Have you ever tried to navigate the healthcare system in a new country while not speaking the language?

Our guest today, Keila Armas, did just that! She's originally from Guatemala and soon after she moved to North Carolina, United States she gave birth to her first child who had hearing loss.

Her experience navigating the system was very difficult since she didn’t speak any English at the time and she didn’t have anyone from her family in this country.

Because of that experience she opened a support group in Spanish for families that have children deaf or hard of hearing. She is now a parent consultant with the NC-EHDI program.

Keila and her son have become advocates for new families that are starting in the hearing loss journey letting them know that they are not alone.

Find more resources on the website https://www.regularmomblog.com/

Connect with other parents in the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisingdeafkids

Questions or comments about the show? Contact Alaine at [email protected]

Listen to the episodes with closed captioning on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc_eBB2dpyVE7LSfpWOmeUw

Find parent support in NC at NC Beginnings https://ncbegin.org/

Find national support at Hands and Voices https://www.handsandvoices.org

Start early intervention services with EHDI https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hearingloss/ehdi-programs.html

Read the transcript for this episode here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AYjFS1Sb8a0GMKNal_Ij-ToxUw3eoUJb/view?usp=sharing