Chicago-based ENT surgeon, Dana Suskind, who oversees pediatric cochlear implants, is researching a thirty-million-word gap she sees among implanted children from lower socio-economic backgrounds. By age 3, these children hear 30 million fewer words than peers from more affluent backgrounds. With babies known to hear in the womb before birth, Suskind has a point. Read
This poem was shared by a family whose son changed primary schools last September. He needed a snazzy way to tell his schoolmates and teachers about his hearing, and how to communicate with him. Here’s the result: I am Deaf and it’s Okay I am deaf, and it’s okay It’s not my fault – I
Some families turn a child’s hearing issues into a chance to find and learn language in all situations and environments, according to blogger mum, Kristen Johnson (“No Small Thing“), whose third child has hearing issues. Read SpeechBuddy: How To Help A Child With Hearing Loss Kristen’s top tips for parent-child communication at home: Turn off appliances
“Hearing-aids are the avenue through which a child can listen [and learn]”, says US-based pediatric audiologist Jane Madell. Children who hear only what someone says directly in front of them, receive just 10 to 15 per cent of the information they need for incidental learning and language acquisition. Read: Helping Families Accept Hearing Technology Madell
After this post, families in Ireland organised via the Sound Advice Facebook group, into the ‘Happy New Ear’ campaign for bilateral implants. At end-2013, the HSE announced that bilateral pediatric cochlear implants in Ireland would be funded. Despite the progress of Ireland’s national newborn hearing test programme, parents have concerns about the lack of two (bilateral) cochlear implant
A female social entrepreneur in Singapore, Ong Jin Yun, herself mainstream-educated with hearing issues and strong support from family and friends, is tackling employer prejudice against graduates with hearing issues. Read more: We’re deaf, not inferior Ms Ong took action, knowing of the extra work deaf students put in to match peer attainment, and realising
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