Miss-Delectable
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Tulsa World: Listen up
Jimmy Richardson is deaf.
He also is an Eagle Scout, a varsity swimmer and a student at Jenks High School.
Thursday evening he will add public speaker to his resume when he addresses a fundraising dinner for Happy Hands, a school for hearing-impaired preschool students.
At that school, more than a dozen years ago, he built the language skills that are so essential to normal social, emotional and academic development. Jimmy barely recalls his days at Happy Hands, but they are etched in his mother's memory.
"He was 1 year old when we discovered he had a problem," Denelda Richardson said. "We would walk into a room and he would not respond. But if we walked into a room with wood floors, he would look up, because he felt the vibration."
Further tests proved that Jimmy had a profound hearing loss.
"It was horribly traumatic," Richardson said. "We felt so incapable of raising a child we couldn't communicate with. We went through a grieving process."
At that time, options were few.
Then, in 1994, former Tulsa police officer Al Proo started Happy Hands, a ministry to reach deaf children in their early language-formation years, especially from birth to age 3.
Jimmy was 3 when he enrolled. He was one of the first students and in the first graduating class three years later.
For his family, it was a lifesaver.
"He got full, rich language communication skills not available anyplace else," Richardson said. "If it weren't for Happy Hands, he would have stayed in a day-care setting where he was loved, but people couldn't communicate with him.
"We love Happy Hands," she said. "Tulsa is so lucky to have them. It's such a unique thing."
At Happy Hands, Jimmy learned to sign. When he was 4, he received a cochlear implant, which allows deaf people to sense sounds electronically.
With the aid of the implant, he began to speak when he was 8. He enjoys music and played percussion in the Jenks Middle School band for three years, but he has difficulty with song lyrics.
Now a junior at Jenks High School, Jimmy is generally an A and B student with an interest in math and science. He loves a robotics course he's taking at Tulsa Technology Center. He understands some of what is said in his classes, but he attends with an interpreter. He does all his own speaking in class.
"He's still catching up in language," his mother said.
Among his interests are a 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle he is restoring with his father, and swimming. In a Jenks High School swim meet Tuesday, Jimmy came within a half-second of qualifying for the state tournament in the 200-yard freestyle.
Happy Hands
The Happy Hands Education Center, a Christian school for hearing-impaired children, is launching the public phase of a capital campaign with a dinner Thursday night at the Greenwood Cultural Center.
Beginning with a $6.6 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, the center has raised $11.1 million to build a new facility in Broken Arrow and needs an additional $1.8 million to complete its drive.
Founder Al Proo said the new center will accommodate 70 preschool students, 40 more than the present facility at 5717 E. 32nd St., which has had a waiting list for 10 years. They hope to break ground in April and move in a year later.
The new facility will be called the Donald W. Reynolds Education Center at Happy Hands. It will be built on two acres at 8800 S. Garnett Road.
It will have space for classrooms, parent education, counseling, therapy and offices and will offer advanced technology to help hearing impaired children communicate.
Eighty percent of the budget is from donations.
Tuition is charged, but no one is turned away for a lack of finances, Proo said.
Jimmy Richardson is deaf.
He also is an Eagle Scout, a varsity swimmer and a student at Jenks High School.
Thursday evening he will add public speaker to his resume when he addresses a fundraising dinner for Happy Hands, a school for hearing-impaired preschool students.
At that school, more than a dozen years ago, he built the language skills that are so essential to normal social, emotional and academic development. Jimmy barely recalls his days at Happy Hands, but they are etched in his mother's memory.
"He was 1 year old when we discovered he had a problem," Denelda Richardson said. "We would walk into a room and he would not respond. But if we walked into a room with wood floors, he would look up, because he felt the vibration."
Further tests proved that Jimmy had a profound hearing loss.
"It was horribly traumatic," Richardson said. "We felt so incapable of raising a child we couldn't communicate with. We went through a grieving process."
At that time, options were few.
Then, in 1994, former Tulsa police officer Al Proo started Happy Hands, a ministry to reach deaf children in their early language-formation years, especially from birth to age 3.
Jimmy was 3 when he enrolled. He was one of the first students and in the first graduating class three years later.
For his family, it was a lifesaver.
"He got full, rich language communication skills not available anyplace else," Richardson said. "If it weren't for Happy Hands, he would have stayed in a day-care setting where he was loved, but people couldn't communicate with him.
"We love Happy Hands," she said. "Tulsa is so lucky to have them. It's such a unique thing."
At Happy Hands, Jimmy learned to sign. When he was 4, he received a cochlear implant, which allows deaf people to sense sounds electronically.
With the aid of the implant, he began to speak when he was 8. He enjoys music and played percussion in the Jenks Middle School band for three years, but he has difficulty with song lyrics.
Now a junior at Jenks High School, Jimmy is generally an A and B student with an interest in math and science. He loves a robotics course he's taking at Tulsa Technology Center. He understands some of what is said in his classes, but he attends with an interpreter. He does all his own speaking in class.
"He's still catching up in language," his mother said.
Among his interests are a 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle he is restoring with his father, and swimming. In a Jenks High School swim meet Tuesday, Jimmy came within a half-second of qualifying for the state tournament in the 200-yard freestyle.
Happy Hands
The Happy Hands Education Center, a Christian school for hearing-impaired children, is launching the public phase of a capital campaign with a dinner Thursday night at the Greenwood Cultural Center.
Beginning with a $6.6 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, the center has raised $11.1 million to build a new facility in Broken Arrow and needs an additional $1.8 million to complete its drive.
Founder Al Proo said the new center will accommodate 70 preschool students, 40 more than the present facility at 5717 E. 32nd St., which has had a waiting list for 10 years. They hope to break ground in April and move in a year later.
The new facility will be called the Donald W. Reynolds Education Center at Happy Hands. It will be built on two acres at 8800 S. Garnett Road.
It will have space for classrooms, parent education, counseling, therapy and offices and will offer advanced technology to help hearing impaired children communicate.
Eighty percent of the budget is from donations.
Tuition is charged, but no one is turned away for a lack of finances, Proo said.