by Abha Sharma

If you wanted to support Deaf and hard-of-hearing kids, what might you do?

Well, you could write a book, based upon your own life experiences, that’s geared especially for young people who are Deaf or who have hearing loss. This is exactly what Angeliki Stamatopoulou-Pedersen did. She wrote a brilliantly illustrated book, at her own initiative and expense, titled The Secrets Hidden Beneath the Palm Tree.

Every September at the beginning of each school year, as a young mother, Angeliki Pedersen had struggled hard to gather appropriate information to introduce her Deaf son to his teacher and typical hearing classmates in the mainstream school that he attended. For the most part, her desperate search for a good children’s book with deaf characters was largely unsuccessful. Angeliki decided she would write her very own book. She waited till her son graduated from college, then she got started, hoping to help other children on their journey. The result was a kid-friendly book about the life of a little boy with hearing aids, his cute dog, and a curious, empathetic, and friendly girl classmate.

Surely, there might be other mothers and children who could use a book like this, Angeliki had thought.

Yes! Angeliki was so RIGHT.

Originally written in Greek, the book was translated into English by Angeliki herself. An easy-to-read book, it is chock-full of practical tips on how to empathize, care, effectively communicate, and befriend a child who’s living with hearing loss. Then again, it is also about how a deaf/HOH child can and must learn to advocate for themselves. Really, this book is for everyone, whether they have typical hearing or not, be they children or adults. This book is for those learning how to be an ally or outreach helper to a Deaf or hard-of-hearing child, and for all enthusiastic advocates who want to support, guide, and encourage young Deaf and hard-of-hearing children throughout their mainstream schooling in the best possible way.

An Instant Friendship Between Two Authors Who Understand Hearing Loss

I first met Angeliki at a picnic hosted by the Hearing Loss Association of America, Washington State Chapter (HLAA-WA) near Seattle. Our friendship was instant. We also discovered that we had much in common, especially a need to advocate and spread awareness about the communication needs and strategies for those who are Deaf and hard-of-hearing.

As someone who was hard of hearing since childhood, I have had firsthand experience with the struggles that a hard-of-hearing child faces. I was immediately drawn to her book. My initial reaction was, This is what I needed while growing up in India. This is a lifesaver. This is a book that I and my parents should have had access to. This is a book that would have saved me many tearful days, frustrations and anxiety. This book needs to be in every school, library and bookstore. This book definitely needs to be in the hands of every child who is deaf or hard-of-hearing and of course, their parents.

In time, Angeliki entrusted me and my husband, Dr. Rajendra Sharma, with an opportunity to translate her book into Hindi, for which we will always remain indebted. The book’s translated title is Khajoor ke ped ke neeche chupe Rahasya, and it’s now available as an e-book and a hard copy on Pothi.com and on Amazon. I firmly believe that the Hindi book will be a useful resource for effective communication strategies for mainstream schooling for all Hindi-speaking children, parents, and teachers all over the world.   

Currently, Angeliki is working hard to translate her book into other languages, like Spanish and German. Deaf and hard-of-hearing children all over the world deserve to see themselves in kids’ literature in every spoken language. I believe we have a responsibility to make that happen.

About this post’s author

Born and brought up in India, Abha is an Asian American emerging artist, writer and research scientist at the University of Washington, Seattle. She struggled to hear since childhood but was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss only in her early teens. Strongly supported and encouraged by her parents, Abha persevered to educate herself while actively pursuing the arts as well. A doctorate in Biophysics from a premier medical research institute in New Delhi, she is a scientist by profession and an artist by heart.

Abha married Rajendra and, later along with their two young children, the couple traversed a tough immigration process as bio-researchers in Texas to pursue the American dream.

A recipient of the 2021 Grants for Artists’ Progress (GAP) Award from the Artist Trust, and the Artists Up Mentorly Scholarship from the state of Washington, Abha was a semi-finalist in the She Writes Press and SparkPress Towards Diversity in Publishing (STEP) contest. She has been awarded several scholarships including the Altman Writers of Color from the Hudson Valley Writers Center New York (2021-2022) and is published in several literary magazines. One of her essays- “Kitaab” was nominated by the editors of The Touchstone Literary Magazine for inclusion in Sundress Publication’s Best of the Net Anthology.

Abha keeps herself joyous, sane, and alive through writing, crafting, painting, walking the woods with music in her ears (preferably near water bodies, even small ones will do), rediscovering alternative nutritional and water therapies, reviving stories about strong women in her life and spending quality time with her three grandchildren. Also, she is always ready to dance to music if you have the inclination for it.

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