Parent Guide Janne' Sharpe Personal Bio 2019

Parent Guide Katie Hope Personal Story

GA H&V, GBYS Training/Retreat 2019

Georgia Hands & Voices Family,
GA H&V, Guide By Your Side Program recently had their annual training/retreat at a cabin in Blue Ridge. We would like to share a few memorable moments/ideas we had in hopes you might benefit from them too. 

Page 1-We worked on building Culture as a team. We want you to know who we are.

Page 2-The job as a Parent Guide requires strategy, but also requires self-reflecting. We are living what we are working as we have children who are Deaf/Hard of Hearing. We wanted to share a beautiful poem, Welcome to Holland. 

Page 3-At the training we talked about situations & solutions. One theory, that we use to teach encountering emotions & how to effectively help others, is the Ring or Circle Theory. It is a simple concept, but it takes practice. We would love to share it with you since we all encounter tragedies around us everyday. 

Page 4-We would like to tell you that we are examining & acknowledging our culture here in Georgia. We know that poverty, ethnicity, & family dynamics/traditions have a role on outcomes for children with hearing loss. We are looking at planning future events with this in mind. We also discussed the differences within the HL community. Finally, we ended the training/retreat with a sacred & special tradition, The H&V Naming Circle. -Scarlett Giles, GA H&V, GBYS Program Coordinator

Social Media Summer 2018

GA H&V Summer 2018 Newsletter

GA H&V, GBYS February Love Letters Blog Event- You've got mail- Letter #4

Ga H&V, GBYS February Love Letters Blog Event

You've got mail! Letter #4

For my February Love Letter to my daughter, Amelia, I decided to speak our love language......music. Besides, What's more romantic than a mixed tape?  Amelia and I's mixed tape would consist of the following 3 songs:

1.  "Love Is A Battlefield" by Pat Benatar. Amelia & I know how to love & know how to fight. We are so similar!  It's a hot/cold Aries meeting a stubborn/clever Libra. I love that she has that fight in her especially since she has to advocate for herself a lot with her hearing loss.

We are young
Heartache to heartache
We stand
No promises
No demands
Love is a battlefield
We are strong
No one can tell us we're wrong
Searching our hearts for so long
Both of us knowing
Love is a battlefield
You're begging me to go
Then making me stay
Why do you hurt me so bad
It would help me to know
Do I stand in your way
Or am I the best thing you've had
Believe me
Believe me
I can't tell you why
But I'm trapped by your love
And I'm chained to your side
When I'm losing control
Will you turn me away
Or touch me deep inside
And when all this gets old
Will it still feel the same
There's no way this will die
But if we get much closer
I could lose control
And if your heart surrenders
You'll need me to hold

2. "Diamonds: by Rihanna-Amelia & I use to turn the radio up & sing this song as we sat in Atlanta traffic with a long commute to the Atlanta Speech School for therapy/speech. We both love all things sparkly! 

Shine bright like a diamond

Shine bright like a diamond

Find light in the beautiful sea, I choose to be happy

You and I, you and I, we’re like diamonds in the sky

You’re a shooting star I see, a vision of ecstasy

When you hold me, I’m alive

We’re like diamonds in the sky

I knew that we’d become one right away

Oh, right away

At first sight I felt the energy of sun rays

I saw the life inside your eyes

So shine bright tonight,

You and I

We’re beautiful like diamonds in the sky

Eye to eye,

So alive

We’re beautiful like diamonds in the sky

3. "Girl on Fire" by Alicia Keys- I remember the day she started singing this song & I recorded her. She (my deaf little girl) was singing clearly & on pitch. In that moment, I saw the beautiful results of all of the hard work she had put in at school to learn to listen/speak & it was worth all we had sacrificed as a family. 

She's living in a world, and it's on fire

Feeling the catastrophe, but she knows she can fly away

Oh, she got both feet on the ground

And she's burning it down

Oh, she got her head in the clouds

And she's not backing down

This girl is on fire

This girl is on fire

She's walking on fire

This girl is on fire

Looks like a girl, but she's a flame

So bright, she can burn your eyes

Better look the other way

You can try but you'll never forget her name

She's on top of the world.

So Amelia, you are strong! You are a our fire!  We will always be chained to each other's side. And remember to always shine bright like a diamond. 

Love Mom,

(Scarlett Giles is the GA H&V, GBYS Program Coordinator)

GA H&V, GBYS February Love Letters Blog Event- You've got mail! Letter #3

Ga H&V, GBYS February Love Letters Blog Event

You've got mail! Letter #3

To my son:

You have brought me so much joy in the last 16 years. Your spunkiness and strong will have both inspired me and drove me crazy! I joke that you have given me all my gray hairs. Your determination is inspiring. You have always had a smile and charm and way about you that lights up a room and draws people to you.

Your hearing loss is only one part of you. It hasn’t stopped you from being a great athlete or a great student. Most importantly, your hearing loss hasn’t gotten in the way for being the kind-hearted, caring person you are. You are created perfectly and God has created a perfect plan for your life; your hearing loss is a perfect part of his plans for you!

Although you have challenges because of your hearing loss, it has also taught you and me so much. It has allowed me to have more empathy and understanding for other parents and people.  I have met some awesome kids, parents and families because of your hearing loss. And the same is true for your father, your brother and your sister. 

Thank you for blessing us and loving us the way we love you, Caleb!

-Written by Kelly Cashion, GA H&V Parent Guide