Vocational Rehabilitation A primary goal of THE KOOSER PROGRAM is the ability for all vocational rehabilitation agencies in the United States to utilize this program in the rehabilitation process for their consumers seeking assistance related to a hearing disability. The program is 8 hours in length and covers a variety of important topics to include: the different types of hearing loss, how to read an audiogram, assistive listening devices, negative coping strategies, positive communication strategies, assertiveness, hearing loss in the workplace, the grief process, acceptance and relationship issues. What makes this program unique and different from most other rehabilitation programs is that it offers a platform for consumers to process their emotions related to hearing loss through the built in experiential components. Processing these emotions helps the consumer reach acceptance. It is presented as an enjoyable, highly interactive group that is educational and supportive in nature. Support people are strongly encouraged to attend, including employers, as hearing loss impacts everyone, not just the person with the loss. Individuals with hearing loss represent one of the largest disability groups in the United States and worldwide. Yet despite this statistic, very few programs are in existence to help consumers make positive adjustments to this challenging life circumstance. If programs are available they usually address issues related to deafness, not hearing loss. While hearing loss and deafness share some common characteristics and struggles, adjustment issues can be quite different. Research supports that the combination of aural rehabilitation used in conjunction with appropriate amplification may significantly improve a person’s quality of life, thereby increasing their success using hearing instrumentation. Consequently effective aural rehabilitation programs are vitally important to keep those with hearing loss successful in all their endeavors, including employment. REHABILITATION COUNSELOR FOR THE DEAF TESTIMONIAL “As a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the Deaf and hard of hearing (now retired) for over 22 years for the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission, I had the pleasure of being able to use THE KOOSER PROGRAM to the benefit of many of my hard of hearing consumers. I strongly encouraged all of my hard of hearing consumers to attend the program, and the majority of those consumers did attend – some reluctantly so. However, those who attended all gave very positive feedback about the program, and often those most reluctant to attend got the most out of the program! When the hard of hearing consumers attended THE KOOSER PROGRAM, they were much more successful in wearing their hearing instruments as well as having a better understanding of positive communication techniques both at work and in their home lives. Positive feedback was often given by the consumers’ spouses as well. Another benefit of consumers attending THE KOOSER PROGRAM was that I saw very little recidivism when the consumer attended the training. Once attending the program, the consumer was much better prepared to plan for future needs related to their hearing loss, and much less likely to return for additional services. I found THE KOOSER PROGRAM to be exceptionally beneficial to my hard of hearing consumers and would encourage others to take advantage of this wonderful program.”
Ann Allen Wallace, CRC 
Read the article about THE KOOSER PROGRAM in the May/June 2007 NewsNet from the Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission |