News and Stories
It’s a challenging time to be a fundraiser but Jim Green, Hear and Say’s Senior Fundraising Officer, is known for his innovative and positive outlook. Jim has provided insight into what’s shaped his career and what he is excited for in the future of fundraising. What lead you to become a fundraiser? Right now I’m asking myself the same thing! Seriously though, it’s an opportunity to achieve genuine impact by building a community of support around a cause. I believe fundraising is merely an outcome of good community engagement. I worked in special education for ...
Retired mining engineer, Kevin had never before considered that he may have an issue with his hearing. At the age of 82, Kevin had an active lifestyle and felt that, “if only people would stop mumbling and speak clearly, I could easily understand them”. Kevin joked that his family evidently felt otherwise, as it was his son who sent him a notice advising that Hear and Say was establishing an Adult Hearing program late last year. “This caught my attention because I was already well aware of the fantastic work that Hear and Say was doing with children with hearing problems,” ...
Speech and language development is comprised of many parts, with daily experiences associating sounds with meaning, words with actions or objects, being a few of the elements which have an impact on a child’s learning. With many families looking for fun activities to do while at home, Hear and Say’s listening and spoken language specialists have put together some activities that will not only occupy your children, but also help them to develop their listening and spoken language. Create an obstacle course This helps with language development by working on the ...
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have a Listening and Spoken Language therapy lesson online? These sessions are the reality for around 50 of our families living regionally or even overseas, enrolled in our Telepractice program. In the wake of COVID-19, many of our families traditionally supported through our in-centre services have also transitioned to Telepractice as an effective, easy alternative to their typical lessons. We recently spoke with Robyn, mother of three-year-old Kyle who has profound hearing loss and wears cochlear implants. A Brisbane resident some years ago, ...
Everybody loves to sing (although not always in tune!), especially children. Singing evokes emotion, creating a fun and positive atmosphere. An added bonus is that it’s a wonderful means of learning for children, strengthening the connection between hearing and speech skills. Music stimulates many areas of our brain at the same time, enhancing our memory and retention of new vocabulary and grammar. Hear and Say Clinical Manager, Listening and Spoken Language, Jessica Balfour-Ogilvy explained how a child’s ability to imitate the rhythm in songs facilitates development of the natural ...
It was a special morning over the summer holidays at Hear and Say, when a group of young adults took to the floor to present their personal stories about living with hearing loss. The presentations formed part of the three-day Hear to Live workshop, a group social skills program run for young people aged 16 and over focused on building self-confidence, resilience and independence. Sixteen-year-old Ruby was one of the participants who shared her journey with hearing loss. She spoke to an enthralled audience of other attendees, as well as clinicians who had known Ruby since she was a ...
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 ...
We’re facing unprecedented times, and the safety of our community during this evolving COVID-19 outbreak is our top priority. We will continue to keep you updated via our website. As you can imagine the COVID-19 global pandemic has already begun to affect our Hear and Say community, which will undoubtedly impact our financial viability. Your support is ascritical as ever. Whether this is by helping us to raise awareness through our social media posts, or making a donation if you can, every little bit helps in these challenging times. 1. Sound Outcomes The Sound Outcomes: First ...
Just over six months have flown by since Scott received his cochlear implant, and his parents, Cat and Doug are thrilled by the strides their almost two-year-old son is making. “When Scott’s hearing loss was first diagnosed at birth, we assumed he wouldn’t have any issues because he still had hearing in one ear,” said Cat. “It was over the next couple of months we learnt that children with a one-sided hearing loss can actually struggle significantly especially when they reach school-age, which led us to look into options and then to Hear and Say,” said Cat. Today, ...
A child’s first day of Prep is a momentous day for all parents, but for Renee and Toby this was truly a milestone to celebrate their family’s journey. When their eldest daughter, Evie was born, they found out their little girl did not have a fully developed right ear. Evie had two rare conditions known as microtia and atresia, and now five years old, wears a bone conduction hearing aid. “From the moment we walked into Hear and Say we were welcomed with open arms – we received so much information, and our worries were immediately put at ease,” said Renee. “We attend the ...
Maia’s Story
At 9.10pm on 24 October 2013 our beautiful daughter Maia was born.
The moment of elation was short-lived as we immediately noticed her left ear was missing. I frantically looked to the medical team around me for answers but received none.
Panic set in as we waited 4 days in hospital for an ENT to explain her condition, by which point we already had all the answers from Simone, who runs the Microtia and Atresia Program at Hear and Say.
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