Connecting Kids and Teens

By Elizabeth Kuhn, DeafandHoH.com

We are expanding! As another form of the already popular www.DeafandHoH.com, we are creating a new website for kids and teens to connect and learn from each other called DeafandHoHkids.com. This website is being designed to provide kids and teens with support, inspiration, and advice, as well as advocating for new opportunities and programs to get involved in. Our main goal is to create a safe place for the next generation to explore how much there is to offer, regardless of their hearing loss. We want to create a close-knit, supportive community that motivates young people to set and accomplish goals for themselves, find a positive influence or role model to inspire them, and generate an overall positive outlook on life.

We are reaching out to younger kids by including games and activities that entice them to learn. We will be featuring a cool kids section where members of the site DeafandHoHkids.com will have an article written about them, which will include their accomplishments and their future goals. Furthermore, we plan to highlight potential programs and camps/groups that kids might be interested in through a resource section. We truly hope this website can become a safe place for learning, inspiring, and motivating this youth community.

Not only do we want to reach out to younger kids, but also teenagers who are experiencing difficulty accepting their hearing loss, those who are looking for opportunities and ways to get involved, as well as empowering them through their major transitions during this stage of life. Becoming an adult is hard, and perhaps especially so when one is deaf or hard of hearing, and potentially one of the only deaf or hard of hearing kids in one’s community. It is normal for teens to think they are limited to a certain amount of success, and believing they have to reel in their dreams; however, we want to overcome this fear with them, and allow them to realizing what is possible, and that countless others are experiencing both victories and difficulties, too.

In addition, we will be including a social media aspect to our page through a compiled archive of tweets, Facebook posts, and possibly blog posts that are related to deaf and hard of hearing topics. Our main goal for this particular aspect of DeafandHoHkids.com is empowerment. Teenagers are our next generation, and we want to give them the motivation, support, and mobility to become the absolute best they can be.

Our website is currently in the design stage but progressing quickly.. It will be open for kids and teens to communicate attending either deaf or mainstream schools. We want to create a safe environment that both kids and parents feel comfortable with, so chat rooms will be always be monitored by a contributor of DeafandHOH.com. All conversations during the chat room are recorded as well, and parents are always welcome. Our team is passionate and thrilled to present what we have to offer. Stay tuned for more information, and the opening of this new website. For now, please check out www.DeafandHoH.com and join our growing community!