Oliver aged 1 (Photo by Sharlene)
Our family has two young children who attend the Hear the Children Early Intervention Centre – Jacob, the eldest sibling, and sweet little Oliver.
Indications that Oliver was hearing impaired was identified through the SWISH program in hospital at 3 days of age. One week later at Westmead Children’s Hospital it was confirmed that Oliver had inherited, like his brother, Large Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome – a degenerative hearing condition and a current diagnosis of bilateral, moderate to severe hearing loss.
Oliver has been enrolled in the Hear the Children Early Intervention Centre therapy at St Gabriel’s since he was 10 weeks old. He is responding excellently to the intervention provided by his therapist and is meeting all of his milestones, which is exciting and encouraging to see and provides us, Oliver’s parents and family, with the much needed hope that Oliver will have the best start to a very happy, and opportunity filled, future.
In the strongest possible terms I can state that Hear the Children has been an important, integral and valued part of the lives of our children and our entire family over the last four years and we are overjoyed that this service will now continue as an independent entity. We believe that this program gives our kids the best possible opportunities to begin their life long road to developing speech and language, gain effective skills and ultimately enter mainstream schooling.
