Katie and Mila: Spreading positivity and representation for kids with hearing loss

Mila, deaf, is a spunky 4-year-old girl with cochlear implants. Living with her parents and two siblings in the New York countryside, she loves reading books, playing at the playground, and ballet and tap dancing. Her favorite subject in school is also arts and crafts, and in the future she wishes to become a chef with a specialty in mac & cheese. Her mom, Katie, is grateful for her daughter, and has been so inspired by the journey with Mila’s hearing loss that she has decided to write a children’s book with Mila as the main character, called Mighty Mila. Though the book does not officially come out until sometime in late September, they are really excited to be working on it, and are having a lot of fun with the process. Mila even gets to add a drawing and her signature to the book!

“[K]ids with hearing loss deserve to see themselves represented in books… but more than that, they need to see themselves represented as regular kids where their hearing loss is NOT the focus of the story,” says Katie. The need for spreading awareness and representation for deaf children is very important to Katie and her family, and she hopes that this book would encourage kids to be more understanding and accepting of each other.

If you would like to follow Katie, Mila and their family on their journey with the book Mighty Mila and on their journey with life in general, you may follow them on Instagram (@mightymilastories) or Facebook (@mightymila). And for more specific details on the book itself, they have a Kickstarter here.