Our Flying Colours Champions
We are developing a team of Flying Colours Champions who can guide and mentor deaf and hard-of-hearing families in the community. Our Champions have a deep understanding of the issues, challenges and emotional impact of raising a DHH child, as seen on the Flying Colours website. Both Champions have lived experiences with a deaf child. Let's introduce you to Tamara Trinder-Scacco - based in Victoria and Stacey Johnson - based in Queensland. Stacey and Tamara are available to answer on-the-spot queries from families and provide guidance and mentoring.
Stacey and her family.
Stacey
About Stacey:
I am the proud mum to 3 gorgeous, sometimes delightful kids. I have a daughter, Chelsea who is 17 and 12 year old boy/girl twins, Noah and Grace, who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Noah has a very mild unilateral loss and wears a hearing aid and FM system only whilst at school. Grace has a more significant hearing loss with a bilateral moderate-severe loss and she wears hearing aids all the time.
I have been a Parent Mentor with DCA for over 7 years. I know how I felt when I was told my child was deaf and hard of hearing so I am able to really understand, appreciate and empathise with how other parents are feeling and what they are going through - the overwhelming feelings of shock, sadness, guilt, concern and worry – just to name a few!
As a Parent Mentor, I draw upon my lived experiences to help guide, support, encourage and reassure families to navigate their hearing loss journey.
About Tamara:
Tamara is raising two deaf children, 19 and 14 whom both have bilingual (English and Auslan) language.
Tamara has experienced her fair share of discrimination as a deaf person and this has led to her passion becoming a strong advocate for the rights of deaf and hard-of hearing people to ensure they receive equal access to information and experiences in the community.
Tamara was diagnosed with borderline profound hearing loss at just two years of age. This was a difficult time for her family, as there were no newborn hearing screening tests available in the 1970s. Tamara was raised as an oral deaf person, meaning that she was taught to speak and listen instead of using sign language. While she was able to speak quite well, she still missed out on a lot of information because she couldn't hear everything clearly. She felt isolated and different from her peers.
When Tamara was 13, she was introduced to Auslan. This was a turning point in her life, as it finally gave her full access to information and communication. Tamara communicated orally with her family and hearing friends. This changed when Tamara’s eldest daughter was diagnosed with hearing loss. Tamara's sister enrolled in a Diploma of Auslan that helped strengthen their relationship and make communication more accessible for the whole family.
Tamara's main challenges have been self-doubt, discrimination, audism, and silencing. However, she has overcome these challenges by remaining loyal and true to herself. She has also been supported by her mentors, who have helped her to develop her skills and confidence.
To contact either Tamara or Stacey please email us at:
parentmentors@flyingcolours.org.au
