This is Will: dad, fundraiser, and all-round superstar ✨ Earlier this year, he jumped out of a plane (yes, really!) to raise money for the National Deaf Children's Society. And tomorrow, he’s lacing up his trainers for the Great North Run – all in honour of his daughter, Edie: “Soon after Edie was born in 2019, we found out that she had mild to moderate sensorineural hearing loss. By five weeks old, she was wearing her first hearing aids. But at just two and a half years old, her hearing dropped to severe to profound. After countless tests and hospital appointments, in 2023 Edie went through six hours of surgery to receive her cochlear implant." Now at five years old, Edie has started school and she's absolutely loving it: “We were understandably worried about the start of school, but we’ve been very lucky. She gets more tired than a hearing child by the end of the day, but cannot wait to go in every day. “We’ve been supported in so many ways by the National Deaf Children’s Society. It’s made the difficult and scary times a lot more manageable. The support that the charity offers families means that our deaf children can achieve amazing things; being deaf is a thread that weaves through their identity, not a limiting factor for the greatness they can achieve. And of course, Will couldn't be prouder of his daughter: "Edie is a force of nature and will be a force to be reckoned with in the future, I have no doubt. She’s needed that determination in her five short years, and it’ll do her well in her years to come." From a skydive to a half marathon, Will, we are in awe of you. Good luck for Sunday – we’ll be cheering you all the way! 💜 Read more about Will's incredible fundraising efforts: https://www.justgiving.com/page/william-lang-1728911949325 #GreatNorthRun (fb)

In this week's family blog, Charlotte shares her top tips for hearing parents of deaf babies. "When we found out Beatrice was deaf at 3 weeks old, we were very confused and felt very alone as we didn’t know any deaf people. Meeting our Teacher of the Deaf (ToD) started to restore some order. Nowadays, we attend a weekly deaf preschoolers' group (run by ToDs), and I follow various deaf and British Sign Language (BSL) pages and groups on Facebook. I feel more connected to a community, and I hope Beatrice does too. Here are some of things we figured out in Beatrice’s first year, in the hope they might help another struggling hearing parent of a deaf baby! Don’t panic, and be gentle with yourself: Parent guilt and crazy hormones mean that you will probably be beating yourself up about something or other, so try not to add worries about hearing aids and deafness! Be proud of your wonderful baby. Try and get a ToD: If your child is bilaterally deaf, they should have a ToD, but unfortunately not every unilaterally deaf child is eligible. Your audiologist or the National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS) should be able to advise you if you do not already have one. Our ToD is a light in the darkness. She gives us advice about all sorts of things, checks Beatrice’s aids, assesses her progress, helps us talk through related medical issues… I really don’t know what we would do without her. If you do not think your ToD is giving you the support you need, you are entitled to escalate it. Read to your baby: All the advice I was given said you must face your baby to read so they can see your face. That’s all very well, and certainly the ideal, but it made me not want read to Beatrice as I couldn’t find a way for me to face her. She didn’t sit until she was 11 months, and it was hopeless trying to prop her up. In the end, we read to her on our laps. At 3, she is a total bookworm. Just read to your child, it doesn’t matter how you do it! Aids in or out, facing you or away – they will love to see the pages and be close to you. Learn some BSL signs: I always liked the idea of ‘baby sign’, but when Beatrice was a few months old, I found a class which used BSL signs. She used her first sign (‘milk’) when she was 9 months, and it was indescribable how good it felt that she could tell me specifically what she wanted. She maxed out at 60 signs and now chooses to talk instead of sign. However, we use Sign Supported English (SSE) when she can’t hear, for example, when her aids are out or we're in busy places. If you can’t make it to a class, there are some great books for you to learn signs with your child. It’s OK to make up signs – no one will judge you! Plan for hospital and clinic appointments: You will probably be attending a lot of appointments. Write down questions beforehand, and do not be afraid to bring out your notebook and pen in the appointment. Do not worry about asking questions or for things to be repeated. If you can, bring a second adult so that one of you can wrangle the baby and the other can pay attention. I definitely recall saying to Will in the car home, “It’s interesting that the doctor said that,” only for him to reply, “What?! She said the opposite!” Keep records: Keep and file all the letters and appointment letters, unless you have them available online (for example, MyChart). You may need them. Consider applying for Disability Living Allowance (DLA): When your baby is a few months old and the fog of newborn-ness has cleared, think about applying for DLA. Not every deaf child is eligible, but if they might be, ask your ToD or NDCS about it. Having a deaf child is pretty expensive (think hospital parking, additional car trips to deaf groups) so the money is very welcome, but also it can open other doors such as childcare funding and reduced entry for parks and so on. You will need to have lots of evidence, including medical letters, if you apply. All children will have a phase of pulling out their hearing aids: Your ToD may have some suggestions if this is happening, but you can buy equipment such as hats and bands. Beatrice wore a headband from about 3 to 15 months. This stopped her aids flopping around, gave us a talking point for passers-by about her deafness, and looked super cute!" Our bloggers share their stories and experiences to help other families, so please be kind and respectful when commenting. 💜 (fb)