New TEHDI Coordinator – Doug Dittfurth
Doug Dittfurth who has been with the DARS/Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (previously known as the Texas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing) since 1999 recently left his position there as Outreach Development Specialist to accept a position with the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). At DSHS, Doug is Coordinator of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) program for the state of Texas.
Doug has over 35 years in the field of deafness/hearing loss. He has been a teacher of the deaf, has provided instruction in interpreter training, administered a residential rehabilitation program for deaf adults with secondary/tertiary issues, worked in the area of mental health and deafness and most recently led the state’s advocacy program for persons who were deaf/hard of hearing to help ensure effective communication and lessen discrimination practices.
He is an officer on the Board of Directors for the American Foundation for the Elderly Deaf (AFED), Incorporated which has as its main program the LaVista Retirement Community in San Marcos. LaVista is a 200 apartment community designed with the needs of deaf and hard of hearing senior citizens as a priority. He is also an officer on the Board for ADARA, a national organization promoting excellence in services to persons who are deaf and hard of hearing.
In 2011, Dittfurth received the Boyce R. Williams award from ADARA in recognition of his contributions toward the improvement of services for persons who are deaf/hard of hearing. He received the President’s Award from the Texas Society of Interpreters for the Deaf in 2012. Dittfurth was quoted as saying of his move, “I am not leaving the field of deafness/hearing loss; I am refining my scope of work to focus on the early identification of infants born deaf or hard of hearing to afford them better opportunities in all their future aspirations.”
Contact information:
Doug H. Dittfurth, MEd/BSFA – Texas BEI III/CIC
Email: [email protected]
512-776-7626 (use relay option of your choice to call, if needed)
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