Miss-Delectable
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http://www.jsonline.com/news/metro/dec05/375170.asp
After her daughter Madison failed the newborn hearing test twice, Leah Bongard was shaken.
When further testing revealed that "Maddy" was in fact deaf, Bongard was still upset, but also knew she needed to take immediate action to help her daughter live a full life.
"We knew it was a possibility because I have two deaf cousins," said Bongard. "So when we found out, we asked 'OK, now what?' "
At 2 months, Maddy had been fitted with hearing aids to help her capture as much residual hearing as possible.
Also by that time, Bongard had found programs and services at the Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to "pick up from the 'now what' and show us what to do."
Through programs at the center, Maddy began working at home with a therapist on mimicking and recognizing those sounds she could hear with the help of her hearing aids, and a few months later she began using sign language, learning words like 'mommy,' 'more' and 'milk' - but not necessarily in that order.
Now, at 3 1/2 years old, Maddy can speak at a level where strangers understand 60% of what she says, and she has even begun teaching her mother - who, with her husband, Matthew, took sign language classes through the center - how to sign new words.
While Maddy's communication progress has been a successful challenge for the whole family, Bongard gives much of the credit to the center's programs and services.
"Without (the center), Maddy probably wouldn't be talking, or talking very little, and her signing wouldn't be at the level it is," she said.
The center began serving the deaf and hard of hearing in 1927 as the Milwaukee League for the Hard of Hearing.
Since then, the non-profit group has grown to offer therapy and education programs for children and the parents of deaf children, as well as services for the elderly and adults with hearing loss, hearing aid repairs, and lip-reading and communication classes, among other initiatives.
In addition, the center teaches those who can hear how to accommodate those who can't, both at work and home, by holding communication strategy workshops. In all, the center reaches some 5,000 local residents each year through its services and outreach programs.
Early action helps
Exploring communication strategies as soon as hearing loss or deafness is diagnosed can make a huge impact, said Dorothy Kerr, the center's executive director.
"Most of the children born with hearing loss or born deaf are born to hearing parents," she said. "So there's a lot of education that must go on to help people realize there are opportunities for their child that make it not an impossible situation," said Kerr. "If the child is aided with whatever residual hearing they have, most can go on to become oral, if that's what their parents choose."
While there are more opportunities and programs like those offered by the center now than in years past, children with hearing loss may still wonder why they are different than others, which is why group activities with other children like themselves are important, added Kerr.
"Although there are 28 million Americans with hearing loss, in a given neighborhood there may only be one child with hearing loss," she said. "Our goal is help them develop language so they are as close to their hearing peers as possible when they are ready to transition to school."
Program costs range from about $100 to a couple hundred dollars per student, and are set on a sliding scale based on government assistance and insurance, said Kerr.
Center staff also provides pre- and post-surgery training for those with cochlear implants, and teaches clients how to use new technology, such as amplified telephones, signaling devices and vibrating alarm clocks.
Thanks to the help Maddy and her family has received from the center, Bongard says her daughter is advancing rapidly not only with her signing and speech but also in recognizing hearing differences in others.
"She notices when someone is wearing hearing aids and when she sees someone is only using sign language then she knows to use sign language," she said. "When she sees someone signing she'll make the sign for 'same' and what she's saying is 'Like me, like me.'"
After her daughter Madison failed the newborn hearing test twice, Leah Bongard was shaken.
When further testing revealed that "Maddy" was in fact deaf, Bongard was still upset, but also knew she needed to take immediate action to help her daughter live a full life.
"We knew it was a possibility because I have two deaf cousins," said Bongard. "So when we found out, we asked 'OK, now what?' "
At 2 months, Maddy had been fitted with hearing aids to help her capture as much residual hearing as possible.
Also by that time, Bongard had found programs and services at the Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to "pick up from the 'now what' and show us what to do."
Through programs at the center, Maddy began working at home with a therapist on mimicking and recognizing those sounds she could hear with the help of her hearing aids, and a few months later she began using sign language, learning words like 'mommy,' 'more' and 'milk' - but not necessarily in that order.
Now, at 3 1/2 years old, Maddy can speak at a level where strangers understand 60% of what she says, and she has even begun teaching her mother - who, with her husband, Matthew, took sign language classes through the center - how to sign new words.
While Maddy's communication progress has been a successful challenge for the whole family, Bongard gives much of the credit to the center's programs and services.
"Without (the center), Maddy probably wouldn't be talking, or talking very little, and her signing wouldn't be at the level it is," she said.
The center began serving the deaf and hard of hearing in 1927 as the Milwaukee League for the Hard of Hearing.
Since then, the non-profit group has grown to offer therapy and education programs for children and the parents of deaf children, as well as services for the elderly and adults with hearing loss, hearing aid repairs, and lip-reading and communication classes, among other initiatives.
In addition, the center teaches those who can hear how to accommodate those who can't, both at work and home, by holding communication strategy workshops. In all, the center reaches some 5,000 local residents each year through its services and outreach programs.
Early action helps
Exploring communication strategies as soon as hearing loss or deafness is diagnosed can make a huge impact, said Dorothy Kerr, the center's executive director.
"Most of the children born with hearing loss or born deaf are born to hearing parents," she said. "So there's a lot of education that must go on to help people realize there are opportunities for their child that make it not an impossible situation," said Kerr. "If the child is aided with whatever residual hearing they have, most can go on to become oral, if that's what their parents choose."
While there are more opportunities and programs like those offered by the center now than in years past, children with hearing loss may still wonder why they are different than others, which is why group activities with other children like themselves are important, added Kerr.
"Although there are 28 million Americans with hearing loss, in a given neighborhood there may only be one child with hearing loss," she said. "Our goal is help them develop language so they are as close to their hearing peers as possible when they are ready to transition to school."
Program costs range from about $100 to a couple hundred dollars per student, and are set on a sliding scale based on government assistance and insurance, said Kerr.
Center staff also provides pre- and post-surgery training for those with cochlear implants, and teaches clients how to use new technology, such as amplified telephones, signaling devices and vibrating alarm clocks.
Thanks to the help Maddy and her family has received from the center, Bongard says her daughter is advancing rapidly not only with her signing and speech but also in recognizing hearing differences in others.
"She notices when someone is wearing hearing aids and when she sees someone is only using sign language then she knows to use sign language," she said. "When she sees someone signing she'll make the sign for 'same' and what she's saying is 'Like me, like me.'"