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Take advantage of the help available
I have had the privilege of working with deaf and hard of hearing children in several different countries. For example, I visited a school for deaf and hard of hearing children in Cambodia that had just opened 5 years before my visit. Prior to that time, deaf children in that country were not even allowed to go to school. I want parents to know that, relative to many places around the globe, the services available to children with a hearing loss in the U.S. are quite good. Even if you live in a rural area or an area with very few deaf children, help is available from national organizations, on-line parent support groups, national deaf and hard of hearing chapters and informational clearing houses. You have not “signed up” for this role as a parent of a deaf child and it may, at times, feel overwhelming. So I encourage you to ask for and seek out help. Take advantage of the many resources available to you and your family.
Amy Szarkowski, Ph.D., Psychology Post-Doctoral Fellow
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Meeting a Deaf Professional
I will tell you something I learned from a parent of a deaf child. This mother said that it was not until her child was about ten or eleven years old that she ever met a Deaf professional. When this parent met a deaf person, who happened to be a university professor who used ASL and was fluent in written English, her perspective on deafness changed. This mom said, “I wish I had met a person like this earlier. It would have expanded my notion of the possibilities for my child.” This was a parent whose son had language and learning difficulties in part because he did not have early access to a language he could understand.
Jennifer Johnston, Ed.D., Speech-Language Clinician
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