Happy Hands
Transforming Lives One Sign at a Time
Ellen Keaton
Ashland Beacon
Imagine you have waited nine long months for the arrival of your new baby. Now imagine that you have waited your entire life to have that baby follow in your footsteps and having the opportunity to teach them your family values. Then finally … that day has come. The day arrives and he or she is perfect. But suddenly you feel as if your world has come crashing down because your baby’s pediatrician just told you that your perfect little baby has hearing loss and could be deaf. Unfortunately, this exact scenario happens to approximately one in every 500 births in the United States. What do you after receiving this devastating news? Where do you turn?
It is a difficult situation for any parent to process. Early screening for hearing loss is so important and these initial screenings are only the beginning and should be followed up with additional testing to confirm the severity of the hearing loss. Once a full diagnosis from an audiologist is made, families can and talk about how to best handle their child’s future education and treatment.
Interpreters and teachers for the deaf are at a high critical shortage nationwide. However, our area is blessed to have someone with a heart and love for helping develop each child to their full potential. Amy Hatzel lives in Boyd County and has an amazing resume. She is a teacher of the deaf, nationally certified, Kentucky licensed interpreter for the deaf, she also has a background in special education, learning and behavior disorders and an endorsement in deaf education. Amy has been an interpreter since 1991 and in education since 2006. She had worked as a teacher for the deaf and hard of hearing in the Carter County School system until 2022 when due to an unexpected major health issue she was forced to resign to heal.
According to Hatzel there are two main reasons for deafness and hearing loss. The first is sensory neural deafness that is nerve damage and can be from anything from congenital to later in life by loud noise exposure by large equipment, loud music, etc. The second is conductive hearing loss. She explains, “This basically says that your ear mechanism …. the physical part of the ear and the way the sound travels from the outside in. there is something in there that is occluding it. Many times, the conductive loss can be treated where with the sensory neural damage … very little can be done other than hearing aids or cochlear implants and things like that.”
Amy’s connection with those having a hearing loss goes all the way back to her childhood. “My mom had a friend whose son was deaf. She and my mom would get together and go BlackBerry picking and all of us kids would play together and he was one of us. We learned some sign from him and it always stuck with me. I had always wanted to be a teacher and when I had to declare an area of emphasis, I chose deafness.”
Once Amy’s health had improved enough to think about her next move, she was drawn back to the teacher inside of her and still wanted to help improve the lives of the children in our area with a hearing loss. “The time I was out of work due to the health issues, I missed my kids so much and I realized they needed some type of educational and social supplement. When they don’t get to be around other kids that are deaf or hard of hearing, they have this feeling of isolation and a sense of being different.” Hatzel continued, “I needed to do something to feed the teacher in me because it’s who I am. So, I started Happy Hands, a Kentucky nonprofit. We do educational events, family support events and try to provide resources to children who have hearing loss and their families. It is so important for a child with hearing lost to have the proper access to language from the very earliest moments.”
As a nonprofit Happy Hands gladly accepts donations. Amy shared that one of those donations involved the purchase of a football helmet … a special helmet that would accommodate the young player’s hearing devices yet provide the necessary protection to keep him safe. “I contacted the Seattle Seahawks because Dereck Coleman is a deaf man that plays for the NFL and another young man I knew that had served an internship with the Baltimore Ravens. They were very gracious to send me information on what type of helmet that could safely have pads moved in and out and work for this young player. The helmet was about eight hundred dollars … this is the type of things we do.”
The Happy Hands group tries to have a literacy event every month. “I have a story prepared for them that is introduced in sign and in English …. what it means in context to improve comprehension. We then have an activity related to the story, share a snack and create a fun social environment for them. Some kids sign and some don’t but it doesn’t matter. It’s simply about being with other kids that have a hearing loss so they aren’t so lonely.” The group has a large age span, although Hatzel targets the younger ones particularly preschool/kindergarten and earlier if she can get them and their families in the group.
The Happy Hands group often attends events sponsored by Hands and Voices. Hatzel explained that Hands and Voices is a parent led nonprofit with groups all over the state that now has a chapter in Olive Hill. The main leaders of this group all have children with hearing loss and are excellent at helping parents advocate for their child. Finally, Hatzel says, “I am also available to help with the special education process and learning about their rights, as well as sign language classes and early intervention activities for family.”
To become a part of the Happy Hands group, you can join the group on Facebook by answering a few screening questions. You can also call Amy Hatzel at 606.232.6391.
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