For Professionals

Professionals across many disciplines tell families similar things — but families often hear those messages in high-stress moments, surrounded by new vocabulary and competing priorities. Clear, accessible information they can return to on their own time helps reinforce what you are already telling them.

DeafKidsNavigator:

• Provides parent-friendly explanations of language access, early intervention, audiological processes, and educational rights
• Reinforces language access and communication access principles across settings
• Helps align messaging when a child is working with multiple providers at once
• Supports informed family decision-making without pushing a single communication philosophy
• Gives families a trusted starting point for questions that arise between appointments

You meet families at one of the most significant moments of their child’s life. The information you provide in those early weeks sets the tone for years of decision-making.

DeafKidsNavigator can help you:

• Share clear, parent-friendly information about newly identified children with families who are still processing the news
• Reinforce the urgency of early language access without overwhelming families
• Provide consistent messaging about what early intervention can and cannot do, and why language access matters alongside hearing technology

See our pages on Language Access.

You understand language development, communication access, and educational equity in ways that few other professionals do. Families who find their way to you are fortunate — and often still learning what questions to ask.

DeafKidsNavigator can help you:

• Support family understanding of why language access at home reinforces educational goals at school
• Bridge communication between home and school by providing families with consistent vocabulary and reference points
• Offer families context for IEP, IFSP, and educational rights discussions

See our national map for EHDI, IFSP, and IEP information.

Many general education teachers support Deaf and hard-of-hearing students without specialized training in Deaf education. That gap is common, and it does not have to be a barrier.

DeafKidsNavigator can help you:

• Build a clearer picture of what a Deaf or hard-of-hearing student may need to fully access your classroom
• Understand how communication access, not just hearing technology, affects a student’s participation
• Share resources with families that help them understand inclusion, access, and advocacy in school settings

Suggested pages to share with families:

• Newly identified
• IFSP information
• IEP information

Your work sits at the intersection of communication, language development, and family guidance. Families often rely on you to help them understand what is happening with their child’s language — and what to expect.

DeafKidsNavigator can help you:

• Align the information families receive from you with clear, accessible explanations they can read at home
• Reinforce multimodal communication approaches where appropriate
• Support families in understanding that communication planning is broader than any single modality or device

Suggested pages to share with families:

• Language Access
• Language Testing
• Interpreting Language Testing Results

You are often the first professional a family sees after identification. That first conversation — and the information you provide — shapes how families understand their child’s situation.

DeafKidsNavigator can help you:

• Support families beyond the audiological evaluation with clear context for what comes next
• Reinforce that hearing technology supports access to sound, but does not automatically produce language
• Provide families with a broader starting point for understanding their child’s needs beyond the audiogram

Suggested pages to share with families:

• Newly Identified
• Language Access

Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs connect families with services at the earliest possible moment. The materials and messaging families receive through EHDI shape their first understanding of what Deaf and hard-of-hearing means for their child.

DeafKidsNavigator can help you:

• Provide consistent, neutral, family-facing information that complements statewide program materials
• Support family navigation across the many systems and providers they will encounter
• Offer a trusted independent resource that reinforces language access without replacing EHDI program guidance

Interpreters play a critical role in ensuring that Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals — and families — have full access to communication in medical, educational, and social service settings. Your presence changes what is possible.

DeafKidsNavigator can help you:

• Support family understanding of communication access and why interpreter presence matters
• Reinforce role clarity when families have questions about what interpreters do and do not do
• Serve as a shared reference point when working alongside other providers and family members

Suggested page to share with families: Language Access

Families navigating the Deaf and hard-of-hearing service landscape often feel overwhelmed by the number of systems, decisions, and providers involved. Your role as a connector and advocate is essential.

DeafKidsNavigator can help you:

• Provide families with clear, trusted information they can return to as they navigate complex systems
• Reinforce advocacy and rights information in accessible language
• Support families who are trying to understand what services are available and what they are entitled to

Suggested pages to share with families:

• Newly Identified
• IFSP Meeting
• IEP Meeting
• Language Access

Across roles and disciplines, the professionals who serve Deaf and hard-of-hearing children share a common foundation:

• Language access — ensuring every child has meaningful, consistent access to language from the earliest possible moment
• Communication access — creating environments where children can fully participate in learning, relationships, and daily life
• Educational success — building the language and literacy foundations children need to thrive academically
• Social connection — supporting children in forming relationships, understanding their own identity, and belonging in their communities
• Family confidence — helping parents and caregivers feel equipped, informed, and supported — not just referred and discharged

DeafKidsNavigator is built around those same goals. We hope it earns a place in the toolkit you already use.

There is no single right way to use DeafKidsNavigator with families. Some professionals share specific pages during appointments. Others recommend the site as a starting point for families who are newly identified and looking for somewhere to begin. Others use particular pages to reinforce a conversation they have already had in the room.

A few practical approaches:

• Share specific pages that match what a family is currently navigating — not the whole site at once
• Use pages during meetings as a shared reference point when explaining a process or concept
• Reinforce key concepts by pointing families to written explanations they can reread after the appointment ends
• Encourage families to explore at their own pace — the site is designed to be calm and non-overwhelming, so families do not need to be guided through it step by step

We are building a growing library of tools, guides, and professional resources. Sign up to receive updates as new content is published.

The work you do with Deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families is consequential. The guidance you offer, the information you share, and the care you bring to those early conversations shape outcomes that last a lifetime.

We built DeafKidsNavigator to support that work — not to replace it. We are grateful to be a resource you can trust.