Hearing Loss & Deafness Support Group

Kids are very resiliant! I'm sorry your world has fallen beneath you, but it will turn out okay. She only has a hearing loss, which can be helped with hearing aids. I helped my neighbors through their experience when their daugther got hearing aids when she was 6 months old. They are both hearing and know nothing about Deafness or Deaf culture. Since I have been signing for 15 years, and am entering the interpreting field, they came to me. Hearing aids are good, and I liked how you described them to your daughter.

Your daughter is going to be fine. Are you and the family learning sign language? How do you feel about implanting your child?

If you daughter seems okay with it, chances are she will adapt just fine. Yes, other kids can be cruel, there's just no way around it. You'll just have to prepare your daughter for the things her peers might say to her about it. At the young age she is though, I don't think it should be a big worry at this point. I speak from experience.
I started wearing hearing aids at the age of 5. I didn't really have a full understanding of them and what they were for but I went along with the whole thing. My classmates were more curious about them than they were mean. I remember getting asked all sorts of questions about them but I don't recall getting teased about my hearing aids at that young age. Those problems didn't come until later. I went to a regular public school and being hearing impaired, it was quite a challenge for me. I dealt with being harassed by other kids (often for things that had nothing to do with my hearing aids) all through middle school. It was really rough for me, especially being that I was a very shy, introverted person.
My point is, your daughter seems to have a good attitude right now about all this. Feed and encourage that good attitude and prepare her for the possible cruelty of the other children, but I honestly don't think it's going to be a big issue for her right now. It's elementary and middle school you need to be more careful with, and how your daughter will handle that will all depend on her personality, and the adults she has in her life to help mentor and guide her. I wish you both the best of luck!

Yes a feeling of grieving is natural when you find out that your sweet child is going to be facing extra challenges in life. I have a 2year old daughter who has been wearing hearing aids for nearly a year now. She is doing great and her brothers are jealous of her purple and pink sparkly hearing aids. Many children are simply curious about them at this stage. There is a group on Yahoo, called Listen-up. It's an excellent group of parents of hearing impaired children. I am a memeber and it's a wonderful accepting place full of information and parents who have been exactly where we are.

I hope everthing goes well for you. :)

My four month old daughter wears hearin aids- and I know what you mean about your world fallin fover. You have such hihg hopes for your baby and then something like this. Other kids will probably just ask questions and be intregued.

My niece also wears hearing aids. She is twelve, and doesn't seem to mind. She started wearing them at age three. They are just a part of who she is. Infact, without them, she feals lost.

If your daughter has a god attitude about it, go with it. Feed off of that. You will both be fine.

Good luck

Aoife

There is a book called "Choices in Deafness". It is written specifically for parents of children who are deaf/hearing impaired. It discusses a lot of things, from communication modes, to school choices, and has testimonials from parents and children.

My advice is to get involved with the local Deaf Community and learn to sign. It will be fun for your family and help your daughter establish another sense of belonging and community. Is there a preschool program at a local Deaf school? They may even be better equipped to deal with her specific needs. Speech and language development is imperative at such a young age.

I work with kids all the time. I have spent time at perkins school for the blind, deaf, and multiply handicapped, i work at a day camp over the summer with kids ranging 4-12, I babysit, I have been a constant present in my cousins twin boys lives. so ill give you what I know about kids and disabilities.
make sure she ALWAYS knows that her experience, issues, whatever, are never petty problems.
Finding someone with similar problems who is a bit older to give her advice or to just talk to does wonders because there is no barrier.
She's getting picked on/out by kids in nursery school? I would get on the teachers case along with every single parent of those kids. the "he's just a kid, he doesnt understand" is simply not true. kids understand a LOT and they remember a LOT, they just have to be told -thats what a lot of people dont know.
She's a kid just like all the rest of them, there's no need for her to feel different.

I have to commend you for all that YOU have gone through with this. I am HOH, have PTSD, GAD, glaucoma, and was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at the end of 2nd grade. I know it has a huge affect on parents and that is often times overlooked. You have done so much for her already, she may have rough times, but she will come out stronger than you could ever imagine.