Promoting Positive Relationships
What two steps do you believe are most important for a family to focus on addressing in order to address potential barriers that may exist and ensure the healthy development of their child who is deaf or hard of hearing?
The two steps I believe are most important are consistent education of that child, as well as consistent encouragement and counsel. By consistent education I mean that the parent should continually be reminding the child of the barriers they will face, the people, and not leave them in the dark. However, while sharing the sad barriers of life, that no parent wants to tell their children about, they encourage constantly that they will do well and/or succeed, and also encourage them to believe that about themselves, while also advising them of steps they could think about taking to overcome those barriers and be successful.
ReplyDeleteOne step that I believe is most important is family involvement that offers a strong support system and sense of self-esteem and pride. Another step is to seek help and ask for help such as with early interventions! Early intervention can be the key to open the door for communication in a young child's life. Early intervention can also provide assistance to the family to keep them involved in their growing child's lives.
ReplyDeleteBecause I am hard of hearing, and I feel I turned out fine, I would have to assume that the approach my parents took was one of the better ones. They refused to believe that I was incapable of anything, they focused on what I could do and how I could get around not hearing like the other students. They encouraged me to show the world that I could exceed expectations, hard of hearing or not. They never acted like my hearing loss was a problem. They calmly and patiently repeated themeselves, spoke louder, incorporated nonverbal cues and asked me to repeat back if they were unsure if I was comprehending. They kept in touch with my teachers and made plans together on the best ways to help me. They provided me emotional support and made me aware of famous Deaf people who proved themselves to be exceptional, and told me there was no reason I couldn't one day be on that list for other parents to show their Deaf or Hard of Hearing children.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Sara that early intervention is SUPER important when ensuring a child's success. Early intervention not only enables early language and vocabulary development for the child, the parents are also able to be introduced to multiple resources and avenues for learning early in the child's life. I also think that it is very important for parents to learn about all avenues for schools and communication for the child. They should be presented these options over the course of time to prevent being overwhelmed. I also think that parents of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing should meet adults who are deaf or hard of hearing and gather their opinions.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Sara that early intervention is SUPER important when ensuring a child's success. Early intervention not only enables early language and vocabulary development for the child, the parents are also able to be introduced to multiple resources and avenues for learning early in the child's life. I also think that it is very important for parents to learn about all avenues for schools and communication for the child. They should be presented these options over the course of time to prevent being overwhelmed. I also think that parents of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing should meet adults who are deaf or hard of hearing and gather their opinions.
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Sara, the child would need a support system. Whether the support system be at school, home and/ or both. For example i have a friend who is deaf and growing up her mother didn't want to deal with her so she would just leave her in a room alone, because she didn't know how to communicate with her daughter. Once my friend got out of that environment and was in a supportive environment she began to get past those barriers and develop like she should have. Another step a family should take is to be patient with the child. It make take time for the child to understand, but if the family is patient it will make it easier on the child.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katie and Sara , the child always needs encouragement and early interventions. I think if families sought out early interventions then it would help with the constant education that Katie mentioned. When children get discouraged everything can crumble around that: their self-esteem, social life, education, etc. If a child receives the encouragement they desire, then it will show the child that their family will be there for them no matter what struggles in life they face.
ReplyDeleteEarly intervention should be one of the main focuses. When parents are able to get the quickest help for their child, the child gets the most benefit. Compassion and understanding will go a long way in a child's success. When the family unit is involved and are loving and encouraging, it gives the child a sense of security. This allows them to become confident and understand they can do anything they put their mind to.
ReplyDeleteI very strongly agree with everyone who has said early intervention and a support system. I know that my parents did not support me in the beginning when I was diagnosed with my hearing loss and they thought I would develop just fine without any intervention. For this reason, I struggled very hard in school in the beginning until my family came around. I know how difficult it can be for a child if these two steps are not addressed.
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