National Children’s Day and National Father’s Day

Dear AG Bell Community,

AG Bell’s roots are in the family. Our community is composed of families with loved ones who are deaf and hard of hearing, with whom we collaborate to give them the gift of sound. Our goal, through informing and connecting families, is to empower them to make their own communication outcome decisions for their loved ones with hearing loss.

It is neither AG Bell nor the professionals who perform most of the leg work of sharpening the spoken language skills of children with hearing loss. That rests on the parents, and that is what we encourage. This week, sandwiched between National Children’s Day (June 10th) and National Father’s Day (June 17th), I decided to do something similar to what I did in my Mother’s Day post. In celebration of National Children’s Day, please enjoy some words of love from parents to their children. To commemorate National Father’s Day, please also enjoy some equally loving words from daughters, sons, wives and husbands to their fathers/husbands/father-figures.

Monrovia is a vivacious music, art and history-loving 10-year-old entering fifth grade at our local public school. After not passing the newborn hearing screening, she was identified with profound sensorineural hearing loss when she was a few weeks old and fitted with hearing aids when she was about 2 months old. Monrovia began speech therapy five months later at Weingarten Children’s Center, even before she had surgery and activation for her bilateral cochlear implants at 9 1/2 months, and continued in WCC’s listen and spoken language therapy and preschool until she was 4 years old. The two-hour daily round trip to WCC to give Monrovia a strong foundation in spoken language was worth it. She was fully mainstreamed after preschool, continuously supported by an itinerant Teacher of the Deaf and SLP. Both have experience with cochlear implants and an auditory-oral approach, which has really helped Monrovia thrive despite being the only student with hearing loss in her school. Monrovia attends as many alumni events as she can at WCC, including an annual summer alumni camp with her preschool friends. Being a part of this community as she gets older has helped her feel confident and connected to other kids with hearing loss who are mainstreamed like her.

It is hard for me to imagine this child who sings and talks to herself (and anyone who will listen) not experiencing sound. Every day, I still marvel at her insistent voice and how it seems as if she was made to talk and listen, even though she was born deaf. The past two years she has been in the finals of our school district’s Oratorical competition, reciting original poems in front of hundreds of people who have no idea she was deaf. This Spring, she confidently performed a solo in her school choir performance in front of the entire student body.

Monrovia proudly explains her hearing loss and her cochlear implants often, finding a great deal of identity in both her deafness and her ability to thrive in spoken language. Every year she celebrates her “hearing birthday” when her implants were activated for the first time. Some of her favorite things include singing in her school choir, playing piano, drawing, reading, playing with her sister, writing, hanging out with friends, playing soccer and running. In all of them she troubleshoots her hearing loss and figures out how to succeed.

On February 23rd, 2008, we hoped a single surgery would fundamentally shift the possibilities in our daughter's life. We waited and trusted that surgery would open up our daughter to the world of sound. We hoped she would have a lifetime of hearing moments and that someday she would be able to hear us say her name, sing her to sleep, tell us what happened at school or (many years from now) hear her beloved say "I love you" to her or the laughter of her children. Almost ten years ago, we didn't know what would happen after Monrovia's surgery. It was uncharted and scary territory. Knowing what I do now, I would choose no other route for her. There are difficult moments for her — days when she wishes she didn’t have hearing loss, when she feels left out in social situations or when someone whispers and she can’t hear. But Monrovia herself would tell you that if she had the option, that she would choose both to be deaf and to have cochlear implants. She is proud of who she is and who she is becoming.

- Susannah Eloyse Prinz

My son, Jonah Knueve, is now 12 years old. He was born with profound hearing loss and we battled to make sure that he received two cochlear implants at the age of 11 months. Although this was many years ago, I knew the day we were informed about the cochlear implant possibility-giving the gift of sound and of listening and spoken language to Jonah-that this was the path we would take. Why? To make Jonah’s life easier, more enriched and more what he deserved. It was not my place to deny my child the right to hear music, birds, words and the sounds of the world. It was incumbent upon me to do everything I could to bring sound to my child. 

I was just last night reminded of why. Jonah was in the middle of a baseball game (he’s a pitcher, shortstop and quite the hitter for his team), and the team coaches were texting me from the dugout that “Jonah’s ears weren’t working and his batteries were dead.” He typically packs backup batteries in his bat bag, but we had forgotten. He played well, of course, but he was nearly in tears about not hearing his coaches and teammates as the game ended. I instantly noticed how lonely he seemed. I mouthed to him, “Jonah, it’s ok, we’re going straight home to get the backups and we’ll stop for ice cream on the way.” We did stop, but he didn’t want to go inside for his usual hot fudge sundae. I was reminded of how hearing loss can exclude a person. That 30 minutes he went without hearing broke my heart. Later that night, I reminded him to “charge his ears” before falling asleep, and he told me he didn’t want to take them off. He wanted to sleep all night with his cochlear implants on. Who was I to argue? He was obviously miserable during the time he’d not had his hearing and last night reinforced in spades the decision we’d made to implant Jonah.

I am constantly amazed by Jonah’s hard work, resilience and commitment to hearing. After his implantation, he spent 4 years in intense speech/mapping therapy, three days per week. I put him on a bus each day at the age of 2 ? with a backpack larger than himself because I knew the right thing to do was to send him to his auditory-oral school in order to close the gap with his hearing peers. He closed that gap by the age of 4 when his expressive and receptive language reached normal levels. He read by age 5 and is an avid reader now. He’s a straight-A student in accelerated classes and a phenomenal athlete. In fact, we sometimes chuckle at the opposing team's fleeting confidence from when they see Jonah at the beginning of the game to when Jonah starts scoring. He plays basketball, baseball and football. He finds ways to keep his implants on underneath helmets and loved the first time he heard his brother underwater during the maiden voyage of his "aqua ears." On top of all this, Jonah is social and quite the jokester (I particularly love it when he mocks me with his fake British accent). He has many, many friends and enjoys music to the point of commandeering the car radio with all of his favorite songs. Words are inadequate to describe my family’s gratitude for the amazing technology Jonah has as well as our gratitude to AG Bell for helping us to learn about the possibility of all of this. The gift of sound, something many hearing people take for granted, is a gift to which every child is entitled.

- Meredith Sugar, Esq.

AG Bell’s support of Sam with the auditory-verbal approach has made so many things possible for Sam that may never have been available otherwise. With the use of his cochlear implants, Sam has always been a part of the listening and speaking world. Sam had the opportunity to attend the American School for the Deaf across town, but instead, Sam went for the mainstream path and has taken advantage of all it has offered him. Sam has never been one to shy away from or hide his FM and cochlear implants. He is adamant that he wants to hear everything that is going on and is not reluctant to use his equipment whenever and wherever he needs it.

This has allowed him to achieve the following: representing Connecticut at the national-level MathCounts competition held in Washington, DC, as well as several other national-level math competitions; the Biology Olympiad where he was a National semi-finalist; the Chemistry Olympiad where he competed at the state-level; the Physics Bowl, where he placed 2nd in Division 1 region 3; earned the AP Scholar with Distinction Award; was a National Merit Scholar Finalist; a member of the National Honor Society; National Latin Honor Society; President of the National Business Honor Society and was invited to participate in the American Invitational Mathematics Exam 5 years in a row (being the only student in his high school and town to do so at that time). Sam also was on his high school team which competed on the PBS show "As Schools Match Wits."

This competition was strictly listening to the moderator read the questions and being the first team to answer. Like in MathCounts, Sam was quick to the buzzer and took his team to the finals. Sam has also enjoyed tutoring students in various mathematics courses as well as chemistry. During his high school freshman year, in fact, he volunteered at a local STEM elementary school to teach interested students how to play chess. He has been a speaker at the Walk4Hearing Kickoff in Connecticut. He has successfully argued in a mock hearing in his Environmental Law and Policy Class where he just finished his freshman year at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT. Sports are important to Sam - he competed as a varsity distance swimmer in high school and has been a lifeguard both at pools and a beach at the Jersey shore.

I feel that much of Sam’s success can be attributed to the many opportunities he has found and taken which were offered through various organizations such as HLAA (which offered a Toastmaster’s Youth Leadership Program) and AG Bell’s LOFT program. Now, he has an internship at John’s Hopkins University this summer! Sam has never been one to lurk at home. He embraces the world instead, excited about making the most of it and experiencing as much of it as he can while engaging those around him to see the world as an exciting adventure to be enjoyed with him. It’s been an interesting journey so far with so much more to see and experience ahead. It is not what I would ever have imagined for him 18 years ago. I think the road less traveled has been by far the road better taken, more interesting and more rewarding.

-  Suzanne Bidwell

From a little boy growing up in the West Virginia countryside to a Sergeant in the Korean War. From respected Superintendent for the Virginia Division of Forestry to beloved Grandfather of three. Happy Father's Day, daddy. Thank you for being my rock, my inspiration, my mentor and my everything. I love you with all my heart and pray there will be many more years for us ahead!

- Lisa McBee-Granados, AG Bell Chapter Relations Manager

"Rarely are sons similar to their fathers,” Homer writes, “and few are better.” I love my father for the wisdom he provides, humor he infuses and example/legacy he leaves behind. It would definitely take more than adecadal Aegean bidirectional naval voyage for this Telemachus to be “similar” to this Odysseus. Thank you, dad. I love you.

- Matthew Lynch, AG Bell Public Relations Coordinator

My father passed away in 1998, but the mark he left on my life will last forever. Regardless of his work, he was completely dedicated to family. He loved the history of the American Revolution (I grew up near Boston) and taught it to us at the dinner table. My sense of duty, my work ethic and my love of British rock music are all from him. He is sorely missed.

- Lisa Chutjian, AG Bell Chief Development Officer

As the weekend approaches, I realize that in less than two weeks we will all be gathered in Arizona with its gorgeous national beauties and rich Native American history. In Scottsdale, AG Bell is hosting its 2018 Convention at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa and you can reserve your spot today.

We are in the final stages of preparing for the Convention. As you can see from the staff photo below of us at the conference table in the Volta Bureau, we are hard at work ensuring the Convention is informative for the whole family! I look forward to seeing you all there. 

?Until next time, 

Emilio Alonso-Mendoza

Chief Executive Officer

Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

“The family is one of nature’s masterpieces.”

George Santayana (b.1863-d.1952)