by Brianne Braun
A little over a year ago, we welcomed Aurelia, a beautiful, red-haired, baby girl into our family. Although my husband Dan is Deaf, our son Argyle was born hearing, so we were surprised when it turned out that Aurelia was born deaf. This started us down the brand new path of raising a deaf child.
As we started to navigate through the world of early intervention services, we felt the need to have greater connection with other parents. I checked into what was currently available and noticed that there wasn’t an online forum specifically for parents with young deaf or hard of hearing children. That got me thinking about setting something up…
The result is a Facebook group called “BC Parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children Aged 0-5”, and it currently has almost 40 members from around the province. This is a closed group, so it’s a safe place for families to connect with each other, share their experiences, ask questions and receive support from other parents who are on similar journeys. There is also an Events section, which highlights activities taking place throughout the province that families might be interested in.
The group doesn’t advocate for any particular philosophy or communication approach. It doesn’t matter with which of the three early intervention agencies you register, all parents or guardians of young deaf and hard of hearing children are welcome. Please consider joining, and help to spread the word to other families around the province. We all look forward to meeting you!
How to Join
You can search on Facebook for the group name “BC Parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children Aged 0-5” or you can just click the direct link below:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/853918531357842/
Once you’re on the page, you simply click on the ‘Join Group’ button.
If you have any questions, or difficulties joining, you can contact me via email at bcdhhkids@gmail.com.
Editor’s Note:
The “BC Parents of Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children Aged 0-5” Facebook group is an independent forum that is not directly affiliated with BC Hands & Voices. That said, we serve the same community and there is a strong overlap in our membership (and philosophy). We are happy to spread the word about this social media group to you!
