I'm so overwhelmed!!! There's so much information and so many different channels to go through when your school-aged child is HH!! I am just starting on the journey and there are a million things to do. I have started speaking with the myriad of people who are involved with "special education" in the school system (there are a bunch of them) and so many people have to be put on the same page, and no one seems to really know how to deal with a child with hearing impairment. Her teacher is not at all informed, so I went to this site - Hands & Voices - and it had so much information for educating teachers and professionals about hearing impairment. I learned alot by downloading their "Mainstreaming Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children" handout - its quite lengthy, but really really helpful. (http://www.handsandvoices.org/pdf/mainst_cal.pdf).

So, I started a binder, per Misty's suggestion (thanks Misty!! :-) ), and it has a bunch of dividers
1. phone logs/contact list - for everyone I talk to about anything related to Bella's HH, with the date I talked to them and notes about our convo
2. School correspondence - I have learned from past experience that just because you talk to someone at the school (or email them) doesn't mean anything at all - they lose it, it doesn't get in the right hands, etc. I'm keeping a paper trail!!
3. School information - for her IEPs and anything the school gives us to sign, etc.
4. Medical information - for her audiograms (is that the right word?) and any information the dr. gives us
5. Notes/misc - for helpful things I pick up along the way
6. State of Tx - for the programs TX offers, application forms, etc.
7. Resources - for handouts like the one above (I made a copy for her teachers and school)
8. Emails, misc - for my papertrail. I have emails from and to the school, plus I have helpful emails like the ones I recieved from you guys in my introduction.

Looks like its going to be a thick binder!!! :-)

I started teaching her sign this weekend - she picks it up quicker than I did!!! :-) She isn't that good at making the signs, but she's excellent at remembering what they are and the quizzes I give her!

Anyway, I thought maybe this would be helpful information for another parent who is starting down the confusing road of getting your DHH kid going on a successful path in school!!