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Getting
Started with Early Intervention
Other
Parents and Support Organizations
ASDC
Snapshots: Decision Making
 If
you are looking for information about how to raise a child
with a hearing loss, there is good news and bad news. The
good news is that there is a lot of information available.
The bad news is-well-there is a lot of information available!
How does one sort through the information provided in books,
articles, web sites, from professionals, family and friends,
and from other sources to arrive at decisions that are right
for your and your family? Here are some tips that may help.
There is no "one and only way."
Every child and family is different. Values, experiences,
opinions, and resources vary from family to family. What
works in one situation may not work in another. There are
a number of ways to be successful raising a deaf or hard
of hearing child. No one plan or formula will work for everyone.
You must do what you believe is right for your child and
family.
Get to know other parents of children
with hearing loss.
All parents want what is best for their child. Meeting other
parents and learning about their experiences can help you
find out about options and resources. You want to parent
effectively, and this can give you an opportunity to learn
about "real life" strategies that work. Meeting
other parents also can help you recognize that you are not
the only one raising a child with a hearing loss. They can
also serve as a means of support.
Get to know successful deaf and
hard of hearing adults.
Deaf and hard of hearing adults are young deaf and hard
of hearing children who have grown up. Seeing successful
deaf and hard of hearing adults can increase your understanding
of what it means to be deaf or hard of hearing. It may facilitate
acceptance of a child's hearing loss.
Given appropriate language learning,
educational, and social opportunities, deaf and hard of
hearing persons can achieve the same rates of academic growth
and social and personal fulfillment as hearing individuals.
Meeting successful deaf and hard of hearing adults may give
you a vision of success for your child that might be difficult
to imagine otherwise. Deaf adults and hard of hearing adults-most
of whom came from hearing families-can share their experiences
with you and provide information and encouragement. As in
all communities, there is diversity in the deaf and hard
of hearing community, and parents benefit from meeting deaf
and hard of hearing persons from a variety of backgrounds,
experiences and opinions.
 Visit
a variety of educational programs.
Often parents want to know what the best program is, or
whether a particular program is better than another one.
The only way to make these kinds of judgments is by seeing
for yourself what the program is like. Some questions you
may want to ask as you visit each program are:
- Is this program specifically designed
to meet the needs of deaf and hard of hearing children,
or is it a generic program? Generally a specialized program
will be more likely to meet your child's needs.
- Is it a home-based program, a center-based
program, or a combination of the two? Both home-based
programs and center-based programs have advantages. Visit
one or more programs of each type and see for yourself
what those advantages are.
- How well do the staff and children
communicate? Since hearing loss can have a significant
impact on the area of communication, communication skills
should be at the center of any program.
- How much family support is available?
This could be in the form of information about assistive
technology, provision of sign language classes or counseling,
or any other type support.
Ask lots of questions.
This is new to you, and there is a lot to know.
Review each suggestion that you
receive carefully.
Do you fully understand what is being recommended, or do
you need further information? Do you know what the positives
and negatives are? Does it sound like something that will
work for you and your family?
No decision needs to be forever.
Support what is working for your child and modify or eliminate
what is not working. The goal should be optimum outcomes,
not adhering to a particular ideology.
Finally…Love
and value your child for the wonder that s/he is.
The
information sheets on this web page come to our site courtesy
of the American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC). ASDC would
like to share this information with all parents of children
who are deaf or hard of hearing.
The
American Society for Deaf Children can be reached at:
P.O. Box 3355, Gettysburg, PA 17325
717/334-7922 v/tty Business
717/334-8808 Fax
800/942-ASDC v/tty Parent Information and Referral
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