Several years ago, I was putting together a website for parents of deaf and hard of hearing children in Illinois and surfing the internet for agencies and organizations that served families. I came across an organization that I had never heard of before: Hands & Voices. Their motto was simple, "What works for your child is what makes the choice right."
I instantly felt at home.
Intrigued, I had to explore more. "Welcome," it said. "Hands & Voices is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families and their children who are deaf or hard of hearing, as well as the professionals who serve them. We are a parent-driven, parent/professional collaborative group that is unbiased towards communication modes and methods. Our diverse membership includes those who are deaf, hard of hearing, and hearing impaired and their families who communicate orally, with signs, cue, and/or combined methods. We exist to help our children reach their highest potential."
Yes, I was definitely home. Here was an organization that reflected my views about deaf and hard of hearing children--that one size/communication method did not fit all. I knew this from raising my own deaf and hard of hearing children. Through the years, I met families using different communication methods. Some families cued, some used American Sign Language, some used Signed English, some used an Auditory/Oral or Auditory Verbal method. I knew I liked this organization from the first paragraph.
So I got involved.
I'm a board member of Hands & Voices and I run the Illinois Hands & Voices organization. In the past four years, we have seen tremendous growth in Hands & Voices across the country and into the world. What started out as a simple parent organization in Colorado is now an organization with chapters in many states. Hands & Voices produces a quarterly newsletter, The Communicator, with over 5,000 readers. Many of the articles produced in newsletters over the years can be found under Articles of Interest.
One of the projects that Hands & Voices is working on is to set up a Guide-By-Your-Side program in many states to provide follow up services to parents with newly-identified babies who are deaf and hard of hearing. The program features a on-biased approach to sharing information and the collaboration with deaf and hard of hearing adult mentors.
For more information about Hands & Voices, especially the non-biased approach: The Hands & Voices Story.
