Director of South Dakota services for deaf students highlights screenings, mobile audiology and direct-service expansion

Cammy Van Sickle, director of SDSD, told the Board of Regents the school is expanding outreach and direct services for deaf and hard‑of‑hearing students across South Dakota.

Van Sickle said SDSD operates audiology clinics in Rapid City and Sioux Falls plus a mobile audiology clinic ("MAC") that travels the state. "Last year alone, we did full hearing evaluations on 745 kids across the state," she said, and staff performed about 28,000 hearing screenings. Van Sickle said all audiology services are offered "at no cost for any South Dakota kid aged birth through high school graduation."

She described the outreach structure — 14 deaf educators and speech‑language pathologists who consult in schools and homes — and said SDSD finished last year with roughly 760 students on its caseload. Van Sickle outlined special services including multidisciplinary student evaluations, a Shared Reading parent program to teach signing for read‑alouds, a Hands in Motion summer program for ages 2–5, and direct online services that connect teachers-of-the-deaf and speech pathologists with students who need one-on-one support.

Van Sickle also described workforce challenges: she said the program had been fully staffed three days earlier but a recent resignation underscores ongoing difficulty finding qualified outreach coordinators; SDSD is hiring for skill sets and using technology to extend reach. She said SDSD increased outreach training (partnering with USD’s Deaf Ed minor and offering 15 deaf-education modules funded by the DOE) and will welcome an audiology intern next year.

Regents thanked the SDSD team for work on student outcomes and scholarship support; Van Sickle noted the SDSD Foundation awarded a record 13 college scholarships this year. The presentation was informational; the board did not take policy action on SDSD items during the session.