Writing to be heard
How writing a children's book about hearing loss helped a hard-of-hearing author find her voice
By Yvette Tan
Published May 27, 2026 02:41 pm
Life doesn’t always go the way we expect, but sometimes, sidequests can lead to personal discoveries that touch the lives of others.
Bambi Rodriguez, a special education teacher who works with children with autism, always knew that she would write books one day. However, she ended up writing about something more personal.
BAMBI RODRIGUEZ reading aloud during the Dumaguete Literary Festival 2026.
She is the author of the Super Maya series, which follows Maya, a four-year-old who learns how to navigate life as a person of disability who is hard of hearing (PWD-HOH).
Rodriguez has been hard of hearing from birth. ”My family and I had never talked about it. It was something I just grew up living with,” Rodriguez said. “It wasn’t top of mind for me to talk about, so my advocacy was always something else.”
Hearing got more challenging as she got older. “Communication got more difficult, and… when they would ask me about it, I would get very defensive because I wasn’t used to talking about it.”
She realized that most of the time, people asked about her disability because they wanted to understand her, not embarrass her as she initially feared. “I realized that if I didn't start talking about it, if I didn’t describe what I was going through, they really won’t be able to help me… I started realizing that I needed to self-advocate.”
SUPER MAYA books are available in several independent bookstores.
The seed for Super Maya was planted around February 2022. Rodriguez began attending writing workshops by Lolakwentosera, organized by mental health advocate Amelia De-Chavez Pagdanganan. “I just wanted to get into the process. I always enjoy writing, but I never knew what to do with it. I also never knew what to write.”
She soon discovered that she gravitated towards children’s literature. “I was surprised when we were able to put together the story,” she said in Taglish.
Lolakwentosera guided her from ideation to self-publication. Super Maya was released in December of that year. It’s written in English and Tagalog and illustrated by Nix Ilagan.
The book follows Maya as she tries to make friends and learns to accept help from others after moving to a new neighborhood and attending a new school. “It’s quite long for a children’s book, but it was because I was pulling from personal experiences... I wanted it also to be empowering for the kids who read it, so there’s a part that asks, ‘What are the things that you can do when it’s time to make friends?’” Rodriguez said. “I want them to understand very specific things like, for example, it’s difficult to talk to someone in a face mask because you can’t lipread.”
SUPER MAYA helps kids learn about the challenges PWD_HOHs face and the importance of ear health.
The second book, Super Maya and Her Amazing Ears, follows Maya as she adjusts to wearing a hearing aid.
Again, Rodriguez, who started wearing a hearing aid in her 40s, drew from personal experience. “Hearing aids amplify, and when they make things louder, it’s not just the voice of people that becomes louder, everything else becomes louder [as well]. So, that's something I had to adjust to… because all the background noises become louder,” she explained. “There was a lot of adjustment, which is shown in the second book.”
The books touch readers in different ways. Some kids show their love by wearing a Super Maya costume. Others request that it be read during their school Book Day. It’s also helped families understand the importance of ear health. “A mother sent me a video of her two children getting their ears checked for the first time,” Rodriguez shared. “It’s good to know that children can relate to it.”
Adults appreciate Super Maya, too. “A friend who is also HOH messaged, saying she teared up the first time she read it and that she wished she had something like that when she was a kid,” Rodriguez said. “That's one thing that I would want for kids: to know that there are other people out there who experience what you do.”
COLORFUL WORLD - One of the ways kids interact with the Super Maya books is through coloring activities.
A third book is in the works, with Rodriguez returning to her special education roots. “We'll introduce a new character that’s a child with autism. I'm excited to talk about autism and how to work with kids who have communication issues, which is what I wanted to do before.”
The author is also actively involved in children’s hearing and literacy programs. She partners with organizations for book donations, read-alouds, and ear check-ups. Her long-term goal is to work with barangays to normalize accommodations for PWD-HOHs, especially since these adjustments will benefit everyone. For example, well-written, designed, and prominently placed signs don’t just help HOHs, they help everybody as well.
Two books later, Rodriguez said that she’s gotten better at self-advocating. “I still hesitate when I need to ask for something… But you never really know unless you speak up,” she said. “There will be people who will find it troublesome, but I think it's safe to assume that there are more people who are willing to help.” (Photos courtesy of Bambi Rodriguez)