March 3 is World Hearing Day and is organized annually by the World Health Organization. This year’s theme that is illustrated below in the vibrant purple visual of a person’s side profile with a red orb radiating from the ear is Changing mindsets: Let’s make ear and hearing care a reality for all! As a … Continue reading
Hitting the open road is one of my favorite warm weather activities. My family and I have traveled Route 66 twice and frequented highways in the U.S. West, South, and East. We’ve visited places like Oklahoma and Texas more times than I can count to see family and friends. Despite the joys of summer travel, … Continue reading
As a board member for the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, I have been asked, “How do I pay for hearing aids?” For many, the price of hearing technology is just too much. Insurance does not usually cover hearing aids, and not everyone has a nest egg built up to purchase … Continue reading
Government has an opportunity to make workplaces more disability-inclusive. In my home state of Kansas, there is proposed state legislation that will have a public hearing this week. It would require government agencies to provide employment preference to their state-funded employment positions, while giving access to reasonable accommodations essential to making the positions equitable. Let … Continue reading
It is an honor to announce that I have been selected as a finalist in the 2022 Oticon Focus on People Awards, a national competition that recognizes individuals who are helping to change perceptions of what it means to live with hearing loss. I am one of three finalists in the Advocacy category, a category … Continue reading
“My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who and how you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.” -Maya Angelou Lipreading Mom focuses on two things: living with hearing loss and being a parent. Today I would like to focus on parenting my children who are all … Continue reading
The Foo Fighters is possibly the greatest rock band since The Rolling Stones and The Beatles (at least Lipreading Mom thinks so). I am currently reading through band leader Dave Grohl’s memoir, The Storyteller, and one thing I can tell you about Dave’s life is this: It’s been a LOUD ride. Being at the top … Continue reading
I recently was interviewed for Hearing Loss LIVE!, a website dedicated to hearing loss awareness. Created by Chelle Wyatt, Julia Stepp, and Michele Linder (all of whom live with hearing loss), the HLL site’s philosophy is two-fold: “We help you help yourself” and “We’re changing the status quo of hearing loss help. One size does … Continue reading
One of the most challenging aspects of my teaching job is lip-reading multiple speakers’ voices during group meetings. When hands go up for Q & A at the end of staff meetings, I try hard to decipher what is being spoken from multiple mouths scattered across the room. Of course, it helps when the meeting … Continue reading
Nearly 30 years after the Americans Disabilities Act was signed into law, I’ve noticed that some employees continue to hide their hearing loss at work or do not request accommodations. Fellow blogger Shari Eberts wrote a compelling post called How to Combat the Stigma of Hearing Loss, which I highly recommend reading. There are a … Continue reading
Lipreading Mom 