Hello Friends. This week for #TogetherThursday I wanted to discuss something a little different.
In light of current events I wanted to bring something up regarding access and information regarding Deaf/Hard of Hearing children as a whole.
Thus: Thing to Think about this Week-
- How and when do you begin to have uncomfortable conversations with your child? When are you as a parent going to decide to have different conversations with your DHH child about difficult things? If they were a typically hearing child would you be making a different decision?
- I am bringing this topic to think about because often Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals don’t have all the access to information that hearing individuals do and as your child grows up, we as a community need to come together to ensure you and your child are supported.
Language access to information that is 100% must begin at home:
- Deaf/HH individuals don’t always “overhear” a conversation. News isn’t always interpreted, the captions aren’t always 100% accurate. What tools are you using(ASL, Interpreters, Cued Speech, Captions, others?) in your home to ensure information is communicated?
Safe spaces and open dialogue must begin at home:
- There are many topics that are being brought up around us in the world today. What resources do you have, and do we have together as a community to address our uncomfortable feelings that our Deaf/HH kids may see or hear but not quite understand?
- How will you ensure your child feels safe and emotionally supported enough to come to you as a parent with difficult conversations?
Resources will be shared over the next few weeks as they are gathered.
If you are comfortable doing so please share about how you are approaching these difficult conversations with your child. Remember that we are learning from each other as parents, professionals, and people from a variety of experiences. Being mindful of this, let us keep our conversations honest yet respectful knowing that deep in our hearts we want what is best for our students & children
For this week I want to share our internal group as support the California Hands and Voices Group as well as refer to the post made earlier this week in which you can reach out for support at