Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Julie’s mission in life is to ‘write words that inspire and change lives’.  A trained journalist and ghostwriter who has written books on subjects which include health and fitness, baby sign language, dating and cosmology, Julie’s writing projects have always been targeted at making a difference in the world.   It was when she began working at Deaf Children Australia in 2005 that she discovered that 95% of deaf and hard of hearing children are born to hearing families who have little or no experience with deafness.  She also witnessed many of these hearing families making anxious calls to the Deaf Children Australia Helpline saying, “My child has been diagnosed as deaf.  Will they ever lead a normal life?” Having worked with many deaf and hard of hearing people who were leading very happy, successful lives, she knew the answer was a giant resounding ‘yes’, but these families clearly didn’t.  So she searched online for a book that would provide practical, hands on advice by other families of deaf children and deaf adults who had walked the path before them, and found very little out there.    She decided to interview successful deaf adults from around Australiato show that deaf people can, with a little support, BE, DO and HAVE anything they want in their lives.  She also interviewed families of deaf children who used specific strategies to tackle barriers related to early intervention services, education, and communication both within the family and in the community.    Nine of these interviews were captured in her new book, Breaking the Sound Barriers: 9 deaf success stories published in May 2009.  Each of the book’s nine contributors offers a candid insight into the world of deafness, its joys and its challenges.  The book has been met with considerable success in Australia and is making its way around the world.    Julie lives in Melbourne, Australia.