Saturday, December 29, 2007

My presentation with Janet

Here's the description of the presentation that I will be doing with Janet (my idol!) Can't wait!


"Hey, What About Us?" - Supporting Families of Young Children Who are Hard of
Hearing


Authors/Presenters: Janet DesGeorges, Melissa Wagner

Room: Grand Ballroom A – 1st Presentation

30 Minutes

For families whose young babies and children are identified as hard of hearing, the support
needed as they journey through the EHDI system often brings with it a myriad of questions and
unique considerations when sorting through information and decision making. Assumptions are
often made about children who fall under the “mild – moderate” range of hearing loss by both
professionals and parents. This session will be presented by two parents of children who are hard of hearing, and will discuss the journey from the standpoint of the emotional reaction to the
“news”…to communication decision making…to transition/school planning from the viewpoint
of the “hard of hearing” experience.

One of my favorite songs and Anna

Hey all...I've been thinking a lot about my upcoming presentation for New Orleans and I wanted to pass along a little of what I presented when I was in Chapel Hill, NC. The above song is by a group called Nickel Creek. My sister Samantha got me started on them and we've attended at least 3 of their concerts (or is it more, sis?) Anyways, this song I posted is called This Side. It reminds me of Anna. As I was thinking of things to write about for my presentation, I think of how my journey with hearing loss has taken me from being scared to being totally at peace with how life's path has changed. The lyrics talk about it being foreign on this side and to me, that represents how I felt. It didn't seem right, like we were somewhere we had never been and people were talking in a language we didn't understand. There's a line that says, "There's no path to follow once you're here. You climb up the slide and then you slide down the stairs." There is no path for parents that have a child born with a disability. No one way is the right way, but whatever choices you make for your family are the ones that are right for you. (Haha! To all my H&V readers, you know where I got that statement!!) So, anyways...I need to get back to working on my presentation. :-)