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Alliance for Families with Deaf Children meets needs in Broward County -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com
Lisa Adams never imagined she would have a deaf child.
So when her daughter, Kennedy, failed her newborn hearing screening, Adams knew she had some research to do. A few months later, she heard about the Alliance for Families with Deaf Children.
"I was completely lost," said Adams, 35. "I contacted the alliance not knowing what they were about or what was even offered."
The Broward-based nonprofit organization aims to meet the needs of families whose children have any degree of hearing loss. Its free services help both parents and children. Deaf mentors teach families sign language and how to combine signing with lip reading and using hearing aids.
Kennedy was signing before her first birthday, and at 15 months she was fitted with a cochlear implant, a surgically implanted electronic device that offers the profoundly hard of hearing a sense of sound. Doctors activated the device a month later, and Adams said Kennedy was speaking clearly by the time she turned 2. A year and a half later, Adams is amazed at her daughter's progress.
"I really don't think you'd know she had a hearing loss," she said. "But I know in my heart she would not be that way without sign language. As soon as the implant was turned on, we could use sign language as a bridge to everything she was hearing."
Building upon sign language is important, alliance members say. By giving deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their parents common sign language basics from the beginning, they can make strides with other methods, such as an implant, said Jennifer Jones, executive director and co-founder of the alliance.
"As soon as parents learn to communicate with their child, everything becomes exponentially easier," Jones said.
Not all parents choose surgery. Diana Molina and her 3-year-old daughter, Genesis Bermudez, communicate almost entirely with signs. Molina said the alliance has given her more than a second language.
"Now I understand what deaf and hard of hearing is all about," said Molina, 32. "Through the program I learned that just because you're deaf, it's not impossible to have a normal life."
Molina said this realization led to "an entire change" in her life. So when her deaf mentor suggested she apply for Volunteer USA's Family Literacy scholarship for parents who are outstanding students at family literacy academies and their young children, she did. She won, and both will receive scholarships.
"I don't see why I should see my daughter not going to college," she said. "Now when she finishes high school, she has a two-year scholarship waiting for her."
Molina plans to enroll at Broward College in January and will study education or business administration.
To learn more about the alliance, visit AFDC: Alliance for Families with Deaf Children
Lisa Adams never imagined she would have a deaf child.
So when her daughter, Kennedy, failed her newborn hearing screening, Adams knew she had some research to do. A few months later, she heard about the Alliance for Families with Deaf Children.
"I was completely lost," said Adams, 35. "I contacted the alliance not knowing what they were about or what was even offered."
The Broward-based nonprofit organization aims to meet the needs of families whose children have any degree of hearing loss. Its free services help both parents and children. Deaf mentors teach families sign language and how to combine signing with lip reading and using hearing aids.
Kennedy was signing before her first birthday, and at 15 months she was fitted with a cochlear implant, a surgically implanted electronic device that offers the profoundly hard of hearing a sense of sound. Doctors activated the device a month later, and Adams said Kennedy was speaking clearly by the time she turned 2. A year and a half later, Adams is amazed at her daughter's progress.
"I really don't think you'd know she had a hearing loss," she said. "But I know in my heart she would not be that way without sign language. As soon as the implant was turned on, we could use sign language as a bridge to everything she was hearing."
Building upon sign language is important, alliance members say. By giving deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their parents common sign language basics from the beginning, they can make strides with other methods, such as an implant, said Jennifer Jones, executive director and co-founder of the alliance.
"As soon as parents learn to communicate with their child, everything becomes exponentially easier," Jones said.
Not all parents choose surgery. Diana Molina and her 3-year-old daughter, Genesis Bermudez, communicate almost entirely with signs. Molina said the alliance has given her more than a second language.
"Now I understand what deaf and hard of hearing is all about," said Molina, 32. "Through the program I learned that just because you're deaf, it's not impossible to have a normal life."
Molina said this realization led to "an entire change" in her life. So when her deaf mentor suggested she apply for Volunteer USA's Family Literacy scholarship for parents who are outstanding students at family literacy academies and their young children, she did. She won, and both will receive scholarships.
"I don't see why I should see my daughter not going to college," she said. "Now when she finishes high school, she has a two-year scholarship waiting for her."
Molina plans to enroll at Broward College in January and will study education or business administration.
To learn more about the alliance, visit AFDC: Alliance for Families with Deaf Children