Lilly is an energetic three-year-old who loves to play dress-ups, and her colourful world of make-believe is filled with lots of singing and chatter – a possibility her parents wished for her right from the moment they discovered Lilly’s hearing loss at birth.
“When we received the ‘refer’ result from the newborn screening clinic we were initially quite surprised. Choosing an Early Intervention program seemed like such a big responsibility when we had no experience in this area,” said Casey, Lilly’s mum.
“When we first met with Hear and Say we were reassured to hear that, with listening and spoken language therapy using the Auditory-Verbal Therapy philosophy, and the help of hearing technology, Lilly was likely to be able to hear and speak clearly, just like other kids.
“We also appreciated the focus on building resilience and integrating into the rest of the ‘hearing’ community, particularly in preparation for school.”
Lilly has attended Hear and Say since she was six months old, with regular listening and spoken language therapy and audiology sessions. She also attends the weekly LEAP group social skills
program with other children around her age.
“Lilly absolutely loves her listening and spoken language specialist, Elizabeth, who has always taken an interest in all aspects of Lilly’s development and wellbeing,” said Casey.
“Elizabeth has also provided support to Colin and me in other aspects of Lilly’s hearing loss, from childcare choices and National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) management, to liaising with Australian Hearing and Ear, Nose and Throat specialists.
Today Lilly has the listening and spoken language skills expected for a child of her age with typical hearing. In fact, her family proclaim her to be “a bit of a chatterbox”, with her love for singing and telling stories to all who will listen.