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The Colliers: Listening and Learning
Tony Collier Jr. didn't pass the Universal Newborn Hearing Screen administered at Fairview Hospital shortly after his birth. Tony's mom, Stacey, was concerned, but thought that it might indicate only a temporary condition caused by his middle ears being filled with fluid after birth. Over the next six months, the infant's hearing was tested several times at the Cleveland Clinic.
For Stacey, a young, first-time mom and college student, and her husband, Tony Sr., assistant manager at a restaurant, their uncertainty during the testing was a difficult period. In September 2004, when the tests determined that Tony Jr. had mild-to-moderate hearing loss, the Clinic referred the Colliers to the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center (CHSC). United Way of Greater Cleveland supports speech and hearing programs at this partner agency.
Regional Infant Hearing Program
In the following month, the Colliers were assigned an outreach specialist, Christine Bricker, of the Regional Infant Hearing Program, a service funded by the Ohio Department of Health and facilitated by CHSC.
The Regional Infant Hearing Program serves families with children from newborn to three years of age who are deaf or have some degree of hearing loss. The program gives families the support of a certified specialist who provides unbiased information about hearing loss and hearing devices, communication options, suggestions for building language and literacy skills, and links to audiology, speech and language therapy, and community resources.
When Christine met with the Colliers, it was the beginning of a beneficial relationship for the family, coaching the young parents on techniques and strategies to help teach their son to listen selectively by first paying attention to the sounds of the environment around him.
"Tony Jr. is one of our stellar children in this program, and has a wonderful family," says Christine. "He has a great musical voice and enjoys singing. But he also likes to watch sports, especially if it's a Cavaliers game, and he loves his toy cars and trucks."
Tests Confirmed
Shortly after Christine began working with the Colliers, Bridgid Whitford, an audiologist at Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center, met the family and tested Tony's hearing. Even then, Tony's parents were still a bit skeptical about whether their son truly had a hearing problem, but they were convinced when Bridgid had them observe his reactions when he was placed in an audio booth. Like many hearing-impaired individuals, Tony Jr. can hear loud sounds, but not soft sounds. This limited hearing sometimes gives the false appearance that a young child's hearing is normal.
"They're a fabulous family," says Bridgid. "I wish more parents were open-minded and willing to do the right thing for their kids when hearing loss is discovered. Early treatment can make a world of difference in a child's language and learning development during those critical first years."
Bridgid made mold impressions of Tony's ears and he was fitted with hearing aids a month later -- just nine months after his birth!
"Tony is all boy -- he can be rough-and-tumble -- but he's been careful with the handling of his hearing aids," adds Bridgid. "He's become very comfortable with them."
Smart Talker
Tony Jr. has proven to be a rather precocious and talkative boy. His development is progressing beyond expectations. He has a spoken vocabulary of around 2,000 words, knows the "ABCs" song by heart and can already recognize several written words. This level of language skill exceeds what's expected of even children with normal hearing his age. His dad thinks Tony Jr.'s vocabulary is considerably larger than tests have indicated. "It seems to me I've heard a lot more words out of him than that," he says.
Having met Tony Jr., we can believe it.
Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center provides the following programs and services: Audiology, Community Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Speech-Language Pathology. CHSC also oversees the management of the Regional Infant Hearing Program, which serves 14 counties in Northeast Ohio. For more information about the Cleveland Hearing & Speech Center or the Regional Infant Hearing Program, call 216-231-8787 or visit www.clevelandhearingandspeech.org.
Tony's bright future is just one story from the more than 130 partner agencies that United Way funds to provide nearly 180 health and human service programs helping more than 400,000 Greater Cleveland residents every year.
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