Don’t ignore your child’s emotional needs
“A lot of focus with deaf kids is on their education and how well they’re speaking, or not speaking or signing or not signing. I think sometimes the focus can be taken off the emotional health of the child. We can get so excited “Oh they said a word” - but you know if they’re miserable, what’s the point?”
Smart ways of making eye contact
“I had been given some very useful information which was: little boys play on the floor and push cars along and they don’t look at faces so that makes speech development rather more difficult. So we got a long low table, got rid of our dining table…and that was the train track.”
Being patient
“Often the first time a deaf person will hear something is when something’s repeated and may be they only hear it on the fourth repetition and someone might be scowling with frustration.”
The importance of communication
“It doesn’t matter whichever method of communication you choose, that’s for you to decide, but it is really important that there is some form of communication going on between yourself and your child.”
Deaf children need other deaf children
“I think it’s important for her to be with hearing children, but much more important to be with deaf children - and so she goes to the deaf youth club.”