Skip to content Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Persons

RECORDED - Saturday, October 30, 2021

Speaker:  JaQuese Hawkins, MSW

Join us for a virtual presentation by JaQuese Hawkins who will be addressing the ongoing needs for access for deaf and hard of hearing children with hearing parents whose primary language is not English.  Learn about the impact on the students' emotional and mental well-being as they get older.

JaQuese is a social worker in the FCPS Deaf and  Hard of Hearing Program. She was born and raised in Inkster, Michigan. She graduated in 2012 from Oakwood University, Huntsville, AL with a Bachelor’s degree in social work and received her Master’s in social work from Gallaudet University in 2015.  She has always had a passion for working with children and advocating for them and their families in some capacity. Her passion to understand how to be an ally for deaf and hard of hearing individuals both in and outside of her profession span over 12 years. She seeks to constantly improve her understanding of Deaf culture and bridge the supports that are still needed.

 

 

HuffPost - Accessibility
The Blog
by Mark Drolsbaugh
Author, public speaker, and Deaf advocate

05/24/2016

“Yep,” the audiologist confirmed. “Your son does indeed have a hearing loss.”

“That makes sense,” I said. “I’m Deaf, Melanie’s Deaf. I guess our kid’s not going to skip the family curse.”

Melanie and I smiled. After a brief pause, so did the audiologist. For a moment I wondered if she thought there was something wrong with us. It must have been odd for her to witness a nonchalant response along the lines of “How about that? Another Deaf Drolsbaugh.”

 

The audiology exam was the easy part. The hard part was the first IEP meeting the following school year. Melanie and I walked into that with no idea what to expect.

We got ambushed.

School staff, administrators, and representatives from the school district took turns telling us what to do with our Deaf child.

 

Read more . . . Parents of Deaf Children