Need Family-to-Family Support?
Whether your child was just identified with a hearing loss, or you are just going through the testing, or you are a seasoned parent just looking for support & information to help your child thrive, welcome!
The Family Leadership in Language and Learning Project of Hands & Voices is here to support your journey. We want to connect you with direct family-to-family support in your area. Please see listing below for the family leader or family based organization in your state/territory.
For Family to Family Support Programs/Resources in your state or Territories, explore:
- AG Bell: A National organization around since 1890
- Deafchildren.org The American Society for Deaf Children (ASDC) is committed to empowering diverse families with deaf children and youth by embracing full access to language-rich environments through mentoring, advocacy, resources, and collaborative networks.
- www.familyvoices.org Family Voices aims to achieve family-centered care for all children and youth with special health care needs and/or disabilities.
- www.handsandvoices.org Hands & Voices, a parent driven family support and advocacy organization that provides unbiased support. click on map for support resources in your location.
- The National Cued Speech Association: The National Cued Speech Association champions effective communication, language development and literacy through the use of Cued Speech.
The Hands & Voices Military Project
The Hands & Voices Military Project believes that together through awareness, collaboration, and support, we can aide in the timely support for active duty and retired armed forces families raising children who are deaf or hard of hearing. The project aims to connect your family to your local Hands & Voices Chapter to help you feel prepared to navigate through each new duty station. The hope is parents will find more ease in transitioning the medical and educational homes for their children with this connection. There is also a growing support group on Facebook, specifically for military families with children with hearing loss: Hands & Voices: Military Family Support.
A listing of state/territory level family-based organizations and family leaders partnering with their EHDI Program
More resources that may support your journey:
Hands & Voices “Virtual Waiting Room”
This site was created for families with children who have been referred to or are in the care of an audiologist and who are receiving those services through technology or “telehealth.” Much of this information is useful for families who are preparing for onsite visits as well. Instead of sitting in an actual waiting room at a clinic, families may be at home or a remote location waiting to connect with an audiologist through the internet. What families may lack, however, is some of the information and resources that often are built into an in-person waiting room experience. And that is what we are recreating here: unbiased information, resources, and connections for families as they embark or continue their journey with their child. The Virtual Waiting Room includes: A video about the importance of next steps when a child is referred for more testing after a screening, a guidebook for parents about audiology and telehealth, questions to ask an audiologist, help understanding a child’s audiogram, help making decisions about communication, connections to family-to-family support from trained parent leaders, explanations of support offered by a variety of professionals in addition to a child’s audiologist, and resources to promote health and well-being for family and child.
Experience with Teletherapy from a Mom That Has Been There & Done That
If you are considering and/or receiving teletherapy, get some insights and tips from this mom by watching this short video.
Videos In English & Spanish
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NEW RESOURCE!8 Reasons to say YES to Early Intervention for your Child who is Deaf/Hard of Hearing New infographic resource to share with families on the importance of Early Intervention as soon as you have a confirmed diagnosis. |
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Maximizing Your Child’s Visual Access Cómo maximizar el cceso visual de su hijo - Spanish Version |
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A Parent’s guide to the JCIH Supplement. This Parent’s Guide was developed by the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Parent to Parent Committee, which is made up of parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing as well as a diverse group of professionals who support families in EI and beyond. |
| Resources below are on the CDC website https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hearingloss/freematerials.html | |
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CDC – Decision Guide to Communication Choices |
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CDC – Making a Plan for Your Child |
