Hearing Households, Deaf Children

Part of our Fissures series.

Congratulations, you’ve gotten past the diaper phase for all three of your kids and you’ve selected a communication mode for the one in the middle. Your bright-eyed boy is ready for Kindergarten, or is he?

Enrollment for his elder sister was a breeze. She was excited for school, ready to explore the world beyond Sesame Street and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, just like Dora! A quick meeting with the school staff and a few signatures was all it took to set your firstborn’s feet on the path of learning.

Now you get to learn about accommodations, Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), and the differing perspectives on how best to educate your deaf or hard-of-hearing child. Schools and instructors have come a long way when it comes to catering to uncommon kids. Yet, whatever communication mode you’ve agreed upon, it will quickly become clear that one size does not fit all. Meanwhile, your toddler’s had about enough of this IEP meeting, and you’re out of snacks and entertainment. Meltdown to commence in 5…4…3…

Part of the challenge is that while Big Bird, Daniel, and Dora have been introducing children to colors, numbers, animals, and common manners, there’s comparatively nothing available for kids who can’t hear. That’s been changing in the last 20 years, and of course we’re going to offer Dr. Wonder’s Workshop as an option (and a good one!), but the characters on our shows don’t teach colors and numbers. That’s not their objective.

Fortunately, others have stepped up to support parents and children through the early years of education. See our Other Links page for an unbiased list of resources.

Raising kids is a wild and wonderful adventure — especially if, like our sample family, you’ve got three little ones to chase around at the same time. Stress happens, but with God and quality resources tailored to your childrens’ needs, you can look forward to successful healthy adults.

Then the journey starts again with grandkids!