Parenting and Support
What techniques do you use to get extended family members to interact and communicate with...
What techniques do you use to get extended family members to interact and communicate with your deaf or hard of hearing child?
Parents Using Spoken Language
I share with my family times when hearing is difficult for my daughter. I want them to learn that listening can be difficult in noisy situations and sometimes it is hard to follow conversations. I point out to family that sometimes the frustration she shows is because she does not understand what is being said.
We shared with our family resources to help them understand what our daughter's hearing loss was really like. We remind them that she hears best when she is near the person speaking and when she is not in noisy situations.
I discussed with them his hearing loss and how to better communicate with him. You must go to him and communicate face to face. Children who are hard of hearing or deaf children often learn visually. I taught my family that he needs to see your face. Do not get upset if he does not respond, because you need to check in with him and see if he understands, and allow him to communicate back to you. Education is the key, but don't overwhelm the family with the small details. Tell them what your child needs from them.
We encouraged them to talk to our child, not through us. We tried to insist that she answers questions and we worked hard not to answer them for her. We included her in all conversations.
On occasion we have to remind family members that our children do not hear well in noisy environments. Just pointing out to family what techniques we use like facing them directly or speaking near their cochlear implant microphones helps them to understand more clearly.
We told our family that we were going to talk every day until we were exhausted! We got Grandparents involved by reading books and playing games.
We shared a lot with our extended family. We openly talked about difficulties and frustrations he experienced with communication. When people did not look at him when they spoke, we reminded them that he needed them to do that.
We were lucky that we had family that wanted to communicate with our child. Our child has grown from using sign language (which our extended family participated in learning and practicing with us) to using all oral communication. Our family knows to make sure he sees their faces for lip reading. They go the extra mile to make sure he is included and understands!
We have explained to extended family that our children may have difficulty hearing them if they are facing away from them or if they are in a noisy environment. I think they started to realize that following our suggestions keeps them from having to repeat words or sentences.
Parents Using Sign Language:
I share with my family times when hearing is difficult for my daughter. I want them to learn that listening can be difficult in noisy situations and sometimes it is hard to follow conversations. I point out to family that sometimes the frustration she shows is because she does not understand what is being said.
We shared with our family resources to help them understand what our daughter's hearing loss was really like. We remind them that she hears best when she is near the person speaking and when she is not in noisy situations.
I discussed with them his hearing loss and how to better communicate with him. You must go to him and communicate face to face. Children who are hard of hearing or deaf children often learn visually. I taught my family that he needs to see your face. Do not get upset if he does not respond, because you need to check in with him and see if he understands, and allow him to communicate back to you. Education is the key, but don't overwhelm the family with the small details. Tell them what your child needs from them.
We encouraged them to talk to our child, not through us. We tried to insist that she answers questions and we worked hard not to answer them for her. We included her in all conversations.
On occasion we have to remind family members that our children do not hear well in noisy environments. Just pointing out to family what techniques we use like facing them directly or speaking near their cochlear implant microphones helps them to understand more clearly.
We told our family that we were going to talk every day until we were exhausted! We got Grandparents involved by reading books and playing games.
We shared a lot with our extended family. We openly talked about difficulties and frustrations he experienced with communication. When people did not look at him when they spoke, we reminded them that he needed them to do that.
We were lucky that we had family that wanted to communicate with our child. Our child has grown from using sign language (which our extended family participated in learning and practicing with us) to using all oral communication. Our family knows to make sure he sees their faces for lip reading. They go the extra mile to make sure he is included and understands!