Minnesota Hands and Voices

If you are a parent just starting on your journey, knowing what to do next may seem confusing. A "roadmap" has been created to guide parents who are unfamiliar with what lies ahead.

MN Department of Health Parent Roadmap

Besides knowing where to go, MN Hands & Voices has teamed up with local experts to conduct educational workshops for new parents. View the recordings of these discussions here:

Next Steps: Understanding Special Education Webinar

Next Steps: Interactive Discussion with Medical Professionals Webinar

An important first step towards becoming a good advocate for your child is to understand his/her hearing level. Your child’s clinical audiologist is a great resource and can describe the type and level of hearing loss and its impact on speech perception.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has a tool called “Questions to Ask Your Child’s Audiologist.” You can bring this to your audiologist and take notes. Your child’s educational audiologist should help you understand the impact of hearing loss in the classroom. Linking both the clinical and educational audiologist to one another will also be very helpful.

This "What is an Audiogram?" animation is another helpful resource.

This program tries to stimulate what hearing loss or aid from a cochlear implant sound like.

Deciding how to communicate with your child who is deaf or hard of hearing can be complex. Parents new to this journey may need additional assistance in determining what works best for their child and family. Help is available through professionals, parents, adults who themselves are deaf or hard of hearing and others.

Here are a few additional resources to consider:

EHDI Decision Guide

Hands & Voices: Communication Considerations

The Book of Choice, which includes these Considerations, is available for loan through the MN Hands & Voices lending library for Minnesota parents, made available to families of young children newly identified with hearing loss, and available for purchase through Hands & Voices.

Beginnings Book

This book is available for loan in the MN Hands &
Voices lending library for Minnesota parents, is made available to families of young newly identified children, or available for purchase through Beginnings, Inc.

Most experts agree the best way to learn sign language is from a native sign language user. Many resources exist to support your on-going skill development. One resource is MN Hands & Voices' own lending library.

Hands & Voices: ASL Information

Hands & Voices: Signed Exact English Information

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division (DHHS) is a great source for information about sign language mentors, classes and other resources.

There are also many online dictionaries which provide videos of each sign by a native user.
ASL Browser
ASL Pro
Life Print
Fun Brain
Hand Speak

Cued Speech is a mode of communication using the mouth and hand to visually distinguish the building blocks (phonemes) of a spoken language to promote the development of language and literacy visually for those who do not receive sufficient input through listening or assistive devices. The cues represent the phonemes of English language.

Hands & Voices: Cued Speech Information

National Cued Speech Association

MN Hands & Voices is a rich, diverse community of families. By becoming active in our social events and educational workshops, parents, children and siblings can meet one another and share experiences. Our FOCUS newsletter is a great way to keep abreast of those opportunities and many more in the community. Your child's Teacher of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing can help you link with other families within the same school district and social or educational activities may also be available through your child's school or district. Our Parent Guides are also eager to individually introduce families to one another. Contact your local Parent Guide for more assistance.

If you are a parent or professional acting on behalf of a parent, and would like to be connected to another parent, please complete this form and send it to:

MN Hands & Voices
Lifetrack Resources
709 University Avenue West
St Paul, MN 55104
Or send via email to MNHV@lifetrackresources.org 

PACER’s mission is to “expand opportunities and enhance the quality of life of children and young adults with disabilities and their families, based on the concept of parents helping parents.” PACER focuses on educational rights, with programs addressing special needs for all stages of childhood and all disabilities. Services include: staff support to answer questions and offer one-on-one help, publications, workshops for parents, legislative information, and a wide variety of programs such as early childhood, multicultural services, Health and Information Advocacy Center, and the Simon Technology Center.

Hearing aids can be a considerable expense for any family. When insurance coverage is in question,Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services provides this great resource:

MN Hearing Aid Insurance Law & Appeal Packet

Hearing Aid Financial Resources

PEPNet's Achieving Goals: Career Stories of Individuals Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Families looking for adult role models for their children will benefit by attending events meant for an audience of adults with hearing loss. The benefits of children interacting with adults is priceless.
Families can find great events listed in our FOCUS newsletter (link)
Other great resources for events are:
TCDeaf.com
HLAA in our Resource Directory
Another great resource for Deaf Mentors is available here:
DHHS Deaf Mentor Project

Considering a cochlear implant for your child is a deeply personal decision. Some families would never entertain the idea, while others actively seek this option, and yet others may feel conflicted. Gathering lots of input from experts (such as your child’s audiologist, both clinical and educational), other families, adults who are deaf, and other trusted sources are all important. Not all children are candidates and many factors need to be considered. Similar to choosing how to communicate with your child, only your family will know if the decision is right. MN Hands & Voices staff can help you get in contact with implant centers, as well as other families and adults who have explored this option.

Even though some people believe children with only one good hearing ear (unilateral hearing loss) will be fine, they are not fine.

Children with unilateral hearing loss are ten times more likely to develop learning difficulties when compared to children with two normal hearing ears.  Getting information about how to help your child is critical.  The good news is there are resources available.  See this brochure from the Minnesota Department of Health and consider joining this on-line parent-to-parent community supporting children w/ unilateral hearing loss.

There is also a very active yahoo group moderated by Teresa Kazemir (BC H & Voices) and Chresta Brinkman (CO Hands & Voices). There are many questions about audiology, school issues, microtia/atresia, assessment, social development.  Parents must set up a yahoo account to join (free) and then they can elect to see the messages one at a time through their regular email account, a yahoo email account, or received as a daily "digest" of emails, in case there are more than one in a day. The group can be found by clicking here.

Family Gatherings Holiday Tips

http://www.lifetrackresources.org/services/dmfp

A new video about how to take care of your valuable hearing aids is now available. It is called “Daily Use and Care of Hearing Aids” and it has voiceovers and captions.

This video provides information on how to make sure that hearing aids are well-maintained and work properly. The video can be used by hearing aid users, their family members, and service providers such as health care professionals and long-term care providers.

Watch the video at http://media.dhs.state.mn.us/dhhs/HACare/Care_Hearing_Aid/Video_TS/VTS_01_1.vob.

It was produced by the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division (DHHSD).