The stages of emotions one experiences when their child is diagnosed with a disability are natural, intense, and perhaps one could argue even necessary for survival. A parent's emotional experience can completely run the gammet in terms of feelings (anger, rage, depression, grief, helplessness, etc). These stages and degrees of emotional distress, while natural and important to experience, have a tendency to cloud a parent's immediate reaction to act or more importantly, the ability to make sound decisions regarding disability care.

It is very difficult for one's rational judgment to come into play while being bombarded with emotional grief and shock; therefore, "real solutions" for learning about and how to deal with a disability do not come into play until much healing has occurred. Having experienced this type of dilemma myself when my daughter was diagnosed as profoundly deaf, it occurred to me that much developmental time could be spared if there was such a resource available to explain and educate, as well as, provide resources, support systems, and technological advancements and development findings about hearing impairment.

I have developed this Web site with the hopes that other parents of deaf or hearing impaired children will not have to feel as many frustrations as I did when trying to become educated about hearing impairment. Information in this site is presented in an easy-to-understand, friendly format with the hope that parents will not become overwhelmed as they are learning about hearing loss and challenges that may encompass the disability. I have compiled what I consider the best of checklists, resources, information, and diagrams that I found most useful when learning about hearing impairment. Hopefully, this Web site will help ease the transition between confusion and grievance to understanding and acceptance.

Best wishes to you and your family,
Michelle






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