A Sense of Belonging

As a hearing mother of a deaf child, i have always felt lost. I've always felt like i'm stuck, having no one to talk to, no one to ask, not knowing anyone who has been in the same shoes as i am. Any questions i have had always been directed to Afif's speech therapist, audiologists and Mr. Google. They have been so helpful but there's always this void, you know? i wanna know i'm not alone in this.

So i went on like that.

Until one fine Saturday morning, i attended a playgroup organized by Klinik Audiologi UKM. Though without my husband (who had to work), i learnt so much and finally met other parents and their deaf kids. We talked, had sharing session, and listened to a beneficial presentation by Dr. Basha while the kids are well taken care of by the facilitators.

Sadly, we rushed home as Afif has gotten cranky. i didn't get to swap numbers with any of the moms. Memang sedih la tak sempat tukar-tukar nombo phone dengan ibu-ibu yang lain.

Lucky for me, i bumped into Su while going for Afif's MRI follow up at HUKM. Su is Naurah's mother (a 2year-old hearing impaired girl) who i met during the playgroup. We talked for a while, swapped numbers and the next thing i know, i'm invited into this Telegram chat group.

*Telegram: application on the smartphone for chatting. (macam Whatsapp jugak)

Ya Allah. Bersyukur sangat di-invite dalam group ni. 

There are around 50 mothers (and the numbers are expanding) of hard of hearing children. Ada yang senior, contohnya Kak Ziba yang anaknya pakai HA, speaks well and masuk sekolah rendah biasa. Ada jugak mak-mak newbie macam aku and Su yang anak kecil lagi.. Ada yang pakai HA, CI and bone.. Ada yang dari KL, Kuantan, Kelantan, Sepang.. Setiap hari ade je topik diborak; children's development, cara terapi kat rumah, buku mana yang best, menu harian, etc.. When any of us has any questions, the others will try their best to answer. Even if sometimes i don't get a definite answer, i'm still so happy to know their experience.

Finally i don't feel like the only mother of a deaf child anymore. 

If any of you readers are a mother of a deaf child, contact me and in sha Allah, you'll be invited into this chat group too. You're not alone in this.

:)