Ageless Passions by Karen Putz

Tag: raising deaf kids

  • New Book: The Parenting Journey, Raising Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children

    It’s here, a brand-new book for parents of deaf and hard of hearing children:

    The Parenting Journey, Raising Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children (Kindle and paperback).

    I actually started writing this book three years ago, but I didn’t get more than a few pages completed here and there. Thanks to my kick-in-the-pants neighbor and business coach, Jean Kuhn and Dan Miller’s two words of advice at his Coaching with Excellence workshop (Take action!), I finally applied some gazelle intense focus over the summer and completed the project.

    The Parenting Journey, Raising Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children captures the lessons I’ve learned on the journey of raising three deaf and hard of hearing kids who are now teens. I also share my insights from the professional perspective of working in early intervention and as a person who is deaf.

    Yesterday, it captured a top spot for the hearing category on Amazon:

    And Lee Woodruff kindly gave it a tweet:

    Speaking of Lee, she has a new book out: Those We Love The Most. Lee is an amazing writer. On Friday night, I shared an excerpt from her other book, Perfectly Imperfect, at the Iowa Symposium on Hearing Loss. Lee has a chapter titled, “A Different Ability,” where she shares her journey as a mom of a deaf daughter.

    Grab a copy of The Parenting Journey, Raising Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children and discover the two questions that every deaf and hard of hearing kid wants the answers to.

     

     

     

     

  • Mom’s Night Inn, A Weekend of Connecting

    mom's night inn group picture

    When Andrea Marwah asked me to speak at the Illinois Hands & Voices Mom’s Night Inn this year, I happily agreed.  The Mom’s Night Inn weekend was like coming home all over again.  When I founded the non-profit organization back in 2003, we launched the annual Mom’s Night Inn, modeled after a similar retreat at Colorado Hands & Voices. Every year, the retreat continues to be a weekend of connection among the moms of deaf and hard of hearing children.  Andrea Marwah, the current president, has expanded the Mom’s Night Inn in central Illinois as well. There is still time to register for that: Mom’s Night Inn Central.

    mom's night inn group in circle

    This year’s theme was “Celebrating Their Gifts, Unleashing Your Child’s Potential” and the title of my presentation.  I shared my own journey of growing up hard of hearing, becoming deaf, and discovering the gifts that resulted from a paradigm shift in my perceptions.  I read an excerpt from Lee Woodruff’s book, “Perfectly Imperfect,” where she describes her deaf daughter as one with a different ability.  If you have not read her book, grab it.  Lee is an amazing writer and her book will grip your heart.  She has a new one coming out in September, 2012.

    Massages, crafts, discussions and chocolate, those are some of things the moms get to experience during the retreat.  Woven into those moments are the connections– the experience of sharing your personal journey with another mom.  It doesn’t matter where you are on the journey, or the choices you’ve made or the choices you are exploring– there’s the common bond of raising deaf and hard of hearing kids.  It’s a wonderful feeling to share the journey together.

    don't try so hard to fit in because you were born to stand out

    On Sunday, we had a panel of deaf and hard of hearing kids, from elementary to college age.  Ben Lachman also sat on the panel and shared his experience as a young adult and businessman.  Their experiences were as unique as their fingerprints.  As I sat there and watched each person share a glimpse of their journey, I’m reminded once again why so many of us across the Hands & Voices world volunteer our time with families: because every kid counts.