146 working together to help children who are deaf
One group of parents in India worked to bring hearing aid services to
their town, so that children would have trained health workers nearby to
fit, repair, and maintain their hearing aids.
A parents’ group or village health association can invite organizations
or people from outside the community to visit the village to start new
services, give training, or lead discussions. Or the community can collect
money to send one person for training. This person can then train others
when she returns.
Form support groups
Families of deaf children are
important resources for each other.
By organizing regular meetings, they
can help each other with problems
they face, and share suggestions
of new ideas and opportunities for
their children. This can be a great
help, not only in organizing for their
children’s needs, but also in giving each
other support as they overcome challenges.
The community can help this happen by providing space for meetings
(for example, at a local temple, church, or mosque) and by letting people
know about the meetings, so that other families can join.
Families with deaf children face many similar challenges and experience
similar joys. See Chapter 14 for examples of how parents can start a group
where they share feelings, information, and ideas to make a community
more supportive for their children.
Other community organizations can give support
Many local community-based groups such as women’s groups, parents’
groups, farmers’ groups, or credit or income generation groups can
provide support to parents of children who have difficulty hearing.
For example, families may need extra time to teach and look after a
child who cannot hear well. This might make it difficult to find paid work
outside the home. A community-based group could help parents find ways
to earn an income. Community-based groups such as a mother’s group
can also help deaf children get hearing aids, find resources to pay sign
language teachers, arrange opportunities for early childhood education,
subsidize payment of school fees, or help in other ways.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)