New courses from HDC faculty available across LSUHSC schools

Communication Skills for Working with People Who Are Visually Impaired or Blind

Dr. Rose Angelocci of HDC’s Louisiana DeafBlind Project for Children and Youth (LADBP) and West South Central Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WSC WIPA) program created the course “Communication Skills for Working with People Who Are Visually Impaired or Blind.” Dr. Angelocci’s course introduces students to communication methods to support individuals with visual disabilities in healthcare and other settings. Students will be introduced to reading and writing using the Unified English Braille code in literary contexts. Students will also become familiar with the impact of additional exceptionalities on individuals with visual impairments and the importance of touch and other tactual forms of communication.

The course’s learning objectives are:

• Students will be able to recognize letters, numbers, punctuation, and contractions (including short form words, word signs, and groupsigns ) written in Unified English Braille in literary contexts.

• Students will be able to transcribe labels, brief messages, and other literary materials in Unified English Braille using a slate and stylus, manual braillewriter, or braille text editor on the computer (such as Perky Duck or BrailleBlaster).

• Students will be able to identify resources and considerations in making visual images into tactile graphics.

• Students will become familiar with the impact of additional exceptionalities on individuals with visual impairments and the importance of touch and other tactual forms of communication.

• Students will be able to identify and become familiar with assistive technology used by people with visual disabilities.

Interested? Email Rose Angelocci at range3@lsuhsc.edu for course details.

American Sign Language I

Nicky Gillies of HDC’s Louisiana DeafBlind Project for Children and Youth (LADBP) created an “American Sign Language I” course, which uses an interactive approach to build basic conversational skills in American Sign Language (ASL). Vocabulary and grammar will be introduced in context, with a focus on everyday communication and sharing information. The course fosters receptive and expressive language skills through immersive ASL lessons without voice. Nicky will also introduce aspects of Deaf culture with an emphasis on Deaf experiences in healthcare settings.

Nicky, who is a certified ASL interpreter, hopes to create an American Sign Language II course for the Spring 2024 semester.

Interested? Email Nicky Gillies at ngilli@lsuhsc.edu for course details.

About Rose Angelocci, Ph.D., CRC, CWIC

Dr. Rose Angelocci is a Community Work Incentives Coordinator (CWIC) with the Louisiana Benefits Planning Services (LSU WIPA) housed within the Human Development Center at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. Since 2018, she has provided benefits planning services to individuals receiving disability benefits through Social Security. In addition to her work with the WIPA Project, Dr. Angelocci serves as one of the coordinators for the Louisiana Deafblind Project for Children and Youth also housed at HDC. Prior to joining the staff at LSUHSC, Dr. Angelocci worked at the Training, Resource and Assistive-technology Center (formerly the Training & Resource Center for the Blind) at the University of New Orleans.

Dr. Angelocci has over 30 years of experience in working with individuals with disabilities—especially those who are blind or  deafblind; their families; and service providers who serve them. Her experience includes assessing and training persons in the use of assistive technology and Braille; directing residential programs for students who are blind transitioning from high school to college and/or employment; conducting vocational evaluations and career counseling; and providing pre-employment transition services for high school students with disabilities.

About Nicky Gillies, MSNIC

Nicky Gillies is a Coordinator for the Louisiana DeafBlind Project. Nicky has worked as an American Sign Language interpreter since graduating from Delgado Community College in 2009, becoming nationally certified in 2012. She completed her BA at the University of New Orleans in 2011 and her MS in ASL/English Interpreting Pedagogy at the University of North Florida in 2019. Nicky has worked in a variety of settings including higher education, the non-profit sector, and private practice.

Nicky feels privileged to be involved in Deaf and DeafBlind communities in Louisiana and is passionate about supporting greater communication, environmental, and educational access. Nicky’s goal at the HDC is to support the many people involved in the life of a DeafBlind child or young adult by providing outreach, educational consulting, and connections to community resources. She believes in the transformative power of lifelong learning and aims to provide students and novice professionals with rich experiences for continued growth and education.