Tel: 336-834-3112
Johnnie
Sexton
Johnnie Sexton, Au.D., has worked with children who are deaf and hard of hearing for over 4 decades. He received his B.S. (1977) and M.S. (1979) degrees from East Carolina University and his Au.D. Degree (2010) from A. T. Still University/Arizona Health Sciences. Dr. Sexton has focused throughout his career on pediatric/educational audiology service development, implementation and management and served on a team to design the early intervention system for audiology in North Carolina (including the newborn hearing-screening program) from 1999-2001.
He has devoted his energy in recent years to redefining counseling for families with children who have hearing challenges and the professionals who provide services for them. Dr. Sexton created the nonprofit agency, The CARE Project, serving as Executive Director, for the advancement of family, professional and pre-professional training opportunities in emotional/adjustment counseling. The CARE Project has become a national standard for family engagement for the unique family retreat experiences which provide emotional support and education for family empowerment. Dr. Sexton works with state newborn hearing programs across the country to provide family retreats in all states in the U.S.
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Throughout his career, Dr. Sexton has been very involved in state licensure under 5 Governors in NC with a clear focus on making sure that the consumers of speech and hearing services are protected from unethical and illegal practice. The North Carolina Speech, Hearing and Language Association has twice awarded Dr. Sexton the State Clinical Achievement Award, in 1996 for his pioneering work in educational audiology and in 2017 for his pioneering work in emotional support for families through the nonprofit foundation he started, The CARE Project.
Dr. Sexton owns a private practice specializing in educational audiology services and educational sign language interpreter services (John E. Sexton & Associates, Inc./JESA). JESA is 35 years old and employs 15 audiologists who live in regions around the state of North Carolina, serving two thirds of NC systems and many charter schools. He also owns a private practice in specialty speech pathology services (Specialty Speech & Education Services/SSES) which provides specialized speech services for children (auditory verbal therapy, augmentative communication services, etc.) in Southeastern North Carolina. Dr. Sexton has done extensive consulting in North America, Asia, Europe as well as an extended stay in Israel.
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From January 1, 2018-January 2021, Dr. Sexton served as the Co-Chair of the NC Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) Advisory Board which oversees the newborn hearing screening program in all birthing hospitals in NC and early intervention services for children birth to 3.
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In 2018, Dr. Sexton was named the #1 Audiology Practitioner of the Year in the U.S. by the Focus on People Awards.
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Dr. Sexton has been twice nominated for the National Antonia Maxon Award of Excellence which honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions to achieving excellence in Early Hearing Detection and Intervention programs nationally or in a particular state or region.