Next Steps

98% of D/HH children are born to hearing parents, who do not know much about hearing differences and what it means for their child and family. As the professional who delivered this news to you talked further, you may not have heard much of what he or she was saying. In your mind, questions may have started to churn.

Let's walk through some options, together.

Stages of Grief

I remember the day my son was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss in both ears. I don't remember much of what the doctor was telling us, other than my son would need hearing aids, and, eventually cochlear implants if we wanted him to have access to sound. The months, and if I'm honest, years after that diagnosis were a blur of doctors offices, and therapy appointments, while we tried to understand our new path. We dove into American Sign Language classes, Auditory Verbal Therapy, and audiology appointments.

We expected to follow a grief pattern like the smooth curve, but in reality, many of us follow the chaotic one on the right. Some of us celebrate another child who is D/HH, without grieving at all. And whatever path you take, it's okay. It's okay to cry and scream, but don't get stuck there, because there are decisions that need to be made. Let us walk alongside you as you take the first of many new steps.

-Jami Fries, Executive Director of Colorado Hands & Voices

and parent to a deaf son.

Loss/Hurt

Adjustment

Panic

Fear

Anger

Denial

Numbness

Shock

Helping Others

Affirmation

Hope

New Strengths

New Relationships

Depression

Guilt/Isolation

Contact or referral to local Colorado Home Inclusion Program Coordinator (CHIP Coordinator) & Early intervention Colorado (Part C)

The audiologist who diagnosed your child’s hearing loss should refer you to the CHIP system. CHIP Coordinators are available for families with children who are up to three years old. If you have not been connectwith with a CHIP Coordinator, you can contact the Early Education Consultant, Ashley Renslow at arenslow@csdb.org.

The CHIP Coordinator can help by:

Initial in-home visit(s) at which time communication options are discussed and demonstrated and programs specific to the needs of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the community are explained.
Emotional support is offered.
Assistance in securing funding for intervention services and hearing aids.
Connections to other resources within the community.
Service Coordination.
Printed materials and videos shared with families.
Careful assessment of your child’s developmental progress during early intervention.
- FAMILY Assessment, LENA assessments, and more
Representation at IFSP meetings and IEP meetings.
Consultation with school districts around transition issues.
Connection to the state-wide parent support group, Colorado Families for Hands & Voices.
Connect you with Early Intervention Colorado

*You have the right to service coordination through Part C of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act. The service coordinator helps parents obtain the services they need, facilitates timely delivery of these services, and helps the family to coordinate the services that are provided by different professionals from various agencies. It is the responsibility of each state to develop a system of service coordination to meet the needs of families.

Resources

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Farsi

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Evaluation by an E.N.T. – Otologist, Otolaryngologist or Ear, Nose, Throat (ENT) Physician

During the diagnostic process, your audiologist will get medical clearance by referring you to an ENT.

The ENT can help by:

Confirming that there is not a medically treatable condition in your child’s Outer ear or middle ear that is causing the hearing loss.
Answering your questions about medical or surgical treatment of different types of hearing loss.
Scheduling further procedures (i.e. urinalysis, CT scan) to rule out other causes of the hearing loss.
Signing a form authorizing use of hearing aids with your child (required by law in some states before hearing aids can be fit on a child).
Placing ventilation, or PE, tubes in your child’s eardrums if he has chronic middle ear disease that is not resolved by antibiotics in a timely way.

Connect with Colorado Families for Hands & Voices

Parents report that the parent-to-parent connection is one of the most valuable resources and support when starting the journey of parenting a child who is deaf or hard of hearing.

Colorado Families for Hands & Voices is here to support you. Explore our website
- Colorado Chapter: https://co-hv.org
- Hands & Voices Headquarters website: https://handsandvoices.org/
Connect with a Parent Guide through our Guide By Your Side Program

Learn About Communication Options and Programs

Communicating with your child is of the utmost importance! Two-way communication, responding to your child and encouraging your child to respond to you, is the key to your child’s language development. There are different ways to communicate and different philosophies about communication. As you think about how your family communicates now with your child and how you would like to communicate with him or her in the future, you are thinking about the communication methodology/mode issue. The best way to decide which approach to communication will be best for your child and family is to be open about all the modes, ask questions, talk to adults who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing and other families with children who have a hearing loss, and discuss, read, and obtain as much information you can about the various methods.

The people who you come in contact with (the CO-Hear, Hands & Voices, other parents, Audiologists) etc. will all give you input and support as you go through this process.

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Discuss the use of Hearing Aids with a pediatric Audiologist including information on loaner hearing aids.

“At a time when we were feeling paralyzed with grief over our infant son’s deafness, it was extremely helpful to be handed the loaner aids so early & without a long process. Thank you!”
– Parent quote

Your audiologist will discuss, the types, brands, costs, and benefits of hearing aids and other amplification

options. Hearing aid loaner banks support these needs (Coverstone, 2007):

Immediate access to amplification
Amplification trial before cochlear implantation
Delays while authorizing third party payment
Short term needs while awaiting medical intervention

If you are concerned about covering the price of your child's hearing aids,

consider reading our Parent Funding Toolkit.

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Learn about assistive listening devices (such as DM systems, cochlear implants, etc.)

Each child has unique needs that may benefit from technology. Parents have choices to make to promote the healthy development of their child. Amplification devices such as hearing aids, BAHAs, cochlear implants, and DM systems (you might also hear FM, RM or HAT- Hearing Assistive Devices) that work with aids and implants are available to children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Other technology options include, but are not limited to: captioning, videophones, and flashing lights for clocks, doorbells, phones. You will benefit from ongoing support as you determine the technology needs of your child, secure funding to pay for the device/s and maximize the benefits they offer. The choices that are made often change over time.

Hearing aid loaners are often available on a temporary basis, while you work to obtain your child’s permanent device/s. Your audiologist will be able to tell you more about this.

Also talk with D/HH adults for personal experiences, that are open to sharing their unbiased perspective. If you are looking for D/HH adults to talk to, please ask your CHIP Coordinator, or your COHV Parent Guide to connect you.

Resources

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