Contents

1. Introduction
2. Hearing aids
3. Talking with your baby
4. Who does what?
5. Hearing screening for babies
6. What's in a word
7. Sources of information

1. Introduction

Baby and Mum are ‘talking’ together. But baby is deaf.

It may have taken a little time for this to be realised, maybe by the parents, maybe by the health visitor or doctor, or the baby may have been born in one of the areas where all babies’ hearing is tested automatically soon after birth.

There will then have been a series of tests and, for a small number of parents, they will have heard that their baby is ‘severely’ or ‘profoundly’ deaf.

And then the family have to adjust to this news and move forward together.

This booklet aims to help that process. If you have heard that your baby is deaf, two questions will probably be uppermost in your mind

• How do I cope with the hearing aids?
• How do I talk to him/her?

The most important thing you need to remember, though, is quite simple but it often gets forgotten in all the fuss and bother of dealing with an unexpected situation. You have a wonderful, new little person in your life.

• Enjoy him
• Cuddle her
• Coo and play with him
• Laugh and talk with her

  … s/he’ll get the message.

next section: 2. Hearing aids