Guide by Your Side
Guide By Your Side is a Hands & Voices program that embodies the strong value of direct peer connections and networking. The program provides emotional support and unbiased information from trained Parent Guides to other families and to the systems that serve them. It promotes self efficacy and hinders isolation by exploring our common bond, shared experiences, challenges, wisdom, and insight.
The goal of Guide By Your Side is to provide parents with the opportunity to establish a supportive relationship with an experienced parent of a child who is deaf or hard of hearing soon after they learn of their own child's hearing loss. Guides help families understand the unique needs of infants who are deaf or hard of hearing and provide unbiased information regarding communication options.
Throughout the process, guides maintain ethical standards and share resources and information in a comprehensive, equitable manner, actively developing their knowledge base to help families make informed decisions.
If you are interested in receiving help from a guide, or in becoming a guide yourself, please contact our program coordinators, Julie Johnson and Angie Miller. All Parent Guides receive financial compensation for their time and effort.
Email: dehandsandvoices@aol.com
Information on Guide By Your Side at the national level
