Guide By Your Side (GBYS) is a Hands & Voices program developed to support families of children who are Deaf or hard of hearing. The Guide By Your Side Program matches families with a parent “Guide” in South Dakota.  Parent guides are parents themselves of a Deaf or hard of hearing child who have received special training to serve as a parent guide.  “Guides” work directly with families who have just learned of their child’s hearing condition and are in need of the unique support that comes from someone who has walked a similar path and is eager to offer information, share strategies and provide parent-to-parent support.  Whether it be a compassionate listening ear, a sounding board or a resource with new ideas, guides are available to support families across the state of South Dakota.  Hands & Voices and the GBYS Program were created to make sure that no family feels alone on their hearing loss journey and we look forward to celebrating our children’s successes together! 

Our Guide By Your Side Team

Dixie Herweh is the Guide by Your Side Parent Guide Coordinator.  She married her best friend and together they have 3 children.  Dixie was an elementary school teacher and served as the Parent Consultant with the Maine Newborn Hearing Program for 4 years.  She is currently a stay-at-home mom to their three children.  Dixie’s older daughter was late diagnosed with hearing loss at the age of 3.   Her daughter has progressive, bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.  Originally her daughter was fitted with hearing aids but as her hearing levels diminished, she underwent bilateral cochlear implant surgery.  Dixie’s daughter has attended both auditory oral private schools and public schools.  She is currently mainstreamed in her local high school and active in cheerleading, tennis, the debate team and the Certified Nursing Program.   Dixie and her husband had a difficult time trying to get their daughter diagnosed and connected with appropriate services.  As a result, she is passionate about supporting families during their hearing differences journey.  Dixie lives in the Black Hills with her family and their 3 dogs.

Carol Shatraw lives with her family in Rapid City. She is mother to a child with unilateral hearing loss (microtia), as well as eight other children. Their own hearing loss journey includes a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA), regular spoken English, and a smattering of ASL. They have been active with the local hearing loss community as soon as they were able to find them! They are a longtime homeschooling family (including their son with hearing loss), and all enjoy many creative hobbies like rock hounding, sewing, painting, embroidery, roping, and jewelry making. Carol is eager to empower families who are just jumping into their new world of hearing loss.

Carri Crum is proud to be a Parent Guide with the Guide by Your Side Program for Hands & Voices South Dakota. She and her husband have a 14-year-old daughter with bilateral cochlear implants as well as a 16-year-old son and an 18-year-old daughter. Carri is inspired by her children’s successes and is also excited to pay forward the knowledge and support her family received from other parents of children with varying hearing levels. She enjoys meeting new people and helping others which is demonstrated by her ongoing career of 21 years in public service. In her free time, Carri enjoys traveling with her family in their motorhome, camping locally with extended family, reading, sewing, crocheting and other crafts. She loves dogs and cats and has two Chihuahua mixes, Duke and Ellie.

Kristan Morris lives in Aberdeen SD with her husband Zac and their two daughters; Everly and Ellery. Their oldest daughter, Everly, was diagnosed at 7 years old with moderate hearing loss and uses two hearing aids. Zac, Everly and Ellery carry a gene in their genetics that is known to cause hearing loss, so chances are Ellery will also have hearing aids. Kristan is very passionate about advocacy for children with hearing loss.  She works hard supporting other families that have children diagnosed with hearing loss making sure they know that they are not alone. When Everly was diagnosed, Kristan didn’t have anyone to talk to that knew what she was going through and that made it tough. She is hoping to be that person for someone else. Kristan works as a sales manager at a local radio station in Aberdeen and is very active in her community.