BURKE'S BOOKS

The book for review this month is a non-fictional work entitled "Not Deaf Enough Raising A Child Who Is Hard Of Hearing With Hugs, Humor, And Imagination" by Patricia Ann Morgan Candlish, M.L.S. - P.A.M for short. It was published by The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, Inc. in 1996.

P.A.M's book is like a map, helping you to navigate the labyrinth of inevitable obstacles that challenge both parent and child once your child has been diagnosed as being "Hard of Hearing". The author guides you through the phases from the initial and necessary period of mourning - a normal phase - to anger, to the undeniable guilt parents feel when they find out their child is special and not the flawlessly "perfect" baby the world thinks of as "normal". She explains how to overcome these phases, most importantly by educating both yourself and the people around you.

P.A.M. goes on to describe in helpful detail the various people you and your child may be dealing with, including audiologists, ENT's, a speech pathologist, and what you should expect from each. In addition, she warns you about the school system (which came in handy with my daughter's school) and the questions you should be asking any professional that comes in contact with your child. Bluntness, the author assures us, is sometimes required.

P.A.M. also explains the fundamentals of hearing tests, IEPs, and all the "fun" things that you will have to know and learn. For example, she advises on the importance of replacing a hearing aid battery, a seemingly simple thing but if overlooked, the oversight can lead to much unnecessary confusion. Another example how do you manage to keep hearing aids on a little boy? You tie string to the aids and pin string to the back of his shirt. The aids may fall out but they will not get lost. Furthermore, the little one can't reach them to throw them in the potty!

Finally, P.A.M. identifies some potential behavioral problems caused by his or her disability, and how to handle these. She has packed such a wealth of information into this excellent resource that you will just have to read it yourself. Even if you don't have a child with a hearing disability, but you know someone, anyone challenged by loss of hearing, I highly recommend this book. It made me laugh and cry repeatedly in a wonderfully therapeutic rollercoaster ride. Most importantly, it helped me realize that the feelings I had were normal and I didn't feel so alone.

I give this book two enthusiastic thumbs up. If you read it and want to discuss it with me, I'm almost always in the chat room, "Dealing-with-Disability", after 1100 p.m.

Enjoy!