C.M. Bosschool Arnhem for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Expertise: Dutch sign language, Deaf culture, behavior analysis.

Summary: Wieneke has been working with deaf and hard-of-hearing students at Kentalis since 2014. She is trained as a sign language teacher, elementary school teacher and behavioral specialist.

Participated in Kentalis International projects in: Kenya.