Anonymous Deaf Chat Introduction

What an AMAZING first run we had! If you're just beginning to follow along, let me fill you in on something extremely special that took place this week! First, I'll start with the backstory- I'm the Mama of a Deaf kiddo (pictured below) and a full-time student studying American Sign Language and ASL Interpreting. You can read more about me and my family in my bio, but for now, those two things are important to know. On my Instagram page, @momthatsigns, I posted in my Stories about how one of my assignments was to create

questions that a surprise guest would be answering. Our guest would be a Deaf adult and he/she would be fully prepared to answer any questions that we had about their Deafness, their life, their struggles, their education, anything! It was going to be an awesome opportunity for those in my class who did not have that connection to a Deaf individual prior. In real life, it's not always appropriate to ask some of these questions, but since this was an educational setting, and the guest was fully prepared and agreed to do this voluntarily, it was okay. However, it got me thinking... I am so fortunate to have many Deaf individuals in my life that contribute to my daughter's well-being. Whether they are guiding me, supporting me, or supporting her directly, it has led me to strongly believe that every family with Deaf children needs to have that connection in their life as well. Even though I am hearing, I see it as my responsibility to seek connections to the Deaf community for the benefit of my daughter. After all, who best to know what it means to be Deaf than Deaf adults!? Unfortunately, not all hearing families have been able to make the same connections I have thus far and I am often reminded of it. This all led me to come up with an idea to bridge the gap. I created a method using my own IG profile that facilitated a way for hearing parents of DHH children and/or professionals surrounding DHH children to anonymously ask questions and for Deaf adults to voluntarily and anonymously answer.

Here's how it works:

1. In my Stories I will have a slide that asks "If you could ask any question to a Deaf adult, what would it be?", then there is a field where you can type your question.

2. The question is sent to me (I know your identity, but do not share). I then repost your question anonymously back in my Stories.

3. Any Deaf adult can view your question and choose to reply to it. That reply gets sent directly to my DM's. (I can see their identity, but do not share.)

4. I then forward that reply to the original questioner anonymously. It's not a guarantee that you will get a reply, but you may also receive several, depending on how many Deaf adults decide to answer your question.

Here is some feedback from parents that received replies during our first round of Anonymous Deaf Chat (yup, that's what I'm calling it!):

"Thanks so much for doing that! It's hard to find a way to ask these questions without feeling like I offended someone because I'm really trying to understand and be accepted into the Deaf community someday."

"That response helps ease my momma heart."

"I can honestly say that these answers spoke directly to our situation with our (child) and confirmed some decisions."

"These are all so helpful! Thank you!"

Ya'll... this is big. This was NEEDED. When our kids are diagnosed, majority of the time, we are not referred to any kind of Deaf community program or mentor program. We have no way of really figuring out how to be accepted into the community. We feel like outsiders. I have had to work SO HARD to get a toe into the community on my daughter's behalf and let me tell you that is has been SO WORTH IT. Deaf adults know so much more about being deaf than I do. (Duh.) I can't thank them enough for all they'd helped my family with. We really needed them, and they were more than willing to contribute to our well-being. I'm telling you, you can have that too. We as hearing parents have to be willing to open our minds to their words. They are the truth-tellers. They have lived the life of our children first-hand. It doesn't matter what their perspective is- because whatever it is- it's valid. It's also invaluable to how we should be making decisions for our own children. Take all the opinions in. Use them to make the best decisions for your child. It's not all about the doctors, the therapists, the teachers... we need the Deaf perspective.

My best hope is that getting your questions answered inspires you to start making those real life connections with the Deaf community and continue to seek them for support for your child.

Stay tuned for my next blog on all of the questions and answers from the very first Anonymous Deaf Chat!!