Children's Special Health Care Services (CSHCS) (Supplemental insurance to help with costs for devices, appointments, batteries, travel to appointments, etc.):

https://ioniacounty.org/health/cshcs/

Cochlear Implants

What is a cochlear implant:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmNpP2fr57A

Hospitals that perform Cochlear Implants in Michigan:

University of Michigan Health (Ann Arbor)
Children's Hospital of Michigan (Detroit)
Michigan Ear Institute (Locations in Farmington Hills, Dearborn, etc.)
Henry Ford Health (Detroit Metro)
Helen DeVos Children's Hospital (Grand Rapids)
McLaren Bay Region (Bay City)

Cochlear Implant Companies/Options:

MED-EL: https://www.medel.com/en-us/
Cochlear: https://www.cochlear.com/us/en/campaign/rediscover-the-sounds
Advanced Bionics: https://www.advancedbionics.com/us/en/home

Ear Infections or Otitis Media

Ear Infections - Symptoms, Causes and Treatments:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_FwJj8oNQQ

How to Spot and Treat an Ear Infection:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q397uSGXu2g

Tympanometry (Test to check for ear infections and fluid in the middle ear):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMoPzQmiJ3g

Ear Tubes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Sp3FKLfsHw

Are Ear Infections Contagious:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhUQauFLKd8

Three Types of Ear Infections:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o7jkRbrdtY

Communication Options Available

Communication Options:

https://agbell.org/2024/03/22/communication-options/

Cued Speech:

https://cuedspeech.org/

Total Communication Approach:

https://www.handsandvoices.org/comcon/articles/totalcom.htm

Listening and Spoken Language Approach:

https://www.hearingfirst.org/lsl#:~:text=Most%20likely%2C%20you%20learned%20to,is%20really%20about%20the%20brain!

Family Support

This section was developed in hopes of helping to support families emotionally. The emotional feelings that go along with having a child with a hearing loss are very real. You are not alone. There are agencies listed below that want to help guide you. Please feel comfortable sharing your feelings with me as well. I will do my best to listen! I've shared the letter "Welcome to Holland" (Click Here), which was written by a parent who describes how she feels about having a child with special needs.

I'd also like to share a short article written by a professor about helping parents through the grief process of having a child with special needs. Although this article is written for educators, I think it has a lot of value for parents. It discusses how parents grieve a loss when they learn that their child has a disability. The parent may go through the stages of grief. All parents' grief "process" is different. Please read "Children with Special Needs: Helping Parents through Grief" (Click Here).

Guide By Your Side (Parent to parent support):

https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdhhs/Adult-and-Childrens-Services/Children-and-Families/EHDI/GBYS_Brochure.pdf?rev=b15a56e490514631a6c14aece84446d6

https://www.mihandsandvoices.org/guide-by-your-side

Michigan Hands and Voices (Family to family support):

https://www.mihandsandvoices.org/

LEAD-K (Supporting language development of all children in Michigan who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing):

https://www.michigan.gov/mde/resources/lead-k

Michigan Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program (EHDI):

https://www.michigan.gov/mdhhs/adult-child-serv/childrenfamilies/ehdi

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Resource Guide for families of children who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing:

https://www.michigan.gov/-/media/Project/Websites/mdhhs/Adult-and-Childrens-Services/Children-and-Families/EHDI/a_unhsmanual.pdf?rev=c3c6c04f49ab4e9f8e26e7b5b2ec107b

Deafblind Central (Resources for families with children who have vision and hearing loss):