News and Stories

Kerrie and Mia Arnott are one impressive mother-daughter duo. Born with cerebral palsy, Mia was 15 months old when her family received the staggering news that she was profoundly deaf in both ears. By the time Mia reached her second birthday she had her first cochlear implant, opening her up to an exciting new world of sound and language. After initially receiving support in Sydney from The Shepard Centre, Mia and Kerrie would make the move from New South Wales to Queensland, and looked to Hear and Say for Mia’s listening and spoken language support. “When we started, the Hear ...

  "...I often think wow, if she hadn’t received cochlear implants and the years of auditory-verbal therapy she wouldn’t be able to be up there on stage, she wouldn’t be able to hear the music," Alana Dunn, Jaspa's mum When Jaspa Dunn went in for the newborn hearing screening at two days old, her parents Alana and Darcy assumed it would be a routine check as it had been with older brother Riley. So when they were told Jaspa had no response in both ears, they experienced shock and disbelief as they had never anticipated such a result. Alana reflects on those early days, ...

Gina Preston is an ambitous 23 year old girl working in an international engineering project management firm as a multidisciplinary designer. She loves what she does and knows where she wants to go – both in career and in life. She recently bought her first home, is planning her next overseas holiday where she will travel solo across South America and loves listening to music, watching movies and playing sport. But Gina isn’t your typical 23 year old girl because she was born profoundly deaf. Gina’s hearing loss was diagnosed when she was 13 months old. A family friend dropped a ...

Winten with his Grandma Trish Trish is Winten’s Grandma and she has been a part of Winten’s Hear and Say journey from the very beginning. Trish comes to the Hear and Say centre in Brisbane with her grandson on a regular basis and for her, family is the most important thing in the world. “I’m fortunate to be able to spend every second Tuesday with Winten. I picked Tuesday because that’s the day he goes to Hear and Say and I love it! We have such a great time and as a grandmother, there is no greater pleasure than seeing my grandson happy.” “We are a very close, tight-knit ...

Susannah McKelvey, one of Hear and Say’s Listening and Spoken Language Specialists, has been working with Winten and his family since they first came to Hear and Say in 2017, “In my eyes, the best outcome would be for Hear and Say to be able to continue to support Winten and his family on their journey for as long as it takes to reach his full potential”. When I first met Winten, I knew how much he would benefit from being at Hear and Say, not just for him but for his whole family. Our therapy program encompasses the needs of the whole child, including occupational therapy and ...

Eli brings LOUD laughs to mail run It’s said that for comedians, the delivery is everything. That also rings true for 22-year-old Eli, who’s putting a very special stamp on the mail run service he offers from his home town just south of Cairns. Three mornings each week, Eli assists a dozen local businesses in the area – working with his carer to collect and deliver mail and run general errands. For this year’s Loud Shirt Day (19 October), Eli will be adding some extra colour to his services, ‘charging’ a small donation to Hear and Say in return for jokes. Eli was ...

Archer 13 months Diagnosed with hearing loss through Newborn Hearing Screening, Archer’s listening and spoken language therapy sessions are complemented with age appropriate playgroup. This not only helps Archer to process sound using his hearing aids but also provides an environment where he is surrounded by the other children just like him. Mum Alicia explains, “Archer loves the LEAP social skills program. He has friends that he sees all the time, gets lots of play time, and I learn a lot in those sessions, too. “He is such a little explorer and loves finding whatever his ...

Hear to Learn school screening Collinsville State School The Hear to Learn – School Hearing Screening program is on track to reach 35,000 students by the end of the 2018 school year, since it first began in 2015. That’s an incredible 70,000 ears screened, thanks to the ongoing support of the schools, local communities, and corporate and philanthropic supporters. The program’s founding regional partner, Thiess, has worked with Hear and Say in 2018 to deliver school screening to 338 students from 10 Central Queensland schools including Collinsville, Scottsville, Dysart and Moranbah. ...

We love it when our alumni share their success stories which is why we were thrilled to hear from Michael who lives at Cecil Plains in the Darling Downs. Michael received cochlear implants at age four and was a regular at both the Toowoomba and Brisbane Centres for many years - including just recently when he attended our Comet social skills program at our Toowoomba Centre. Michael asked if we would share his story so that other children with hearing loss will know what is possible to achieve. Michael discovered the joy of running, and also found he was pretty good at it too. He was ...

I love many aspects of my work at Hear and Say, however visits to regional and rural families, as a part of our dedicated Telepractice Program, is one of the highlights.  This is an opportunity for the team to travel to the homes of our families who live in more remote parts of Queensland, to find out how they are coping, meet other members of the family, their school or Kindy teacher and class mates, and have some fun in the comfort of their home. My trip this time covered more than 3000 kilometres including travelling from Toowoomba to Brisbane, flying to Longreach and then driving to ...