Our Role in Keeping Children Safe
Join our next Parent Chat on April 16 to learn about hearing loss and support for your child!
Our Role in Keeping Children Safe is a guide designed to support educators and parents working with students who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH), deafblind, and DHH+ students. The document emphasizes that children who are DHH experience significantly higher rates of abuse and maltreatment due to communication barriers, increased dependence on adults, social isolation, and challenges with disclosure.
By the end of this webinar, parents will be able to:
- Identify elevated risk factors that make children who are DHH more vulnerable to abuse—such as communication barriers, dependency on adults, and social isolation—and explain how these risks differ from peers with typical hearing.
- Recognize signs of trauma in children who are DHH, including general behavioral changes and DHH‑specific indicators like changes in willingness to communicate or reluctance to remove hearing technology.
- Implement accessible safety‑communication systems such as mood meters, “need to talk” signals, privacy supports, and worry boxes to encourage disclosure and emotional expression.
- Teach and reinforce safety and boundary skills through explicit vocabulary, daily consent modeling, role‑play scenarios, and student‑created “Hand of Safety” networks.
- Design a supportive, trauma‑informed classroom environment that provides predictable routines, sensory supports, connection‑building rituals, and calming strategies while fulfilling mandated‑reporter responsibilities.
Parent Chats are designed and intended for parents/family members; we kindly ask that only parents/family members attend.
Featured Guest Speaker
Kristin Grender
Kristin Grender is a Teacher for people who are Blind or have Low Vision and an Orientation & Mobility Instructor for CESA #2. She holds dual master’s degrees in Teaching Children with Visual Impairments and Orientation & Mobility from Western Michigan University, and a Special Education undergraduate degree from UW–Whitewater. Kristin’s honors include the Herb Kohl Award (2017), UW–Whitewater Distinguished Alumni Award (2019), Walt Disney Top 100 Teachers (2023), and Top 50 Finalist for Global Teacher Recognition (2026). She is National Board Certified, serves on national boards, and participates in astronomy and NASA-related projects.
