HEARO was created to empower kids who are deaf or hard of hearing to thrive through every stage of life. When the HEARO team thought about a young person that embodied the HEARO values, Indy came to mind.
HEARO was created to empower kids who are deaf or hard of hearing to thrive through every stage of life. When the HEARO team thought about a young person that embodied the HEARO values, Indy came to mind.
Indy is a teen that is hard of hearing and wears bilateral hearing aids. She is well-spoken, an independent thinker, highly creative with terrific leadership skills.
One of Indy’s aspirations is to be a mentor to other young kids, helping them to be the heroes of their own stories. She understands the isolation which can happen with being hard of hearing in a mainstream world.
Firstly Indy, if you were to dress up in a HERO costume who would you be and why? The little voice in the back of my mind is saying I would dress up in my normal clothes. I am a part of HEARO and that means showing up as myself to represent this community.
What is your current Deaf/ Hearing identity? I am a hard-of-hearing teenager who also has a condition called ‘Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome’. This means I can lose more hearing if I get a hard enough blow to the head.
Please share when your family found out about this diagnosis. I was three years old. Too young to remember what happened. But I know it would have had a huge impact on my parents, who would have worried about me feeling ‘different’ and what that would mean for my life.
What is the ONE thing you would tell your younger self? Accept it. I think I pushed away many things, physically and mentally because I didn’t want to be different. Life would have been easier if I accepted myself more and worried less about what other people were thinking.
How has being hard of hearing enhanced your life? It can definitely heighten your senses. Lipreading can be very entertaining when people are unaware that you can understand what they are saying!
What have been the highlights of your life so far? The amazing friends I’ve gained and my family who support me no matter what.
Looking ahead, what are your dreams for the future? I want to be a fashion designer when I grow up! Yes, it probably sounds cheesy. But I have seriously been thinking about it for a few years now. I don’t even know who the major designers are but I know if I work hard, I can accomplish anything.
Is there one more thing you’d like to share with a young person who is deaf or hard of hearing? Well, kid you gonna go through hell and back but never give up or give in. Don’t stop being yourself, whether you’ve accepted this trait or if you’re someone like me who has struggled with it. Trust me I’ve tried everything short of wishing on a magic genie. Don’t give in to the special treatment if you don’t want it, take those wishes and be the hero of your own story.
If you want to hear more from Indy, watch our HEARO videohere.