Adult/Teen's Zone: Making Sure you Have your Say

Building Self Advocacy

MAKING SURE YOU HAVE YOUR SAY

To be a successful self-advocate for gaining communication access in various situations when limited by a hearing loss, an individual must first be open about their hearing loss and be willing to disclose it to others and then know when to ask for support.

Further, a strong self-advocate knows what they need to communicate and participate fully in a situation and has the confidence to request it from others.

The ways to help you become a successful self advocate for accessing resources for enhancing communication are as follows:

1) Educate yourself about the reasons for your hearing loss, the degree of hearing loss, and type of hearing loss you have,

2) Find out what is the impact of your hearing loss,

3) Determine the latest hearing device technologies that would benefit your situation,

4) Get familiar with community, provincial, and national resources available to you, and

5) Routinely practice and teach interactive strategies to enhance communication and reduce stress.

blogger: Sarah Helmel