Speech and Hearing Support from the Start

With a love of the outdoors and the beach, one-year-old Lola would be hard pressed to find a better place to grow up than Gympie, a stone’s throw away from the beautiful Sunshine Coast.

Equally, her parents Lee and Josh enjoy watching their young daughter playing, knowing that she can hear everything going on around her.

Diagnosed with severe hearing loss in her right ear at birth, Lola now wears a hearing aid and has regular speech therapy through the Hear and Say Nambour centre.

“Lola’s journey so far has gone quite smoothly, as there has been a lot of support provided from the start,” said Lola’s mum, Lee.

“It was early on that we first found out about Hear and Say through Hearing Australia, when visiting the hospital in Brisbane.

“Right from the beginning, Hear and Say has been wonderful, and their team has given us the confidence to help Lola learn to hear, listen and speak. Without Hear and Say’s guidance to teach Lola strategies to develop her speaking when we’re at home or out and about, we would feel more worried about Lola’s speech and language skills.”

In addition to the specialised speech therapy and audiology services Lola currently comes to Hear and Say for, Lee said the family was also excited to join the LEAP Group Social Skills program to participate in educational, play-based activities and build friendships with other local families.

“Lola is very social and loves to be out and about interacting with people,” said Lee.

“I’m sure there will be some hurdles as she grows, but Hear and Say has given us the reassurance that they will be there helping Lola to reach her milestones and that there will be plenty of support along the way.”