New Language to use with Parents

[missywinks]

Hi all,

I went to an Early Intervention seminar last year at Gallaudet and I can't remember much from the seminar (ha, ha) however, I remember the language that the presenters used and it had a profound impact on me. I'd like to share the information with you.

For professionals who work with families whose baby was recently diagnosed with a "hearing loss", it is important that they are sensitive with their approach especially with the language that they use.

For example:
Instead of communication options, they use language opportunities. Parents should no longer feel they have to choose one method. They can choose oral and ASL if they want to. The word "option" tends to make families feel they have to pick one or the another.

Another example, for many years professionals have been using "hearing loss" but now, Gallaudet is encouraging people to use "hearing levels" instead. I discussed this with one mother who has a deaf child and she felt that the term hearing level was more positive than hearing loss. She felt that the word "loss" was negative and it focusses on what the baby cannot do rather than what she/he can.

I am interested to know what others think.

 

[BecLak]

Missywinks, I agree. The way we term things often depicts our perspective on things as well. Before you mentioned it here, I had already started using the term 'hearing level' as it steers away from deafness being seen as negative. Amidst all the debates on terminology here on AD, I truly believe that we all can make an impact in swinging the tide of negative terms that are commonly used in society, to positive ones.

 

[flip]

Interesting. I'm all in for "levels" if that means that those who are totally deaf, are "high level", while those with little loss are "low level".

Thanks for bringing this up, something to think about.

 

[inmate23]

Hi all,

Another example, for many years professionals have been using "hearing loss" but now, Gallaudet is encouraging people to use "hearing levels" instead. I discussed this with one mother who has a deaf child and she felt that the term hearing level was more positive than hearing loss. She felt that the word "loss" was negative and it focusses on what the baby cannot do rather than what she/he can.

I am interested to know what others think.

This is great it is more positive

Another one i use alot because of my CAPD is "listening levels/profile" something courage people to do when getting aids is to get a CAPD test

I want another pure tone audiogram with my moulds in. My current aiding choice.

 

[drphil]

Does relabeling a 'deaf" person with having "zero hearing level "change one's actual condition? What happened to audiograms?

Being bilateral deaf-I don't think so.

Implanted A B Harmony activated Aug/07

 

[missywinks]

Does relabeling a 'deaf" person with having "zero hearing level "change one's actual condition? What happened to audiograms?

Being bilateral deaf-I don't think so.

Implanted A B Harmony activated Aug/07

No, not at all. This is just a new language to be used with parents who have recently discovered their child is deaf, just to make their grieving process a bit easier.

 

[missywinks]

Audiograms are still being used. It is just how you communicate the results to the families.

 

[jillio]

Hi all,

I went to an Early Intervention seminar last year at Gallaudet and I can't remember much from the seminar (ha, ha) however, I remember the language that the presenters used and it had a profound impact on me. I'd like to share the information with you.

For professionals who work with families whose baby was recently diagnosed with a "hearing loss", it is important that they are sensitive with their approach especially with the language that they use.

For example:
Instead of communication options, they use language opportunities. Parents should no longer feel they have to choose one method. They can choose oral and ASL if they want to. The word "option" tends to make families feel they have to pick one or the another.

Another example, for many years professionals have been using "hearing loss" but now, Gallaudet is encouraging people to use "hearing levels" instead. I discussed this with one mother who has a deaf child and she felt that the term hearing level was more positive than hearing loss. She felt that the word "loss" was negative and it focusses on what the baby cannot do rather than what she/he can.

I am interested to know what others think.

I agree with this completely. One has to meet people where they are in situations such as this. There are those on AD that assume that my communication with individuals here is the same as my communication with parents with whom I work. Nothing could be further from the truth. The parents who come onto this forum, presumably, have come a greater distance in their journey regarding their child's deafness than a parent who has recently received a diagnosis.

However, I also believe that honesty is necessary in working with the parents of deaf children. So many start out with completely unreasonable expectations regarding technology, etc. and without an understanding of the ways in which their child has already developed visual strengths, and the ways in which their deafness will impact every domain of their child's life. To simply reinforce these unrealistic expectations only serves to do harm to the child. It is important to communictate to parents that their greiving is a perfectly natural and healing process, and to help them understand that their feelings of grief are not a negative reflection on the way they feel about their child, but simply a letting go of images they have created for their child.

When my own son was diagnosed, the term "hearing impaired" had just become vogue. I personally found "deaf" to have much more clarity, but perhaps that is because I had taken the time to educate myself beyond what the "experts" were telling me. Many parents are simply not ready for such definative language in the beginning, and some never are ready.

 

[messymama]

I find Non Violent Communication is a great tool to talk to... Whoever. I'd LOVE professionals of any kind to use it when it comes to situations like this... Doesn't mean that you can't be sincere, but it helps keeping in mind the feelings and emotions of the person you are talking to. And your own. People often think parents are complaining, but they only need their feelings to be recognized and accepted, and then they're ready to move further. This happens to me very often, and I hate people trying to get me out of my bad feelings in those moments, because denying them makes me impossible to get out of there! Just a "I see you feel depresses and worried" is often enough to make me "pheeeeeeeeeeeew yes" and move on.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

I agree with this completely. One has to meet people where they are in situations such as this. There are those on AD that assume that my communication with individuals here is the same as my communication with parents with whom I work. Nothing could be further from the truth. The parents who come onto this forum, presumably, have come a greater distance in their journey regarding their child's deafness than a parent who has recently received a diagnosis.

However, I also believe that honesty is necessary in working with the parents of deaf children. So many start out with completely unreasonable expectations regarding technology, etc. and without an understanding of the ways in which their child has already developed visual strengths, and the ways in which their deafness will impact every domain of their child's life. To simply reinforce these unrealistic expectations only serves to do harm to the child. It is important to communictate to parents that their greiving is a perfectly natural and healing process, and to help them understand that their feelings of grief are not a negative reflection on the way they feel about their child, but simply a letting go of images they have created for their child.

When my own son was diagnosed, the term "hearing impaired" had just become vogue. I personally found "deaf" to have much more clarity, but perhaps that is because I had taken the time to educate myself beyond what the "experts" were telling me. Many parents are simply not ready for such definative language in the beginning, and some never are ready.

I agree completely with this, but especially, the last sentence. I've seen that for myself.

 

[jillio]

I find Non Violent Communication is a great tool to talk to... Whoever. I'd LOVE professionals of any kind to use it when it comes to situations like this... Doesn't mean that you can't be sincere, but it helps keeping in mind the feelings and emotions of the person you are talking to. And your own. People often think parents are complaining, but they only need their feelings to be recognized and accepted, and then they're ready to move further. This happens to me very often, and I hate people trying to get me out of my bad feelings in those moments, because denying them makes me impossible to get out of there! Just a "I see you feel depresses and worried" is often enough to make me "pheeeeeeeeeeeew yes" and move on.

Of course your bad feelings, your frustration, and your feelings, at times, of being overwhelmed need to be recognized and validated. Just not endorsed as the way it will always be. Feeling have to be recognized in order to be dealt with. That is when you tell a parent, "I understand what you are feeling, and it is very normal at this point in time. Feel it, and work through it in the following ways." Where parents run into trouble is when they refuse to admit the "negative" feelings and insist that they are "fine" and are handling this all with expertise.