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Karla’s son Ollie is her only child and was born in December of 2012.
He first failed his Newborn Screen at 4 days old while at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, and was later diagnosed with Moderate and Moderate-Severe Bilateral Sensorineural Hearing Loss.
“We of course then became caught up in the whirlwind of appointments,” Karla said. “This is where it got quite overwhelming for me especially as I was also still requiring ongoing medical care myself. I found juggling the seemingly never-ending list of appointments exhausting. Ear, Nose and Throat Specialists, Audiologists, Paediatricians. It was such a bombardment of information – I just found it far too much to deal with all at once.”
However, for Karla and her family, attending an Early Childhood Development Program helped them to discover the stories of other families with deaf and hard of hearing children.
“I had no idea what to expect or what the future held but I knew I had to give it a go,” Karla said. “I found the programme invaluable not only to Ollie’s development, but also a massive positive influence on mine.”
Attending these playgroups helped Karla to discover a group of people with similar stories to her own, and now – Karla and Ollie have found a circle of people that they can connect with, giving Ollie a sense of belonging.
“I consider ourselves incredibly blessed that Ollie has had these opportunities, as I do not believe he would be where he is now without them,” Karla said. “He is now thriving, well engaged, and tenacious – he knows exactly what he wants and how he is going to make it happen.”
Stacey is a Parent Mentor for Deaf Children Australia. Her daughter Grace is a twin, and one of three children.
“At 2 years we noticed something was wrong. Grace was not talking, making noises, or interacting with anyone – she was generally living in her own little world. A lot of people that we raised our concerns with, including friends, family and medical professionals, seemed to think we were being over reactive and overly sensitive.”
“However, parental instinct is a strong thing – and after pushing and pushing, our daughter was given a hearing test.”
Following her hearing test, Grace was diagnosed at Mater Audiology with moderate to severe hearing loss bilaterally. For Stacey, receiving her daughter’s diagnosis came with a lot of mixed emotions.
“It’s hard to explain, but there was a slight feeling of relief, to have our suspicions confirmed that there was a problem. But more overwhelmingly, we felt great sadness, guilt, and fear. We felt sadness for Grace, and I felt a sense of guilt – feeling that I was to blame. All these strange and irrational thoughts constantly popped into my head. ‘What if I’d done this?’ I found myself asking. ‘What would the future hold for Grace, how would she cope, how would people treat her?’”
“Now, I feel more confident that Grace will be okay. She continually amazes me with her progress and her beautiful happy nature. Her joyful personality only draws people toward her, and everyone who meets Grace loves her.”
When Emma’s daughter Darcy was born, she had absolutely no risk factors for deafness. A referral for her daughter to the Victorian Infant Hearing Screening Program was eventually obtained and it was discovered that Darcy had profound bilateral hearing loss.
“Some people responded with how sorry they were to hear it and some of them were slightly taken aback by our response, which is always, but she’s only deaf!”
“For six months, Darcy and I attended Australian Hearing at Moonee Ponds where we were provided with lots and lots of information about deafness, the implications of Darcy’s type of hearing loss, language acquisition and perhaps most importantly the early intervention services.”
Emma decided to embrace a bilingual approach to language which was supported by the Early Intervention Service, Aurora. With Aurora’s support Darcy was introduced to both English and Auslan. Darcy is now an especially talkative young girl!
For Emma and Darcy, as they navigated the world of deafness, they also had to navigate the much-medicalised side of hearing loss.
“It was really important that we were very comfortable with our decisions, and able to be assertive in our choices. We recognised that these individuals were expert within their fields, but they were not experts in our family, community or child.”
“Every decision we have made has been done with the belief that it will improve an outcome for her, give her choices and allow her to be a complete child who is funny, wilful, stubborn, independent, slightly dirt encrusted and happy.”
This is an exciting opportunity for a Part-Time or Full-Time NDIS Support Coordinator to join our dedicated team at Deaf Children Australia.
Deaf Children Australia’s (DCA’s) purpose is to remove barriers to the personal development and social exclusion faced by children and young people who are deaf or hard of hearing (dhoh). Our mission is to inspire and empower deaf and hard of hearing children and young people to reach their full potential. In achieving DCA’s vital work, our organisation, staff, and volunteers uphold the following values; Respectful, Accountable, Cooperative, and Committed to Service.
This position works closely and develops strong relationships with National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). Participants and their families/carers to assist them to understand their NDIS plan, engage with appropriate service providers and allied health professionals, facilitate the implementation of all supports, and monitor progress toward the achievement of their plan goals. This position is primarily for, but not limited to, providing Support Coordination to NDIS Participants who are deaf or hard of hearing.
A career with Deaf Children Australia will offer you rewarding experiences to make a difference to the lives of people in our community who are deaf or hard of hearing. We have a high energy and supportive culture guided by our values. Join the Support Coordination team at DCA.
To be successful in this role you will need to demonstrate your ability to meet the Selection Criteria outlined below:
Deaf Children Australia is a Child Safe organisation. Accordingly, the successful candidate will need to be willing to undertake the following checks and clearances;
Deaf Children Australia welcomes diversity in all its forms and greatly encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates.
To apply, please email your Resume and Cover Letter to: jobs@deafchildren.org.au (please include position title in email subject line)
Please note, we reserve the right to close or extend this advertisement depending on the number and quality of applications received. Therefore, we urge all suitable candidates to submit their application as early as possible.
Applications Close on the 6th of June, 2022
Updated: 6th December 2021
We are seeking Expressions of Interest for Casual Auslan Tutors who wish to join our dedicated team, you can read the position description here.
Deaf Children Australia’s (DCA’s) purpose is to remove barriers to the personal development and social exclusion faced by children and young people who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HoH). Our mission is to inspire and empower D/HoH children and young people to reach their full potential. In achieving DCA’s vital work, our organisation, staff, and volunteers uphold the following values; Respectful, Accountable, Cooperative, and Committed to Service.
As a DCA Auslan Tutor, you will provide individualised Auslan tuition to support, develop and enhance Auslan language skills at all levels to deaf and hard of hearing people and their families. Auslan tuition can be delivered in a variety of community and home-based situations, both one-to-one, family and group settings. The role may include teaching Auslan language skills to people from varied language and cultural backgrounds, in addition to teaching in various workplace settings to co-workers where people who are deaf and hard of hearing are employed. In addition to session delivery during business hours, Auslan Tutors must be prepared to deliver tuition after hours and during weekends as negotiated.
A career with Deaf Children Australia will offer you rewarding experiences to make a difference to the lives of people in our community who are deaf or hard of hearing. We have a high energy and supportive culture guided by our values.
To be successful in this role you will need to demonstrate your ability to meet the Selection Criteria outlined below:
Deaf Children Australia is a Child Safe organisation. Accordingly, the successful candidate will need to be willing to undertake the following checks and clearances;
Deaf Children Australia welcomes diversity in all its forms and greatly encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates.
Candidates who are available to work after school hours and weekends are encouraged to apply.
To express interest in this position, please email your Resume and Cover Letter to: jobs@deafchildren.org.au (please include position title in email subject line)
Please note, we reserve the right to close or extend this advertisement depending on the number and quality of applications received. Therefore, we urge all suitable candidates to submit their application as early as possible.
Updated: 20th January 2022
We are seeking Expressions of Interest for Casual Youth Support Workers with Auslan skills, you can read the position description here.
Deaf Children Australia’s (DCA’s) purpose is to remove barriers to the personal development and social exclusion faced by children and young people who are deaf or hard of hearing (dhoh). Our mission is to inspire and empower dhoh children and young people to reach their full potential. In achieving DCA’s vital work, our organisation, staff, and volunteers uphold the following values; Respectful, Accountable, Cooperative, and Committed to Service.
As a Youth Support Worker, you will provide individualised NDIS supports to deaf and hard of hearing young people to improve community access, social participation, develop individual skills and access to recreational activities. The purpose is to improve independence and self-esteem, skills and confidence to engage more effectively in the community, achieve better educational outcome and employment opportunities. Supports may be delivered one-to-one or in group settings.
A career with Deaf Children Australia will offer you rewarding experiences to make a difference to the lives of people in our community who are deaf or hard of hearing. We have a high energy and supportive culture guided by our values. Join the Youth Support Team at DCA.
To be successful in this role you will need to demonstrate your ability to meet the Selection Criteria outlined below:
Deaf Children Australia is a Child Safe organisation. Accordingly, the successful candidate will need to be willing to undertake the following checks and clearances;
Deaf Children Australia welcomes diversity in all its forms and greatly encourages applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates.
Candidates who are available to work after school hours and weekends are encouraged to apply.
To express interest in this position, please email your Resume and Cover Letter to: jobs@deafchildren.org.au (please include position title in email subject line)
Please note, we reserve the right to close or extend this advertisement depending on the number and quality of applications received. Therefore, we urge all suitable candidates to submit their application as early as possible.
Enclose your cheque or money order payable to:
Deaf Children Australia
PO Box 6466
Melbourne 8008
Donations can be deposited directly into our bank account.
Name: Deaf Children Australia
BSB: 013 423
Account number: 867 4325
Branch: ANZ 420 St Kilda Road
Please include this
Reference code: DCA GIFT
