Parent Support

The Marion Downs Hearing Center has family-centered practice at the core of its philosophy. Its holistic approach to supporting individuals of all ages who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families makes the MDHC unique among national centers serving this population. Through a collaborative partnership between the MDHC and Hands & Voices, the infusion of family perspectives and sensitivity into the development, implementation, and evaluation of programs, services, and the institutional image of the MDHC is provided.

Stories from Families about the support given at the Marion Downs Center

Walking Though the Doors of the MDHC
By Janet DesGeorges, Director of Family Support

At the core of the vision and mission of The Marion Downs Center, there has always been a great respect and desire to ‘get it right’ for families and clients as they walk through the doors, and to ensure that the experience will be driven by their needs being met. In order to accomplish this, The Center has always included parents as partners in the development and implementation of its many programs. It has been my privilege to serve as a voice of the ‘parent perspective’ as the MDHC has grown and changed over the years. The MDHC has also been a proud partner with Hands & Voices, a national parent support organization, to ensure that families’ needs are being met.

My husband and I are the proud parents of three teenage daughters. Over 11 years ago, our family began a journey at the discovery that our youngest daughter could not hear. I had never thought about how my other children learned to communicate in their world, how they learned to speak or listen. I didn’t wonder whether they could hear me say, “I love you”, or “Look at the stars” or “Daddy’s Home!”… The ability to communicate is the very essence of the human experience. As we faced the challenge of building communication in our daughter Sara’s world, we, like many families today, were met with many different and conflicting opinions, and downright mis-information, about what was the right way to raise our daughter. We had to sift our way through the medical, educational, and philosophical implications of this experience to find what was right for our daughter. Luckily as time went on, through the perspectives of other parents, deaf and hard of hearing individuals themselves, and those in the medical and educational institutions that valued our family’s right to make the choices we felt were best, our daughter today is a vibrant 17 year old who has a positive self image of herself as a deaf person, and can communicate effectively with those around her. Through the services that our daughter has received at The Marion Downs Center, the MDHC has played a huge role as a partner with us in that process.

Another Family has this story to share...

“We moved to Denver when Sophie was 8 months old and became clients at the Marion Downs Hearing Center at the University of Colorado Hospital and Health Sciences Center. Sophie was born with severe sensorineural hearing loss in both ears. We chose the Marion Downs Hearing Center based on the reputation of the center and the recommendations of doctors in the community. We found the audiologists to be knowledgeable, skilled and caring. I felt very comfortable with Sophie in their hands. Not only was Sophie receiving top-notch care, but she actually looked forward to going to the audiologist. They made pleasant and fun what could have been a less than enjoyable experience for a small child. As a parent, they were responsive and interested in my questions. I never felt rushed and they took the time to make sure I understood everything. They were very supportive of our choice in communication method and have always gone the extra mile to help us with whatever we needed.”
– Mom of Sophie

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