DHH Guide
What is a DHH Guide?
As part of our Guide By Your Side program, where we match new families of children who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind (DHHDB) with experienced Parent Guides, we can also be match you with a DHH Guide. These Guides are friendly adults who grew up deaf or hard of hearing and they are ready and willing to answer questions and share their perspectives.
Like our Parent Guides, DHH Guides are trained to provide unbiased support. Our DHH Guides are diverse in their experiences, languages, and modes of communication. This service is included in your membership and your first year of membership is FREE. You may request to be matched with a DHH Guide through your Parent Guide, or use the form below. And always feel free to contact us via phone, text, or email!
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What does "DHH" stand for?DHH stands for "Deaf or Hard of Hearing."
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Why meet with a DHH Guide?Any family that is a part of Michigan Hands & Voices has access to meeting with a DHH Guide. A DHH Guide can provide valuable firsthand information and experiences, which can help in shaping a nurturing, accessible, and limitless future for your DHH child, while also offering peace of mind for parents.
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How do I choose which DHH Guide to meet with?A Parent Guide or Coordinator working with your family will provide you with options of available DHH Guides. We work to match you with DHH Guides who can relate to your journey and experience, and will share their stories about growing up DHH. We encourage you to meet with multiple DHH Guides!
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Do I need to know American Sign Language?You don’t need to know sign language! Michigan Hands & Voices welcomes all forms of communication, and we offer interpreters or captioning if needed, so you can easily communicate with a DHH Guide.
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How do I know what to ask?If you've decided to meet with a DHH Guide, a Parent Guide will also be there to help facilitate communication and to ask any questions you might not think of. DHH Guides are more than happy to meet again if you come up with any more questions. We're here to support you!
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How do I schedule a meeting with a DHH Guide?Tell your Parent Guide (or the Coordinator if you don’t have a Parent Guide) that you're interested in setting up a meeting. The DHH Guide team will be notified and will quickly connect with you to match you with the perfect DHH Guide and get a date set that works for you!
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Should my child participate in the meeting?Your child’s participation is completely up to you and your child. Whatever choice you feel most comfortable with is totally fine! However, down the road, a Parent Guide might suggest that your child could benefit from meeting with a DHH Guide as well.
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How old should my child be when we meet with a DHH Guide?You can meet with a DHH Guide at any age! We believe the earlier the better.
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Where will we meet?Most of our DHH Guide visits happen on Zoom.
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What if I’m not ready for a one-on-one visit yet?That’s OK! There are many other opportunities to connect with our DHH Guides, like Family Matters, Keep Calm & Ask Me events, and our Summer Picnics and Park Meet Ups.
Request a DHH Guide
Get in touch so we can match you with a DHH Guide.
