Non-judgmental PARENT TO PARENT support that honorS each family’s unique journey
Have you ever found yourself sitting in your car, in the parking lot of your child’s school, anxiously awaiting the start of yet another IEP meeting, and trying to convince yourself that it will get easier someday? There may have been some ugly crying and some adult words thrown in here and there. That was me about 6 months ago. I was about to walk into my 8th IEP meeting in 4 months and I was DONE!
Military Families are a huge asset to our chapters. I live in California and my husband is a service member of the California National Guard and I want to share my experience as a military spouse in chapter leadership. Something about the military is we’re always on the go. Things are unpredictable and we learn to adapt and go with the flow. My husband was deployed this past May. We have three small children. They’re ages two, four, and six. All three of them were born Hard of Hearing. Having our community is vital for their success. And because of that, I am motivated to support my chapter.
I am in seventh grade. My favorite sport is basketball, I have played on a club team since third grade. I was born with hearing loss and wear a hearing aid on one side and cochlear implant on the other. I like to skateboard, snow ski, play with my puppies, go to the beach, produce YouTube videos (@ Harper G) and do wood-working.
My dad is a Colonel in the Marine Corps, so we have moved many times. My favorite place we have lived is California. My mom is a writer, author, and speaker. She was the co-author on the recent book we published, “Now Hear This: Harper Soars with her Magic Ears.”
In early February 2000, I had the opportunity to travel from North California down to Palm Springs for my grandfather’s 80th birthday party, which was a surprise. Traveling there and back was one for the books. This experience would have been just an annoying experience for a hearing person, but turned out to be extremely frustrating for me, as a Deaf Adult.
As a parent to millennial children, I have heard the term “shaming” preceded by numerous attributes: “Fat-shaming,” “body-shaming,” “parent-shaming,” and even “vacation-shaming.” Really, (fill in the blank)-shaming is a term that has come to be used whenever one person is perceived to be judging another. For example, one worker might say they are using their vacation days to go on a cruise. A co-worker might comment that they haven’t used vacation days in years (implying that taking vacations means one is a lazy worker). That co-worker might be said to be “vacation-shaming.” You get the idea.
Here in Sacramento we have a claim to fame – we have Sean Esson, a Deaflympics Gold Medal Snowboarder! I had the privilege of interviewing Sean on January 14, 2020, and he told me his amazing story.
But because I know that not all of you will read this article to the end, I am going to start where Sean ended – with a plea to all of you to support the Deaflympics athletes. The Deaf athletes struggle for funding. Some countries pay their Olympic athletes, but the United States does not. Yet, hearing athletes in the Olympics and the Paralympics (which collaborate now) get lots of corporate sponsors. The Deaflympics, while under the umbrella of the Olympics, is still separate, so the sponsorships don’t come. The Deaf athletes have to pay for their own travel, food, lodging, competition fees, etc. and it is HARD. Please, please consider sponsoring the Deaflympics by going to their website.
When I first learned the American Girl Doll Girl of the Year was a doll who uses hearing aids and would be the first with any disability, I thought it was great and would be a perfect birthday present for my five-year-old hard of hearing daughter, Penelope. She already has two dolls that we bought aftermarket hearing aids for and attached them with glue to help them stay on. But this doll is different; she has a story about being Deaf/Hard of Hearing, and not just the accessories.
Dear California Hands & Voices State Chapter,
I want to thank you for accepting my application to the Board. Even though you knew I was a military spouse who would be moving, you let me serve. By adding me to your Board, you helped shape me into a better professional. Serving on the California Board as a regional member, on the professional advisory committee, and becoming ASTra-certified, you allowed me opportunities to continue my journey as an educator of the deaf. Spending time with the other board members allowed me to develop more insight into who I am and how I can better support families.
Perhaps you have a child who is Deaf or hard of hearing. Even if you know a lot about the Deaf community, there are a myriad of complex factors involved in making sure your child is surrounded by rich language opportunities. Maybe your child is mainstreamed in a classroom with an interpreter for part of the school day. If so, or if you care about the educational access provided through interpreters, please continue reading!
Even with my own hearing loss, I am still working on feeling worthy enough to use an interpreter. For my son, I don’t feel the need to justify any of his access needs.
~The Stratton Trio
I have spent a lifetime trying to figure out where I fit in as a hard of hearing person in a hearing world. I grew up in a family with a strong history of hearing loss but without the richness of language or culture; that seemed reserved for only those who were truly deaf. I didn’t know “Deaf” as compared to “deaf”. I didn’t know about the world beyond mine that had a full and complete language which was as beautiful as it was intricate and complex. I didn’t know anything until I became the mother of a Deaf child.