2008 Coleman & Greig Charity Golf Day

Stories from the Children

Nicholas's Story

Nicholas’s entry into the world wasn’t an easy one. His mum, Jenny, experienced complications during her pregnancy and Nicholas was born by caesarean at just 36 weeks with an Apgar score (scored on a scale of
0-10), of just one. Because of this it was necessary to give Nicholas very strong antibiotics to give him the best possible chance of survival.

In the next 2 weeks Nicholas fought a brave battle to survive. It was at this stage that he was tested for hearing loss through the SWISH (Statewide Infant Screening - Hearing) Program for newborns.

It was discovered that Nicholas had a moderate to severe hearing loss as a result of the very strong antibiotics that had to be given to him to help him survive.

At 10 months of age, after lots of testing Nicholas was fitted with hearing aids and a short time later joined our Early Intervention Program.

Nicholas’s Mum said, “without St Gabriel’s I wouldn’t have known where to start. As well as giving teaching support, the practical support we got was fantastic. Like ideas on how to get Nicholas to keep his aids on or where to go to for support. St Gabriel’s taught us how to help Nicholas communicate.”

Nicholas is now five years old and this year started his school life at his local primary school.

This is what his Mum & Dad and our Auditory-Verbal Therapist have been working towards for almost 4 years.

“We are both relieved and excited about Nicholas going to mainstream school. We are so relieved that his options in life will not be restricted because of his hearing impairment, thanks to the early intervention that he received”, says Jenny.

Hannah's Story

In the days following her birth, Hannah, like all newborns in NSW, was given the SWISH Test. When Hannah didn’t respond to the test her parents weren’t worried, after all there was no hearing loss in the family and Hannah appeared perfect in every way. The nurse said it was probably just fluid in her ears but said the family should follow it up.

While Hannah’s parents did worry a little about it over the following weeks they thought everything would be OK, so much so that Mum went along to the testing on her own.

When Hannah’s Dad got the call, he was devastated. Hannah’s Mum, still in shock, told him that Hannah had been diagnosed with a moderate-severe hearing loss in both ears.

The next few weeks were a bit of a blur, all kinds of thoughts were going through their minds, she’ll be different… she won’t fit in… she won’t be able to go to a normal school… what if there are other things wrong with her.

They also did a lot of research during that time and decided that Auditory Verbal Therapy was their first choice. They wanted Hannah to learn to speak and chose St Gabriel’s Early Intervention Program.

“St Gabriel’s was the best intervention we found; our Therapist has taught us so many things. We hope that by keeping up the early intervention Hannah will develop language; we will be able to communicate as a normal family, and Hannah and her big sister Lanah will be able to go to school together.”

Hannah is now 8 months old. They still don’t know why Hannah was born with a hearing loss; they are awaiting the results of genetic testing to determine the possible cause.

The journey early on was a little rough, but Hannah’s Mum and Dad say, “We wouldn’t change her for the world, she’s perfect. She’s happy, gives us lots of big smiles all the time and is saying her first word, dada”.

Hannah’s wonderful progress is thanks to the Auditory Verbal Therapy that she is receiving and the love and commitment of her family. Hannah is just one of the many hearing impaired children that are getting the help they deserve, a chance to live a life as full and rich as a hearing child.

Over the next five years, we will help Hannah develop spoken language and will wish her well as she too leaves us to begin her school life, alongside big sister Lanah, at their local school.

This is what we wish for all the children in our Program.