DR. JEN RICHARDSON has 16 years of private practice experience in the field of educational audiology. She has conducted over 12,000 hearing loss interventions, has helped more than 60,000 educators and parents develop highly-effective strategies, and has provided cutting-edge technology to dramatically improve academic and social results for children with hearing loss. From densely-populated urban centers to small-town, rural school districts, Dr. Richardson covers the complete array of educational settings, including early childhood programs through university classrooms in Wisconsin. Dr. Richardson is a leading authority in the educational audiology community, providing educational services, support, and guidance to schools — helping children and young adults with hearing loss realize their full potential. Her knowledgebase encompasses all aspects of educational audiology, including hearing aids and cochlear implants, assistive listening technology, hearing loss, advocacy, accommodations, modifications, socialemotional development, special education services, and transition services to college and workplace settings.
"I have really appreciated working with Jen Richardson. She has always gone above and beyond for our daughter. Anytime we have needed her, she has always been available to help us. She even helped us troubleshoot our daughter’s Compilot and saved us a trip to the doctor’s office where our daughter would have had to miss school. We love having her as audiologist in our school district. She is an amazing advocate for us and for our daughter. Thanks for ALL you do, Jen!”
— Ann M.
"Dr. Jen Richardson is kind, compassionate, and genuinely invested in my son's hearing loss. Jen helped make the adjustment period of wearing hearing aids and using an FM/DM system easy for my then 6 year old son. She is sensitive to my son's needs and goes over and above to make sure he is comfortable in his classroom. She provides exceptional quality services and continually proves to be one of my son’s biggest advocates."
— Brianna T.
"Having Jen as the Educational Audiologist on our daughter’s IEP team has given my family a great deal of comfort. Jen advocates on behalf of the student and helps our family navigate the difficult IEP process. She makes requests for her care that, as parents, we may not be comfortable addressing to the whole team and is quick to respond to our questions and concerns as well. We hope that Jen will remain a part of our IEP team in the coming years; her role in our daughter's life and education is invaluable."
— Katrina R.
"Jen worked with my son for 5 years as his school audiologist, and she is amazing! Jen goes beyond professionalism by bringing passion and heart into her job. She is not only spot on in her technical skills as an audiologist, but also viewed my child holistically. She often went above and beyond to advocate that all of his educational needs were being addressed. One of the reasons that my son is so successful in school is because of the support that Jen provided and we are forever grateful."
— Alicia B.
There are so many amazing advances in the world today, yet curriculum for children with hearing loss has stood still.
Being an Educational Audiologist and a D/HH Teacher is crazy HARD WORK… No one person can truly understand unless they have walked in our shoes…. Working for hours planning our lessons, running between schools to see students, getting our materials together, finding an empty room in each school to work with our students, grading papers, scheduling our visits…it’s an ENDLESS stream of work… that literally NEVER STOPS.......Nodding your head?
I too feel this way…..So after talking with many Ed Auds and D/HH Teachers as well as conducting a multi-state survey where the responses resoundingly indicated a need for tools and resources that fit into a busy work day- yet still allowed for differentiation for their students, it happened…I decided to create something FOR Ed Auds & D/HH Teachers so they could have a bit of their live back… and that’s when Hearing Milestones was born…
My WHY is to help Ed Auds & D/HH Teachers REDUCE the constant OVERWHELMED FEELING that occurs week in and week out by taking some of the WORK OFF of their shoulders!
I asked myself…“What can I do to help others NOT feel this way and take some of the burden OFF of their shoulders?”
With that said-Hearing Milestones aims to reduce stress, by having a system that creates the consistency and routine needed so your students can become their own best advocate and harness their inner hero. To provide Ed Auds and D/HH Teachers with tools, audiological supplies, online curriculum, HAT products, and resources for their students. With the online curriculum accessible as soon as you open your computer it allows for instant and consistent access to learning. We bring together advocacy, hearing loss, and assistive technology in a way that is concise, consistent, and engaging!
Learn About HAT DevicesWhy was Hearing Milestones created?
It was created for several reasons, but a big WHY is to help Ed Auds & D/HH Teachers REDUCE the constant OVERWHELMED FEELING that occurs week in and week out by taking some of the WORK OFF of their shoulders! To reduce stress, by having a system that creates the consistency and routine needed so your students can become their own best advocate and harness their inner hero. To provide Ed Auds and D/HH Teachers with tools, online curriculum, HAT products, and resources for their students. Curriculum for students with hearing loss has stood still as it relates to technology and learning. With the online curriculum accessible as soon as you open your computer it allows for instant and consistent access to learning. We bring together advocacy, hearing loss, and assistive technology in a way that is concise, consistent, and engaging.
And now for the long answer. I’m also a mom of two boys, one of whom struggles with fluctuating hearing loss, and I also happen to have an auditory processing disorder myself. So let’s rewind a bit and give you a little history.
The Backstory
I have never been a good note taker. It was always mind-boggling to look down at my paper and see nothing but a scribbled mess. I spent so many years frustrated and angry with myself because I couldn’t take notes like all the other kids around me. I could write down the first part of the sentence, but not be able to recall all of the information that was presented to get the second, third or fourth part. And remembering oral directions? Forget it! You’d lose me at the second step, and I’d be left to piece together the rest; sometimes guessing right and very often guessing wrong. In school it was all about learning new information, with most of it occurring auditorily, and I was NOT keeping up with my classmates. With my hearing in the normal range (audiometrically), I was left with a sinking feeling that there was something else very “wrong” with me, but not knowing what, or more importantly, how to “fix it”.
It was not until I was in college that I finally decided to figure out why I struggled. It was then that I was diagnosed with an auditory processing disorder. This means that my ears hear normally, but the message gets “mixed up” when my brain tries to understand the information that it receives from my ears. Each and every day, I have to consciously choose to not let it stand in my way. Each day, I have to find ways to comprehend and recall new information presented to me, and over the years I have learned to adapt. I typically do so by diligently asking others to repeat what they have said, utilizing note takers, asking for notes to be printed during a conference or presentation and recording orally presented information so I can review it at my own pace later. What seems effortless to others is a true struggle for me.
Having children started a new and wonderful chapter to my story. Raising two young boys can be a challenge in and of itself, but watching one of them battle constant ear infections and fluctuating hearing loss brought a new level of stress to the party. My youngest son spent a good year and a half of his life with a moderate hearing loss from middle ear fluid that would not go away. I watched his language development fall behind. I did the drops, the middle of the night screaming, the drops again, the antibiotics, the tubes, and the worrying about how and when he would ever get over this. And though he’s made great gains and has come out of the chronic ear infection cycle, I worry that all of that time spent with a 50 dB HL hearing loss has left him with a lot of catching up to do in his auditory brain development.
As a person with an auditory processing disorder, as a mother and as an audiologist, I have lived this hearing loss journey. I know the importance of accessing auditory information as well as the importance of compensating for not being able to hear or process that information. Most of our days are spent engaging in some form of conversation and listening. When we don’t hear all that is said, we miss out on learning as well as the oh-so-important social conversations that weave us together with friends and family. When learning is impacted, it results in falling behind academically. When social communication is affected, it results in feelings of disconnectedness, isolation and the sensation of being an “other” or being on the “outside”. I decided long ago that this is unacceptable; for myself, my son and for all of the children that I work with.
Seeing first-hand, in my own home, the complexity of our auditory system and its impact on our daily lives has bolstered my commitment to helping others who are walking this same path.
My continued goal is to provide information and resources to Ed Auds & D/HH Teachers to help their students be the best version of themselves in school and in their social circle, both now and into the future. It is my honor to help strengthen and inspire children. We all have struggles; we are all unique, we are all different--it’s what makes us who we are. Challenges occur each and every day for all of us. It’s how we choose to conquer them that matters!
With Gratitude,
Jen