Guide By Your Side Parent Guides
Hi! My name is Jada Babcock, and I live in the Lafayette, LA area. Our son was born with a rare Chromosome 13q deletion and is profoundly deaf bilaterally.
As a parent guide, I love meeting new families and supporting them as they begin their journey. I remember feeling so lost after our son was diagnosed as deaf and wishing that there was someone who understood the emotions and fear that we were experiencing. I am so honored to be a part of the Guide By Your Side program, and hope that I can help alleviate some of the unknowns for families.
jada.babcock@la.gov
Hi, my name is Krista Fowlkes. I was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Since marrying my husband, we have moved to Monroe for his job. We have four children, ages 7, 6, 5 and 4, two of which have special needs. We adopted our youngest, Sohini Fowlkes, from India almost two years ago. She is profoundly deaf bilaterally. In October 2021, she received a cochlear implant. We have embarked on a mission as a family to learn ASL and cued speech, and she also participates in auditory-verbal therapy. I am proud to be a part of Hands & Voices.
My name is Kristen Williams, and I live in Ascension Parish. My husband and I have three children. We learned that our son is severe-to-profoundly deaf shortly after he was born. He has bilateral cochlear implants and is currently in mainstream elementary school. We began receiving early intervention services when he was an infant, but we did not meet other families with children that have hearing loss. I attended an event held by Hands & Voices and learned that there is a community of families that could relate to us and our journey. I am glad to share our experience with families and offer support and encouragement. Please reach out to me anytime!
Parent Guides:
Greater New Orleans area Marbely Barahona
Dinia Cabrera
New Orleans Rana Ottallah
North Louisiana Penny Hakim
Krista Fowlkes
Greater Baton Rouge area Kristen Williams
Lafayette and Central La Jada Babcock
Southwest Louisiana Jill Guidry
D/HH Guides:
Kaye Wallace
I am originally from South America and have lived in New Orleans for the past 20 years. I have a wonderful husband, Asahel, and we have six children, two girls and four boys. My oldest son is profoundly deaf and received a cochlear implant at the age of five. He was fully mainstreamed in regular education classes in his home school district school. When Asahel was diagnosed with deafness, there was very little parent-to-parent support in the State of Louisiana. Therefore, when I learned of Louisiana Hands & Voices and its Guide by Your Side program, I knew I wanted to be part of it. It is a pleasure for me to provide support to parents of deaf and hard of hearing children. Sharing with others my experiences and what I have learned along the way may help others. An important lesson learned was to welcome options, changes and setbacks; those are part of the process and help a great deal.
I also work for Louisiana’s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program (EHDI) as a Bilingual Parent Consultant; in this role, I help Spanish-speaking families navigate the EHDI process. Often times I feel my job is not a job any more. It is like way to give back to the community for the wonderful opportunity I had to raise my deaf son around such wonderful professionals, parents and family members that gave me such a great support.
Penny is a native of Shreveport, Louisiana. She received her Bachelor of Science Degree at University of Louisiana Monroe. She raised her four children in Monroe, Louisiana. Penny’s oldest child lost his hearing when he was 13 months old to meningitis. He was the youngest to receive a cochlear implant in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1990.
She has served on various state and national boards and committees concerning the deaf and hard of hearing population. Penny has been a Hands & Voices Parent Guide in North Louisiana since 2013. She is passionate about empowering parents to learn more about their children’s unique needs. She firmly believes in Hands and Voices motto, “What Works for your child is what make the choice right.”
Jill Guidry,
LA Hands & Voices, Director
Parent Guide - Southwest Louisiana
Hi! My oldest daughter Kaye was diagnosed with a profound bilateral hearing loss at 2 years. Her loss was progressive; only a mild loss in one ear at birth. I remember clearly the day the audiologist told me she had a profound hearing loss. I felt overwhelmed, afraid and alone. However, I share with you that her hearing loss has not defined or limited her life. She attended mainstream classes in our home school district with support services that enabled her to be successful. We were blessed to have early interventionists and teachers who offered guidance and support during our journey, and I enjoy giving back to our community by offering hope and encouragement to families. I am excited to be a part of the incredible Louisiana Hands & Voices Guide by Your Side program.
I live in southwest Louisiana. I love being part of Hands & Voices and the Guide by Your Side program. My husband is an avid fisherman, and we enjoy camping at Toledo Bend. We live in Sulphur and raise horses, goats and chickens, along with three dogs and a cat. I am a teacher of deaf and hard of hearing students, and have taught at the elementary and middle school for 22 years.
I'd love to connect with you, please reach out to me anytime.
Hi, my name is Kaye Wallace, I am profoundly deaf. I communicate through ASL, orally or both (total communication). I attended mainstream classes all of my life with sign language interpreters so I could have complete access. In high school, I also began to use notetakers to ensure I didn’t miss anything. This helped me tremendously, as when I watched the interpreter it was difficult to write notes. When I would look down, I missed what the interpreter signed. I did well in high school, graduating from high school in 2014. I attended McNeese State University for three years and my grades were good. I found my passion for working with animals, especially horses. I rodeo and train horses as often as I can. I am currently working as a notetaker at the high school for deaf and hard of hearing students.
As a LA H&V Deaf Guide, I share my personal life experiences of growing up deaf. I hope to create a safe place in which families can ask questions about hearing loss or deafness. I am also a positive role model for children and families for hope and optimism. Feel free to reach out to me. I am here to help.