In this issue

• Questions parents are asking
• Tips and hints for flying with your cochlear implant
• New information on our website
• Senate Inquiry into Hearing Health in Australia
• Experiences of Arabic families in Australia
• What's on in October?
• Captioned telephony trial
• Websites of interest
• Products and resources
• Sports Corner
• Join our online parent forums
• Make a donation

A month goes by so quickly but I am slowly getting into the swing of preparing this newsletter.

Our website continues to grow and we will highlight some of the issues parents discuss in our online groups in each newsletter. One topic this month was in-flight entertainment and we have done some investigations into what is available for our kids when flying - important for parent sanity on those long flights!

Event of the past month must go to the Microtia and Atresia Parent Conference which was organised by parent Simone Cheadle and sponsored by Hear and Say Centre and Cochlear Ltd. Drs Joseph Roberson and John Reinisch arranged to fly themselves to the Gold Coast for the weekend and provided some outstanding and insightful presentations into the benefits and risks of both atresia repair and Medpor reconstruction surgery. They then gave their time to talk to families individually. An incredible effort all round.

For parents whose children are approaching 21, you might want to send a submission to the Senate Inquiry into Hearing Health in Australia. A number of organisations, particularly Margaret Colebrook and Let Us Hear, have worked with successive Federal governments to get a better deal for former child clients of Australian Hearing and this is a great opportunity to make a difference for our kids when they reach 21 and are no longer eligible for services from Australian Hearing. There are details of how to send a submission in this newsletter.

Have a great month.

info@aussiedeafkids.org.au

There were two big questions in our online support groups this month:
Are there volume-restricted earphones available for children with a unilateral hearing loss?
How do kids with hearing aids and cochlear implants access in-flight entertainment on those long holiday flights?

We have done a bit of investigation into both issues.

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Faye Yarroll is a Bilateral Freedom Cochlear Implant Recipient (1st 2005, 2nd 2007). Faye is an active member of Cicada and the Cochlear Awareness Network and she has kindly agreed to share her tips and hints about flying with a cochlear implant.

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We are delighted to have Oticon Paediatrics as our latest content partner and now have a number of their excellent articles on our website.

Other information includes the report, "A comparison of anticipated benefits and the personal, educational and social outcomes of cochlear implantation in deaf children" prepared by Professor Merv Hyde and Dr Renee Punch.

And the National Relay Service share their information about staying in touch on the phone using their service.

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The Senate has referred the matter of "Hearing Health in Australia" to the Community Affairs References Committee for inquiry and report by the last sitting day in February 2010.

The Committee is seeking written submissions from interested individuals and organisations.

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What was your experience of having a child diagnosed with a hearing loss in Australia? Did you get the support you needed to make good decisions along the way?

These are the questions the Global Coalition of Parents of Children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing (GPOD) is wanting to know from Arabic parents in Australia. Their survey is seeking to find the most effective and appropriate ways to support families whose child is diagnosed with a hearing loss.

GPOD is conducting a worldwide survey of families with a deaf child and Arabic families can now participate thanks to the generous assistance of Ms Myrna Chaar who has translated the survey from English into Arabic.

Information from the survey will help inform recommendations for Best Practice in Family Support which will be presented at the Newborn Hearing Screening Conference in Italy in 2010.

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POD Play in the Park - October 7
Opening All Doors: A Seminar with Dr Christine Yoshinago-Itano - October 11
National Week of Deaf People - October 10-16
Deafair - October 10
NSW Deaf Society Open Day - October 16
POD QLD October event - October 17
Panel Discussion at NSW Parliament - October 21
Unilateral Hearing Loss Information Session - November 2

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A new technology is being trialled in Australia for the first time - captioned telephony (CapTel). Australian Communication Exchange (ACE) will launch a web based captioned telephony service this year and is looking for participants to take part in the first web captioned telephony trial in Australia. Participation in the trial is free.

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We highlight a couple of websites including the new Kids Helpline website which has information for kids, their parents and carers and a Teen and Young Adults discussion forum.

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A couple of resources which may be of interest to parents have crossed our desk including bonnets to keep hearing aids on babies and a DVD featuring Sofya Gollan from Play School called SignBaby.

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Congratulations to the 2009 Australian Deaflympic Games Team who did us proud in Taipei. The Australian Team performed well and, given the emphasis on youth in the team, the experience will be a great learning curve for many in their development. Our medal tally finished at 3 Gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medals.

Double Gold medallist Melinda Vernon was given the honour of being the Australian Flag bearer for the closing ceremony in recognition of her outstanding performances at the Games. Melinda has dominated the distance running events in her first Deaflympic Games and at only 23 years of age has a bright future ahead of her.

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You can help Aussie Deaf Kids by donating online. We use the Our Community secure online donations facility. Your donation will go directly into the research and development of content for the website which will assist parents to make informed choices about raising their deaf child.

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