Jasmine's Journey

We are honored to have DeafBlind audiologist, author, and motivational speaker Dr. Jasmine Simmons as a guest author. Identified as deaf as a toddler, Jasmine's work focuses on enhancing services and support for individuals with disabilities and creating inclusive spaces for diverse learners. We hope you enjoy her story and are as inspired by her as we are!

“Your daughter will not pass the fourth-grade reading level.”

This was what my parents were told in the first few years of my life after finding out I had a profound hearing loss in both ears. My parents had already been through this once with my brother, who was born two years before me with a profound hearing loss as well. But that didn’t mean they knew exactly what to do with me. They still had to make decisions about what was best for me and whether I should follow the same path as my brother.

What they didn’t know was the uphill battle they would endure over the next two decades raising two children with profound hearing loss.

At the time, cochlear implants were still relatively new for children. In 1994, my brother received his cochlear implant, and I got mine two years later. At that time, you had to wait until you were 2 years old to receive one.

I often think about those first two years of my life… complete silence.

I didn’t even know that I wasn’t what society considered “normal.” I was just a happy kid who was well loved. At the time, my parents were simply hopeful that we would pick up environmental sounds to help keep us safe, like being able to hear cars going by. They had no idea we would go beyond that.

By the time I was seven years old, my parents were finally finding their footing in the disability world. They were becoming more confident. However, another adversity arose.

This time, it was: “Your children will go blind one day.”

Now, not only were their children deaf, but they were also losing their vision. My parents were told that my brother and I likely had Usher syndrome, a condition that impacts hearing, vision, and balance. My parents told us immediately about our vision.

"Growing up, I always identified as deaf. For those who may not know, lowercase “d” deaf typically refers to the medical experience of hearing loss, while uppercase “D” Deaf often refers to cultural identity and connection to the Deaf community."

I spoke, and I was mainstreamed from second grade all the way through graduate school. I was, and still am, so proud to be deaf.

My vision loss really did not impact me much throughout my earlier years. I loved advocating for myself growing up. I remember when I was thirteen, I asked my mom what I should do when I grew up. I knew I wanted to help people, but I didn’t have a clue how.

My mom said, “Why not become an audiologist?”

From that moment, it clicked. I knew that was what I wanted to do. I went on to graduate from the University of Akron for undergrad and Central Michigan University with my doctorate in audiology.

Living my dream as an audiologist has been wonderful. I absolutely love working with patients and educating them about their hearing loss. My goal has always been to educate and empower people. Hearing loss or having a disability is not the end of the world. Sometimes, it simply helps you see the world differently. I work primarily with the veteran population and hearing aids, and being able to use my own lived experience alongside my professional experience means so much to me.

It wasn’t until adulthood that I received my official diagnosis of Usher syndrome through genetic testing. I was diagnosed with Usher syndrome Type 1D, which is extremely rare. I guess you can say I really lucked out in the gene pool.

Several years after my diagnosis, I was diagnosed as legally blind.

That was one of the hardest moments of my life. I stopped driving and sold my car at the age of 27. That was my independence. This wasn’t supposed to happen until YEARS later, but it happened when I was barely starting my adulthood.

As part of my grieving process, I decided to write Extraordinary Jordyn and Her Bionic Ears, the first installment of my Usher Syndrome Series, which was released in 2024.

Writing this book was so therapeutic for me. It helped me navigate my grief during some of my darkest moments. Don’t get me wrong, I am still constantly grieving the deterioration of my vision. Grief doesn’t just disappear. But writing gave me somewhere to put those feelings.

Extraordinary Jordyn and Her Bionic Ears is the story of a young Black girl who faces adversity and learns how to overcome it with confidence.

The second book in the series, Ezra and His Magnificent Cane, was released in 2026. It follows a young Latinx boy who is blind and explains to his friend how blindness exists on a spectrum. The third book will be released in fall 2027.

Books authored by Dr. Jasmine Simmons. For more about her work and books, visit www.drjasminesimmons.com/.

The goal of this series is to educate people about Usher syndrome while also giving children the opportunity to see themselves as the main character in these stories, because they are the main characters in their own stories. As I am losing my vision, my goal is to see as much as possible and appreciate as much as possible. There are complex layers that come with actively seeing your vision deteriorate. My vision loss has helped me see life differently… no pun intended.

This fall, I’ll be traveling to Sicily, Rome, Paris, and Lisbon. I am so excited to see the world through my lens and share that journey with you.

As we recognize Deaf Awareness Month, I want to leave you with something I’ve learned through all of this.

So much of our worry and stress comes from the unknown. That is why I have fully embraced taking things one day at a time.

Enjoy what’s in front of you.

Every sunrise. Every sunset. Every laugh. Every moment with your loved ones. Look in the mirror and call yourself beautiful. Cherish the little things and the big things.

There are so many things in life we cannot control. I cannot control how quickly my vision will deteriorate or what my vision will look like years from now. But I can control how I choose to live today.

Don’t let worry and fear consume you.

I’m deaf. I’m losing my vision. And I’m still living, traveling, writing, educating, advocating, and seeing as much of this beautiful world as I possibly can.