"I'm BORED!" Here's Help For Kids With Hearing Loss

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This mini-poster is a terrific home and family resource to post on your fridge. It provides ideas for kids to find something to do and bust the boredom! This was originally created at the beginning of the Covid and long months of quarantine but serves a great purpose especially as the long dog days of summer begin.

If this isn't helpful, you can try what I did when my girls when were young. If they couldn't find something worthwhile to do I would happily assign chores. 😉 Parenting is hard but remember that you are your child's first and best teacher. Even on your worst day, ninety percent of parenting is being there. So, good for you. You’re doing a great job.

Remember it may be hard for kids to decide what to do because their time is usually so structured that they aren’t used to much “free time” and finding fun things to do. School typically takes up much of their days and downtime is often screen time. Thus, many children and teens aren’t experienced in looking inside themselves for direction. If there is no one to play with they may have not yet discovered things they like to do by themselves. 

Parenting is hard but remembers that you are your child's first and best teacher.
Even on your worst day, ninety percent of parenting is being there.
So, good for you. You’re doing a great job!

❤ You'll love all the Listen With Lynn FREE resources including the Boredom Buster reminder!  

➼ Click here: FREEBIES!

The Secrets Beneath the Palm Tree by parent Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen

I am excited to introduce my guest blogger, Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen, a parent of a grown son with profound hearing loss who uses listening and spoken language.  Angeliki shares that, September is International Deaf Awareness Month! This September of. 2020 is not like every other year. This September of 2020 is GOING BACK or NOT GOING BACK to school month. There are global changes and different ways of approaching the current pandemic crisis. Fortunately, books can be used in the same ways as always. So can the internet.

Angeliki wrote The Secrets Beneath the Palm Tree, a book geared to address children that are deaf and hard of hearing. She shares the her story can bring joy to each child who encounters hearing loss at a young age, whether it’s their own or someone else’s. This book is veritable documentation on effective communication tactics; it also imparts information on hearing dogs, friendships, and much more. A lip-reading game is described in the book. Today, because of COVID-19 every one is required, in a group situation, to wear a mask. The game cannot be played with regular masks. Instead, a smart adaptation would be to use clear masks, a fun way for all children to understand their necessity.

A reflection from the past. I am the mother of a now-adult deaf son, diagnosed with a hearing loss at age three. Initially, he was aided with a bi-cross hearing aid. The very difficult diagnostic journey lasted two-and-a-half years. After that we were very lucky, we worked with several dedicated professionals in the field, and my son developed spoken language. At age 12, he suddenly lost his residual hearing overnight. Soon after, he got his cochlear implant. While I cherish all the miraculous technological advantages and the related science behind them, we all know the limitations of existing assistive hearing devices. Good communication tactics are therefore so essential.

For a long time, every September was a very stressful month for me, simply because my son was attending mainstream school and he would start a new year. How I wish I had a fun book like this, a book of hearing loss would have been most helpful, to introduce him and explain his hearing loss, to his class. That was when I conceptualized the theme of my book and the fact that we have to educate “hearing” children about deafness. It took me many years of hard work to bring it to fruition. By then, my son was already in college.

Today, I am happy to say that my book is published in two languages. My native language is Greek. Naturally, the book was first published in Greek. The English version came later. I have always loved children’s literature. That is how I learned English, by reading illustrated children’s books. As a doting grandmother, I continuously share my love of illustrated children’s books with my beloved grandkids and I am passionately involved with children’s literature in my retirement years. But I have to confess that my favorite books are the ones that have protagonists with hearing loss!

The Secrets Beneath the Palm Tree was released in February of 2019. Today it is available in paperback, hardcover and on Kindle. It is a rich story embedded with tips for children, educators, speech language pathologists, audiologists and others. It is a must to add to your library.

Thank you Anglelki for your heart, journey and words of wisdom. I am proud to share you and your son’s story with my readers and followers.

The Joys Of Raising Children Who Are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

A Movement to Celebrate the Magic of Raising Children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Fostering Joy is a family/professional effort celebrating the joy of raising a child who is deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH).  Fostering Joy provides support and resources for families and professionals to positively help the growth and development of a child who is D/HH. Loving and supportive families provide a strong base for social and emotional health and well-being. Focusing on special moments that bring joy helps families put aside concerns and focus on their natural and loving parent-child connections

Hands and Voices shares that research says…

• Parents who report experiencing high levels of stress tend to have deaf or hard of hearing children who have greater levels of emotional difficulties and reduced socio-emotional development. (Hintermair, 2006). 

• Among families with deaf or hard of hearing children, taking care of the special needs of family members and having insufficient relief from stress were rated as having the greatest negative impact on Family Quality of Life. (Jackson, Wegner & Turnbull, 2010).

• An overview of emotional availability of caregivers toward infants and toddlers has shown that the extent to which caregivers can attend, attune, and foster engagement with their infants and toddlers will influence the child’s social and emotional development. (Bornstein, Suwalsky & Breakstone, 2012).

• Positive mother-child interactions are reinforced by social networks of families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. (Meadow-Orlans, Mertens & Sass-Lehrer, 2003).

• Parent attitudes, parent involvement, social support, expectations, and problem-solving skills are related to academic and social development of children who are deaf. (Calderon & Greenberg, 2011).

Share/download this Family Tip Sheet.

Connect: Parents you are invited  to join a closed Fostering Joy Facebook group and follow Instagram@DHHFosteringJoy and use #DHHFosteringJoy