Parents Helping Parents

Every one of us has our story. None of us will ever forget that dreaded day when we heard the words that our child had a hearing loss. No matter if it was profound, severe, moderate, or mild, I'm sure it all stung just the same. When I think back about that day, I still here the voice of the teacher on Charlie Brown, "Wah, wah, wah, profound, wah, wah, hearing loss, wah, wah, cochlear implants, wah, wah, wah."

"Um, excuse me?"

Then we were sent away with a list of organization's and their respective websites. None of which relieved my pain and hurt and worry and all those other crazy emotions welled up inside my twisted stomach.

It was the parent's voices, their stories, their videos of their deaf child listening to them, talking, and singing. It was the parent's of children with hearing loss who helped relieve all of the above plus some. and for each and every one of them, I am thankful.

So, if you are a parent of a child with hearing loss, and you'd like to help the parents who are new to this journey, please take five to ten minutes of your time and check this out:

AG Bell will be dedicating the May/June issue of Volta Voices to parents and families of newly identified children with hearing loss (0-3 years of age). The content will primarily focus on the information parents need to know immediately following diagnosis and during the child's early years of listening and spoken language development. To that end, AG Bell is asking parents of children with hearing loss to share their experience. If you'd like to participate in this brief 5-minute survey, go HERE. The deadline to complete the survey is Thursday, February 24.

PARENTS HELPING PARENTS - That's what it's all about.