Guide By Your Side is a Hands & Voices program that is offered free to families in British Columbia as part of the BC Early Hearing Program.
What is Guide By Your Side?
The Hands & Voices Guide By Your Side program provides parent to parent support for families of infants and young children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Many parents find it helpful to speak with another parent who has been through something similar.
The Power of Parent to Parent
Every family with a child who is deaf or hard of hearing has a different story to tell, yet we all share a common bond. Parent Guides understand the importance of parents supporting and learning from one another. Families who are just beginning the journey can learn from experienced parents – the challenges as well as the joys of raising a child who is deaf or hard of hearing. Looking back, many parents regret that they did not connect with other parents sooner.
The Role of the Parent Guide
Guide By Your Side Parent Guides are there to support families by listening and sharing stories about their own experiences raising a child who is deaf or hard of hearing. Parent Guides can also share practical advice a parent learns over the years (e.g. how did we keep those hearing aids on our baby’s ears and out of his mouth?).
Parent Guides are trained to support families without bias towards any particular communication approach (e.g. oral, sign, cued speech, combined methods, etc.). We believe in the Hands & Voices slogan, “What works for your child is what makes the choice right.”
Who is Eligible for the Guide By Your Side program?
In British Columbia, Guide By Your Side is offered to families of infants and very young children recently found to have hearing loss through newborn hearing screening. For more information, please contact the Parent Coordinator of the Guide By Your Side program: gbys@cw.bc.ca.
Parent to parent support for families of older children is available through early intervention agencies and parent organizations. For more information, please contact BC Hands & Voices: info@bchandsandvoices.com.