Helpful Resources

Some of our favorite things related to our journey:

Community Support
The local support in New Jersey, both at the audiologist and Early Intervention, was incredible. We also received an intro to another family that lived in the same city who had a two children with similar hearing loss, and learning about their experiences and meeting their children offered a lot of reassurance. We'd welcome anyone to reach out to us!

Learning American Sign Language / ASL
When it comes to learning ASL, do what you think is best for you! You don't need to be an expert overnight and you can learn slowly alongside your child.

Callin's dad relied on mostly self-learning, focusing on the alphabet first, then completing lessons on Lifeprint.com and using these flash cards.

Callin's mom primarily learned through online classes, some paid and some free (through New Jersey's early intervention program), and has a Deaf mentor.

Hearing Aids (Use and Awareness)
Callin wears Oticon rechargeable hearing aids and when she goes to school or out to play, we often use hearing aid headbands that her mom purchases from Etsy, and we have them in nearly every color that Callin could ever want (!) - the hearing aids slid right into their own loops and we place a small rectangle of toupee tape on the inside of the hearing aid to secure them. Our friends use hearing aid clips that attach to the child's shirt - find what works best for you and your child.

For awareness, Oticon offered a Bunny Hand Puppet with hearing aids, and we purchased a few more things, including a Barbie with hearing aids and some books: Gracie's Ears is our family's favorite!