Jacob aged 3 (Photo by Sharlene)
Our family has two young children who attend the Hear the Children Early Intervention Centre – Jacob, who is the eldest sibling to sweet little Oliver, is 4 years of age and has bilateral, severe to profound hearing loss.
Jacob was initially identified through the SWISH program in hospital at just 4 days old and was later diagnosed at 4 weeks of age and fitted with hearing aids at 7 weeks.
In August 2009 Jacob received his first Cochlear Implant due to a progressive deterioration of his hearing since birth due to a condition called Large Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome.
Jacob has been enrolled in the Hear the Children Early Intervention Centre’s Auditory-Verbal Program under the consistent care of one of the therapists at the centre since he was 4 months old.
Jacob is an outgoing, vibrant little boy that loves life and everything associated with it. While his language development is delayed, he is progressing well and there is no doubt that with the continued provision of the Hear the Children Early Intervention Centre program Jacob will continue to develop effective spoken language to support his successful integration into a mainstream school in 2 years time along with his hearing mates.
