News and Stories

Volunteers contribute immeasurable value to the Hear and Say community. This National Volunteers Week, we celebrate and thank the many incredible people who donate their time and expertise across our centres. Every Hear and Say volunteer has a generous spirit and a heart-warming story – volunteers like Lee. Lee has been an invaluable volunteer at the Hear and Say Darling Downs Centre for over two years, and she is greatly admired for her outstanding can-do attitude and willingness to attend to any task with enthusiasm and a smile. “Lee has built such beautiful rapport with our ...

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 ...

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, ...

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, ...