Deaf Children Australia has a new resource for parents with a deaf or hard of hearing child (DHH) aged 0-7 years.
The Flying Colours website is designed to be a helpful ‘journey partner’ as parents navigate the early days and months of diagnosis. It features a simple, easy to use, easy to access collection of relevant, balanced, unbiased information and links.
“The site has a clear focus on what parents have told us they want to know to help them through their first few days, months and years,” CEO David Wilson said.
To find out what parents wanted the organisation commissioned, what Wilson said, was the most comprehensive survey of its kind in Australia. It found that:
- 75 per cent of parents indicated the need for schools to have access to an info pack about deaf awareness
- 62 per cent were looking for access to Auslan resources for their family
- 60 per cent were keen to link to families with a lived experience.
According to Wilson, more than half of those parents who responded wanted to know about social events and a high number were worried about limited access to community activities for their child.
“From the survey parents told us they wanted easy access to early intervention specialists, clinicians, schools and other deaf organisations,” he said. “This is what we have started with the service directory.
“Perhaps the most evocative sections of Flying Colours are the stories we have gathered from families and people with lived experience. What they have learned, what they went through in those early days and tips they have picked up along the way,” he said.