What is N-CHATT?
The Network of Consumer Hearing Assistive Technology Trainers (N-CHATT) is a volunteer consumer train-the-trainer program. The program’s goal is to build a network of consumer trainers with the knowledge and skills necessary to train others impacted by hearing loss. Trainers will assist others in the successful integration of hearing assistive technology to support individual hearing and communication needs at home, work, school, and the community.
The N-CHATT Train-the-Trainers Guide
Discover the remarkable (yet practical) program that has changed people’s lives!
Sometimes it’s not enough to be fitted with a hearing aid or receive a cochlear implant. There are technologies that people can use with or without hearing devices to expand hearing access. For some of us, information about hearing assistive technology (HAT) can be hard to find and harder to understand.
In the N-CHATT program, people with hearing loss learned about technology from the experts and each other. These N-CHATT trainers enthusiastically take their knowledge to the field and teach others. Find a Trainer in your area.
Download Train-the-Trainers Guide
The N-CHATT program completed its five-year funding cycle on September 30 2019. The Train the Trainer Guide describes a training framework to prepare volunteers who use hearing assistive technology (HAT) to train and support their peers in the use of HAT. N-CHATT is a train-the-trainer model that organizations serving people with disabilities can adapt and use to increase autonomy through the use of assistive technology. We delivered the N-CHATT program through a blended learning approach, using intensive online coursework and a face-to-face training session. We developed the framework for the N-CHATT program, along with its guiding principles and key program components, under the auspices of the Deaf or Hard of Hearing Technology RERC for people with hearing loss who use HAT. You can adapt the program to serve the same population or apply it to other consumer groups who would benefit from different assistive technology. It’s important to keep in mind that the comprehensive program described in this guide was effective as a 12-month program staffed by three organizations, but we expect that you can change it in both scale and scope.
If you are interested in partnering with HLAA on this program to serve people with hearing loss in a program designed for your needs, please inquire at n-chatt@hearingloss.org.