| Where I live |
Fremont, CA |
| Family Info |
Married to Greg King for 10 years.
Have a 22 yr old hearing daughter, a 20 yr old deaf daughter and
an 18 yr old hearing stepson. |
| Where my deaf child attends school |
My deaf daughter, Christy, attended
California School for the Deaf in Fremont for10 years. Prior to
that she was in a small county program. Now she is in a deaf,
multi-handicapped work training program called ToolWorks. |
| How I felt when it sunk in that my
child doesn’t hear |
It’s sound of the birds and the
wind whistling through the trees that gets to me. That’s what
bothered me the most initially and still does periodically. I
took the news of her deafness pretty well but her other
conditions tore me up. |
| What having a deaf child has
brought to my life |
It’s brought me a new life.
Everything is different, better, more fulfilling. It’s helped me
understand what is really important in |
| My advice to other parents |
Take it one step at a time. Don’t
rush. Talk to seasoned parents with a variety of opinions. |
| My deaf child’s biggest milestone(s) |
Christy took leaps forward when she
outgrew the need for seizure medication. That wasn’t until late
in her high school years. Now she is learning and becoming
independent. |
| Year I joined IMPACT |
1992 or so. |
| Someone I remember from my first
conference |
Sandy Harvey. I met her at an ASDC
conference and an Impact conference the same year. She also had
a child with multiple problems and it seemed like there were few
of us around at the time. |
| One thing I remember from my first
conference |
I’m afraid it’s all a blur. It was
at CSDF and it was raining a lot! |
| Why I joined the board |
I was the only active parent in a
small area and needed to be part of something bigger for support
and to contribute my experience. |
| My role models, mentors, heroes and
inspirers in this journey |
Sandy Harvey, John Allman, Cathy
Walsh, Marilyn Cassidy, Hedy Stern – parents who had gone before
me. |
| Outside of parenting a deaf child,
I also… (hobbies) |
What else is there (smile)? I also
parent an autistic child. I love to garden and be outdoors. I’m
active in a local church (with a deaf program). Redecorating my
house has been a passion for the last year. |
| And a little about my education,
work or career… |
I have a teaching credential which
I’ve not used much. The work I love is in parent to parent
support – I like it best when I get paid but I do it regardless.
I’m also doing some program development for deaf
multi-handicapped young adults. |
| And my final words… |
Don’t give up! There’s a rich world
out there for all our kids! |