Youth and Family Connections
Welcome to DEAR Week, 2022!
Day 8: #ProudDeaf
Through exploring culture, companionship, and community, books can help us find our identities. For our last day of DEAR Week 2022, we are celebrating Deaf identity. It is our job as educators, professionals, parents, and family members to help our Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing kids develop a strong sense of confidence and self-esteem. Let's raise a next generation that is #ProudDeaf!
Deaf Culture Fairy Tales
Watch the story "One, Two, I Look" out of Deaf Culture Fairy Tales. These adapted folktales include aspects of Deaf experience and Deaf values in well-known stories and brand-new tales.
Duke the Deaf Dog (2019): Kelly Brakenhoff
This series of books explores being Deaf through Duke and his family. They use ASL to communicate with each other and the books come with access to signed storytellings and on-page pictures of ASL vocabulary.
Proud to be Deaf (2019):
Ava Beese
Meet Ava, a young Deaf girl in the UK. She talks about her family, her hobbies, her language, and how she is proud to be Deaf! The book also includes the British Sign Language alphabet and some helpful signs!
Smelly Hearing Aids and Fishy Lips (2017):
Marc Heyez
This comedic book chronicles the life of Egg, a Deaf teenager, as he navigates school, speech therapy, and friends. Egg's narrative voice is funny and relatable. Learn more about the author here.
Did you DEAR?
Upload your photos of participating in DEAR Week! We will compile the pictures into a collage you can show your DDBHH children so they can feel a part of our larger community. Teachers/schools are responsible for getting permission to share photos.

Thank you for joining us!
See you again next year!
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!
CHSYouth@anixter.org