DEAR Week, Day 5: It's Great to Advocate!

Youth and Family Connections

Welcome to DEAR Week 2024!

Day 5: It's Great to Advocate!

What do we need and how do we ask for it? This is at the core of self-advocacy. It is so important for our Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing youth to see advocacy modeled and to learn how to advocate for their own rights and needs. When we learn to advocate for ourselves, we can advocate for our community, too, and make things better for everyone after us. It's great to advocate!

"The Artivist"

Read By: CSD Library

"Say Something"

Statewide Outreach Center

Sometimes I Like the Quiet (2022): Kelly Brakenhoff

Picture Book

Duke the Deaf dog works hard to listen all day! But all that listening can be exhausting. When it gets to be too much, he needs to take a break and rest. Help Duke as he learns to advocate for himself and tell his family that sometimes he likes the quiet.

All the Way to the Top (2020): Annette Bay Pimentel

Picture Book

Learn about the fight to get the Americans with Disabilities Act passed through the eyes of Jennifer Keelan, a girl who knew she deserved equal access to the world around her. With determination and a community behind her, Jennifer can go all the way to the top.

Make a Little Wave (2024): Kerry O'Malley Cerra

Middle Grade

Savannah, a middle-schooler with cochlear implants, has just moved to a new seaside town. Savannah is still hesitant to venture out into the ocean, but when she realizes that local ocean animals are in danger, she will have to find her courage and her determination to protect them.

Deaf Author

The Way I Hear It (2015): Gael Hannan

Teen Read

In this memoir, Gael Hannan shares funny stories from her own life alongside tips on communication and navigating life as a Hard of Hearing individual. Part research, part humor, and part survival guide, Gael has plenty of insights on self-advocacy to share.

Deaf Author

Want more recommendations? Check out last year's DEAR newsletters!

Learn while Gaming with DeafVerse

Created specifically for Deaf youth, DeafVerse is a choose-your-own adventure game designed to teach self-advocacy skills. Teachers, families, and professionals can download free guides to work through DeafVerse's fun, supernatural-themed campaigns with students and practice asking for what they need!

See all DeafVerse has to offer here!

Want YFC to read with you?

Youth and Family Connections partners with schools and families to provide READ Days. A Deaf, DeafBlind, or Hard of Hearing adult goes into classrooms to read with students, foster a love for reading, and connect with students as a DDBHH role model. Children also receive free books through a CHS/American Library Association partnership!

Request a READ Day!

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Disclaimer: CHS does not necessarily endorse the content of the recommended books. It is the responsibility of teachers and family members to ascertain the appropriateness of the texts for their readers.

CHSYouth@anixter.org