Advice

I despise when parents ask me for help and advice and when I share with them the hard questions they need to ask themselves, they get all mad and indignant!

If you contact me about implanting your 5 year old (which is a good move, because I implanted mine at 5 and have worked really hard to get her age appropriate in language, reading and academics) and I ask why they have never gotten any speech therapy, don't get mad at me! I didn't make that choice, you did!

By the same token, if you ask me about ASL language development and I ask "Who is going to be providing a fluent language model during the 5 years it takes you to learn ASL" don't accuse me of "attacking" you. These are the hard questions you should be asking yourself!

It isn't all bad though. I got a great message from a mom today thanking me for helping her to find the right resources and to ask the right questions to help her daughter get a CI as well as the appropriate services from her school district! 

I also get accused of being "too direct". That's right, I don't see the value in sugar-coating things. Your child is deaf and that is a neurodevelopmental emergency! The decisions you make, or choose NOT TO MAKE, have life long developmental and brain effects. I don't have time to pussy-foot around and help you through your grieving. (Plus, what exactly is there to grieve about? Your child is deaf, not dead. They have always been deaf. The only things that changed on the diagnosis day what YOUR perspective. They have always been this way, and always will be, SO GET TO WORK!)