You are not alone.
You Belong right here!
Be gentle with yourself, it will take time to gain knowledge, understanding and acceptance. Know that there are many of us learning alongside you.
It may feel incredibly tough right now but there are great treasures in this journey and you will discover them in time.
You likely have many intense emotions right now, this page is here to try and make things feel a little less overwhelming. You will never stop discovering new things (both challenging and fabulous), but you need to do this one step at a time.
We recommend taking the following initial steps:
1
Take 23 minutes to listen to this video called Nice to Meet You–it is a wonderful compilation of the thoughts and experiences of deaf and hard of hearing young people.
2
We have recorded a conversation on our THRIVE YouTube channel called I have just found out that my child is deaf….now what?….we share what we feel are the most important guiding steps for a caregiver new to parenting a deaf or hard of hearing child.
3
Start taking some time to look around this website, you will discover a selection of resources that we have found the most helpful along the way –this is on our Information Sharing tab.
4
If you would like to be mentored by one of the THRIVE team, please get in touch with us –we will put you in touch with one of our Parent Mentors who will stay in contact with you for 6 months as you navigate through the most challenging time in this journey.