News and Stories

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 ...

Suncorp Stadium are delighted to invite you to their annual Charity Golf day at the Pines, Sanctuary Cove Resort on Friday 26th October to raise much needed funds for Hear and Say. The event is returning to the magnificent Pines Golf Course, which always provides a fabulous experience, a great networking opportunity and promises to be bigger and better this year. Especially with the amazing hole in one prize of a brand new Lexus NX 300h Luxury courtesy of Lexus Brisbane. So far the event has raised over $325,000 for Hear and Say and aims to make a further $50,000 this year. We invite ...

It is amazing to think that this year will be the 10th Microtia and Atresia Conference. My ‘baby’ that first began with 40 attendees at our Gold Coast Centre in 2009, is now a fully-fledged 3-day annual conference at our Brisbane Centre attracting over 100 parents, health and education professionals and university students. For those who are not aware, my interest in microtia and atresia began with the birth of my now 14-year daughter Chelsea in 2004. Chelsea was born with microtia and atresia, and at the time, there was very little information about this condition, and what there was, ...

Hear and Say alumni, Jillian explains why she now has her weekends back I recently graduated from the University of Queensland with a Doctorate in sociology and international development. Achieving the PhD has been no easy feat, and I am certainly relieved to conclude this voyage and have my weekends back! I was born with moderate to severe hearing loss, which deteriorated to a profound loss during my early primary school years and rendered hearing aids ineffective. This prompted my parents to seek alternatives and fortunately, they found the Hear and Say Centre, of which we have ...