Beth S. Benedict is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at

Gallaudet University Gallaudet University ( ) is a private federally chartered university in Washington, D.C., for the education of the deaf and hard of hearing. It was founded in 1864 as a grammar school for both deaf and blind children. It was the first school ...

, advocate for the deaf, and a mentor for families with deaf children. Her research focuses on early intervention, early language acquisition, and family involvement. Benedict is also an advocate for the use of

bilingualism Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. When the languages are just two, it is usually called bilingualism. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolin ...

education of the deaf Deaf education is the education of students with any degree of hearing loss, hearing loss or deafness. This may involve, but does not always, individually-planned, systematically-monitored teaching methods, adaptive materials, accessible settin ...

- incorporating the value of

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual language that i ...

in deaf children. Benedict advocates for deaf-hearing partnerships, avoiding

audism Audism as described by deaf activists is a form of discrimination directed against deaf people, which may include those diagnosed as deaf from birth, or otherwise. Tom L. Humphries coined the term in an unpublished manuscript in 1975, which he ...

, the importance of bilingual education, deaf culture and the use of sign language while also working as a family mentor for families with deaf children. Recently, she was a keynote speaker for an International Deaf Studies conference and the featured speaker for the deaf education summit. Benedict takes what she researches about deafness and education and shares it broadly by way of talks and application - for example, she has helped the Georgia School for the Deaf work on developing bilingual education in their programs. In 2015 Benedict was the featured speaker at the Deaf education summit in Louisiana - a conference that brought together practitioners, educators, and parents to discuss local issues surrounding education of deaf children. In a video Benedict explains how children who use sign language are not hindered in their ability to learn speech.

Education

Benedict received her Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Gallaudet University in 1980. From there, she attended

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

to pursue a master's degree in communication, which she finished in 1981. After some time, Benedict returned to Gallaudet University to work on a doctoral degree in Education, which she completed in 2003.

Career

Much of Benedict's work focuses on research and spreading knowledge about

early childhood intervention Early childhood intervention (ECI) is a support and educational system for very young children (aged birth to six years) who have been victims of, or who are at high risk for child abuse and/or neglect as well as children who have developmental d ...

and the usefulness of using

. Below is a summary of some of her accomplishments: * Vice President of the Joint Chair Committee on Infant Hearing. * President of the American Society of Deaf Children for 2014. * Member of the Council of Education of the Deaf. * The Maryland Newborn Hearing Screening Advisory Council and is also actively involved in a variety of other EHDI initiatives. * Recognized by the

National Association of the Deaf (United States) The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) is an organization for the promotion of the rights of deaf people in the United States. NAD was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1880 as a non-profit organization run by Deaf people to advocate for deaf r ...

as an educational advocate. * Coordinator of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Infants, Toddlers, and Families Interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Program at Gallaudet University.

Awards

Beth Benedict received the Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence in 2010 at the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention conference in Chicago, Illinois. The following lists other awards she has earned as a professional scholar: * National Association of the Deaf Knights of the Flying Fingers Award, 2014 * Gallaudet University Student Affairs and Academic Support Dedicated Faculty Award, 2013 * Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD) Board's top award, the Robert R. Davila Award of Merit, 2013 * National Association of the Deaf Randall McClelland Memorial Award, 2012 * Person of the Month, Deaf Life, April 2010 * Gallaudet University Alpha Sigma Pi Fraternity Woman of the Year, 2010 * Empire's Who's Who of Women in Education, 2005-2006 * National Association of the Deaf, Stokoe Scholarship, 2000 – 2001 * U.S. Office of Education and Rehabilitative Service Stipend Awards (4 consecutive years) 1996 – 2000 * Staff of the Year at Pre-College Programs, 1991

Personal life

Benedict is married to A. Dwight Benedict (Dean of Student Affairs at Gallaudet) and has two Deaf daughters, Lauren and Rachel. She, her husband, and both of their daughters were involved in athletics during their time at Gallaudet - in 2012 their family was featured in Gallaudet's "Bison Legacy" series for families with a history of Deaf athletes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benedict, Beth S Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Educators of the deaf Gallaudet University faculty Gallaudet University alumni New York University alumni American women academics 21st-century American women