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Socializing
with a hearing loss
Socializing
plays an important role in our lives. By developing good social
skills we become talented at building strong and rewarding relationships
with other people.
Children begin to learn social skills early in life. They are
constantly watching and imitating the actions of their parents,
family and friends. When they get older they make social contact
by playing with other children.
Children
with hearing loss are most often able to adopt social behavior
on equal terms with hearing children. Your child's ability to
develop social skills will depend upon his or her degree of hearing
loss, age and time of diagnosis, treatment, and of course personality.
All
children develop differently and all parents worry about how to
raise their children. As a parent of a child with a hearing loss,
you may find this even more demanding. In most cases, however,
parents will be able to expect the same behavior of a child with
a hearing loss as they would of a child of the same age without
a hearing loss.
Since
many children might have the perception that their hearing loss
will go away once they grow up, you may consider that they meet
and interact with hearing impaired adults.
Many
parents experience that it is often hard to keep the balance between
protecting and expecting. Some parents of children with hearing
loss have a tendency to overprotect their children from the world
around them.
However,
it is very important to prepare a child with hearing loss for
the real world by setting a good example and putting forward fair
demands. Children with hearing loss have to become strong, independent
and self-reliant adults - even though they have a physical impairment.
You
should, of course, consider your own child's physical and mental
capabilities before you decide how much to expect of him or her.
At
any rate, your child should not be excused from taking part in
the daily routines because of the hearing loss. Household chores
such as tidying up their room, lending a hand in the kitchen and
carrying out dinner plates help build your child's social skills.
So does emphasizing that your child is a member of a family where
everyone has his or her own place and fills out a special role.
Also,
it is important that your child accepts the household rules like
everyone else in the family. A child with hearing loss should
follow these rules on equal terms with his or her brothers and
sisters. This will also make it easier for you to keep your own
needs and the rest of your family's needs in focus.
This
article courtesy of Oticon
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