Making Initial Decisions
Families with deaf and hard of hearing children face many difficult decisions. Some important things to consider about making decisions, whether you are deciding what communication method to use or to get a cochlear implant include:
- Are you making the best decision you can at this time by investigating all the information available?
- Are you making a decision that works for your child and family’s situation?
- Are you basing your decision on evidence and facts?
- Are you consulting with a variety of sources (for example, early interventionists, specialists, other parents, adults with hearing loss, current research, community service providers, specialized program service providers, etc.)
Answers to these questions vary from child to child and family to family. Discovering answers to the above questions usually involves:
- Knowing where you are now (supported by results of various assessments and your observations)
- Knowing where you want to go (your goals for your child) and how you are going to try to get there (the Individual Family Service Planning, or IFSP process)
- Regularly evaluating where you along the way and measuring development of abilities that show what is working (reassessment).
- Investigating and making adjustments necessary to reach the goals (IFSP review).
What Research Does and Does Not Tell Us
What research DOES NOT tell us is that there is ONE method of intervention that works well with ALL infants and children with hearing loss.
What research DOES tell us is that EARLY (even as early as 6 months of age makes a difference) intervention (hearing device use, counseling, designing appropriate communication goals and applying techniques and strategies to communication interactions) predicts BETTER language skills than later intervention. This is true regardless of communication mode.
“Handling Conflicting Information”
“One of the most important foundations for parents to understand at the beginning of the journey, is that the information that they will be receiving from doctors, teachers, therapists, adults who are deaf/hard of hearing and other parents may be ‘fact’ based OR ‘opinion’ based. Often this information is delivered as factual information, when in reality it is the opinion of the person presenting it. Parents of newly identified children have a tool in their arsenal for decision making when they understand they can take all information given to them, and tease out what might be true for their own situation, and what might not actually be applicable for their own child and family.”
— Janet DesGeorges
Outreach Director,
Hands & Voices (My Turn to Learn, p.18)
Hands & Voices
What works for your child is what makes the choice right. –Hands & Voices slogan
Hands & Voices is a non-profit, parent-driven national organization dedicated to supporting families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. We are non-biased about communication methodologies and believe that families can make the best choices for their child if they have access to good information and support. Our membership includes families who communicate manually and/or orally. From American Sign Language to cochlear implants, our organization represents people from all different approaches to, and experiences with, deafness or hearing loss.
For more information about an unbiased approach to early intervention communication choices: www.handsandvoices.org