Deaf Echo has begun an ongoing project to make crucial yet balanced information about deafness available for parents of deaf children. We are attempting to do a few things here that, to the best of our knowledge, are either not being done or else are not being done to the extent needed.
- Deaf Echo’s Parents of Deaf Children Page Will Link to Its Corresponding Parents of Deaf Children Facebook Page. This is needed to link up parents around the world so that they can begin talking to each other, supporting each other, guiding each other, and warning each other—if necessary—about pitfalls they faced. This Facebook page will be moderated in exactly the same way that Deaf Echo is moderated. Incivility and personal attacks will not be tolerated.
- Deaf Echo’s Parents of Deaf Children Page Will Sort Information with Convenient Tags. We encourage readers to inform us about approaches and philosophies you feel the page is missing. We will not play favorites—we will make sure all approaches are represented. The proof will be in the comments. Tell us what particular topic you’d like to see on the page (ASL, cochlear implants, etc) and send us links to information you’d like to see there (better yet, submit an article!). This will lead to a very important aspect of the page, which will be explained in #3.
- Deaf Echo’s Parents of Deaf Children Page Will Be Interactive. Specifically this means that, like its corresponding Facebook page, the info that appears on Deaf Echo can be debated by the community. The comments that appear will do a great deal to ensure the reliability of the information is tested. If an organization makes a claim that a certain product or approach gets fantastic results, for example, and this same organization was under investigation (or charged by) the FDA a year ago for shipping faulty products, that information can be made known. This type of interaction will also do much to ensure that studies and data do not just sit in journals unopened by the general public. The community at large should have a say in claims that are made about it.
- Deaf Echo’s Parents of Deaf Children Page Has the Potential for Outreach beyond Parents. If readers wish to create specific documents they would like parents to have, and are willing to create them, we can store them. Furthermore, if readers are willing to take things a step further and find email addresses to audiologists in a given area, an email sent to them providing a link back to Deaf Echo will place these resources in the hands of audiologists. Over time, Deaf Echo will make available samples of friendly letters that can be used for these purposes (and we invite our readers to assist us in this endeavor).
- Deaf Echo’s Parents of Deaf Children Page Will Evolve According to the Needs of the Community. Our goal is to create the most efficient system of assistance possible. We do not just invite feedback and criticism… we consider these things to be the energy that electrifies the site. Jump on in and let’s get going!
