“We were really surprised when Elias was diagnosed, we had no idea he wasn’t hearing properly. He’d turn to our voices and respond when we talked to him, so it didn’t occur to us that his hearing was compromised.”
At three months old Elias got his first pair of hearing aids and at five months he started to come to Hear and Say.
“Initially we were seeing specialised speech therapist each fortnight, these appointments became monthly as he got a bit older. We also attended the infant and parent group, Listen Little Stars and progressed to the LEAP playgroup when Elias was nearing two,” said Rachel.
“We also saw an occupational therapist at Hear and Say when Elias was two years old to check that his balance and motor skills were developing as expected.”
These services have made a difference to Elias and his whole family.
“We’re so grateful for the services and support offered through Hear and Say, it has made an enormous difference for Elias and our family,” said Rachel.
“He doesn’t know many local children who have hearing loss and attending Hear and Say normalises wearing hearing aids, he plays with other kids that have hearing loss and wear hearing aids or implants,” she said.
Reflecting, Rachel says that their decision to make sure Elias could hear felt like the right option to do for her family.
“Since Elias is the only person in our family with hearing loss (besides older relatives), and because his loss is sloping, it was natural to connect him with the world of sound through specialised speech therapy and audiology services.
“We also knew that developing listening and speaking skills would offer him the greatest number of opportunities to play with friends, take part in sports, and school activities, as well as jobs and hobbies when he’s older,” said Rachel.
It’s no mean feat to support a child with hearing loss as they learn to hear and speak, it takes professional support and most importantly these outcomes rely on families and parents like Rachel as their child’s primary teacher.
