Over the years, I had a lot of conversations with patients sitting across from me—sometimes at a desk, sometimes just chatting while they waited. And no matter who they were, many of them were feeling the same things: frustrated, unsure, and sometimes a little overwhelmed.
Understanding Being Misunderstood
For this mom, late in life diagnoses turned years of confusion into a clearer sense of self and deeper connections.
‘Why Can’t They?’
This path in parenting the hard of hearing—let’s face it—can be exhausting. If you walked alone, and because this disability is so often invisible, your village might not be on your front porch. You have to go hunting for it.
Exposure, Empathy, and the Power of Story
For Deaf and hard of hearing children, books and stories are vital spaces where they can see themselves, feel understood, find community and belonging, and lay the foundation for confidence and identity development that will set them up for success throughout their lives.
Representation Matters: Why I Write for the Next Generation
As the first known Black author to publish a 10-book children’s series centered on deaf, hard of hearing, and disabled heroes, I’ve created what I once longed for: stories where children see themselves as powerful.
Life Is a Learning Situation
I know the only way I could hear it is if we all stopped playing and moved up to the net every time someone has something to say.
What Does Hidden Hearing Loss Feel Like?
There was a lot of confusion in the mid-’80s between hearing and understanding. I was 14 years old so hearing loss was the furthest thing from my mind and nothing my parents thought of either. I could hear but I had trouble understanding what I heard.
From Gradual Hearing Loss to National Advocacy
Before I discovered CART, I often felt left out, despite being physically present. This gap in awareness affects thousands of people. That’s why I speak up, because access delayed is opportunity denied.
Using Personal Experience to Drive Change
As someone hard of hearing, I intimately understand the challenges of a world not always designed for me. This drives my mission to advocate for better access and representation.
A Push for ‘ADA-Access-Ready’ Hearing Devices
In the United States, assistive listening systems are mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to give people with hearing loss the clarity that is impossible to receive with hearing instruments alone.