Celebrating National Deaf History Month.

Many of us may not know, but March 13th to April 15th is known as National Deaf History Month. These dates are observed to acknowledge and pay tribute to the achievements that have been made by deaf and hard of hearing individuals. I have teamed up with Meagan Stokes from Sign With Stokes, to give us more insight on this subject. Continue to read to watch our interview below.

A little history behind this celebration is on April 15th, 1817, America opened its first public school for the deaf in Connecticut. On April 8th, 1964, Gallaudet University was founded in Washington. This was the first school of advanced education for the deaf and hard of hearing. On March 13, 1988, Gallaudet University selected Dr. I King Jordan as their president. He became the first deaf president of the University. Dr. Jordan was known as a symbol of self determination and empowerment for the deaf and hard of hearing.

All of these accomplishments are centered around one thing, education and advancement. The point of this blog post is simply to educate and inform.

Many of us moms may not have a deaf or hard of hearing child, so we do not take the time to educate ourselves on this subject. That is understandable, but the more informed we all are, the better.

About 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents. This means parents have to adjust to be able to communicate and do what is best for their child. This can be challenging and is an adjustment for the entire family.

My experience with hearing loss in a child.

I recall back to two years ago when I thought my second child had suffered hearing loss. She was four at the time. I began to notice whenever I spoke to her, she didn’t always respond. I immediately thought the worst. My husband and I kept it from the family because it was such a nervous period that we just tried to stay positive about the entire process. We would call her name and no answer, we began to randomly scream through the house and slam doors and there would be no response.

I immediately scheduled her for all types of extensive hearing tests. We did testing over a two month period to make sure we were not missing anything or possibly being misdiagnosed. This was a scary time in my life. I had the fear of what if my child is deaf? Did I do something to cause this? What do I do next? All of these worrying thoughts floated constantly through my mind.

After all the testing was completed, it turned out Driauna had excessive fluid in her ears and it was causing her not to be able to hear well. Thank God she was not deaf or any major issues, but this was a trying time for my husband and I. The solution was to do surgery and place tubes in her ears to help with draining the fluid so she could hear clearly again. The surgery went well and everything is okay, but everyone does not have the same outcome. So, I think it’s so important to support each other, because parents have to deal with different situations and solutions when it comes to hearing and support from others can go a long way.

5 Things Parents Of Deaf Children Have To Adjust To

1. Understanding what it means that their child has difficulty hearing.
2. Understanding how to communicate with their children.
3. Finding the norm in the process.
4. Finding the best learning style for their child.
5. Realizing the only thing their child cannot do is hear!

5 Things Parents Can Do To Support Parents Of Deaf Children

1. Be understanding of their struggle.
2. Be a listening ear, the adjustment is not always easy.
3. Ask and don’t assume.
4. Remember, their children are normal children, they just communicate differently.
5. Simply be educated and better informed so you can have empathy for an adjusting parent and child.

Communication is key to identifying with a deaf or hard of hearing child.

There are many ways to communicate with deaf children, you just have to find the correct style for your child. All children are different and so are their learning techniques.

If I cannot learn the way you teach me…Teach me the way I learn.

To celebrate National Deaf History Month, I have teamed up with Meagan Stokes who is a Diverse Learners Instructional Coach and founder of Sign With Stokes. Meagan has been working with the deaf and hard of hearing for 15 years now and gives excellent advice and insight about children with hearing disabilities. She teaches sign language to all ages and inspires, encourages and educates us all how to brighten the world by communicating with sign.

Listen below to our interview and see how Meagan is making a difference in the hearing world.

It was such a joy to speak with Meagan and be educated on individuals that are hard of hearing and different ways to communicate with them. Make sure that you contact her to sign up for sign language classes. They are a lot of fun and who does not want to learn a second language. Especially when you can do it all from the comfort of your home.

Meagan can be reached on all the links below.

Instagram:

@Kween_e

https://www.instagram.com/kween_e/

Facebook:

Kween Elizabeth

https://www.facebook.com/KweenE.Stokes

Book your sign language class here:

https://square.site/book/EJ0R9AMJV9Y92/sign-with-stokes

I hope this blog post has informed and educated you a little more as we celebrate National Deaf History Month. All children are special in their own way and having a better understanding shows how special they really are.

Talk with you soon!!

💕Donna💕