Texas Hands & Voices

Texas Hands & Voices (TX H&V) offers support, information and resources in an unbiased manner to families with children who are deaf or hard of hearing. Our outreach activities, parent & professional community collaborations, and advocacy efforts are focused on enabling Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing children to reach their highest potential. Support Services Include: Guide By Your Side (Parent to Parent Mentors) Guide By Your Side (GBYS) does this through specially trained parents of children who are deaf or hard of hearing. These parents work as “Guides” directly with families who have just learned of their child’s hearing condition, or who have older children and are in need of the unique support that comes from someone else who has walked this path him/herself and can share from direct experience and wisdom. GBYS programs can also include an option for Deaf/Hard of Hearing Guides (DHH Guides) who are deaf or hard of hearing adults and specially trained to provide support to families. ASTra (Advocacy, Support, & Training) ASTra is a replicable Deaf and Hard of Hearing Educational Advocacy Program providing parents and professionals with resources that focus specifically on D/HH issues in educational advocacy in the Hands & Voices context: a commitment to unbiased support of families regardless of language and communication approaches used by their children and across the full continuum of educational placement options, so that every child who is D/HH has the opportunity to achieve their full potential. ASTra content is derived from years of direct advocacy experience working with families in schools, attending advocacy trainings from legal experts, providing trainings, and the Hands & Voices Educational Advocacy Guidebook (©2013).