There are a number of things that can be done to help grandparents and siblings make positive adjustments. The underlying theme to making a successful adjustment is knowledge and understanding.

This can be gained via:

• family meetings
• parents and grandparents acting as role models
• open discussions among family members

In addition to these strategies, reading may be found helpful. For grandparents and older siblings, reading books on deafness, hearing loss, hearing aids, and associated topics is helpful. For younger children, parents and grandparents can read them books about hearing loss, hearing aids, etc. For many, watching videos or seeing movies about hearing loss topics is helpful. The resource list for grandparents and siblings offers some suggestions regarding books suitable for grandparents, siblings, and the family as a whole.

Involvement in appointments
Another suggestion is to involve grandparents and siblings in various appointments. Coming to watch during the child's audiological evaluation can help someone have a greater understanding of hearing loss than discussing the topic or reading a book. Audiologists may be happy to have grandparents and some siblings watch the testing. Young children may even be allowed to sit in the test booth and wear earphones. Observing a hearing aid fitting can help many family members gain a greater appreciation of the value of hearing aids. Having a sibling join part of a speech-language therapy session can help that child better understand what is being done in these sessions as well as have a greater understanding of the complexity of learning to speak, improving articulation and voice, and learning new language or how to communicate effectively.

Grandparents can accompany the parents to some of the sessions. At such times, the grandparents can interact with the professionals providing services and gain a better understanding of what is being done for their grandchild.

Knowledge and communication
Knowledge is power. The greater the information provided, the more that people experience situations involving the child with the hearing loss, the more open we can be about our feelings. And the more we communicate with each other, the greater will be the likelihood of a successful adjustment grandparents and siblings can make when they have a child who is hearing impaired.

The resource list for grandparents and siblings may be helpful in obtaining the information and understanding that is needed. In some cases, professional counselling is necessary for family members as individuals, grandparents, or the whole family as a unit. The ultimate goal is to help everyone adjust positively to the hearing loss, not just the child who has the loss.