Sarah’s story – the importance of language acquisition
When our son was little, we were in this space where it’s either/or: you are either signing or speaking – you had a cochlear implant, or you were Deaf. Nowadays, it’s nice to see the younger generation of Deaf people coming through and saying, I can have both. There should not be any limits on […]
Feeling blessed – Arthur’s story
I remember that feeling when I first saw the positive pregnancy test in May 2022—you know when everything stops, and you are flooded with emotions—the excitement, the nerves, the love and magic. I quickly started imagining what our new baby would look like: their first words, their first day of school, their first date, their […]
ANSD – Oliver’s story
Auditory Neuropathy is such a devastating condition and nothing is ever black or white… What I would suggest to any parent is to do every test possible, weigh up all your options, research your child’s condition, speak to adults with this condition, speak to adults that have been implanted, do a list of Pros and […]
Self-advocacy story
My youngest son has a moderate-severe hearing loss in one ear but only a mild loss in the other ear. He is seven years old. I thought I would share a story as close to his words as I can remember. “Mum, I hate it when we play Chinese Whispers, and Karen (his teacher) does […]
Bec’s journey
Bec Stewart was a presenter at the 7th National Deafness Sector Summit in Melbourne in April 2012. This is the story she shared… I am 19 and I was brought up in a mostly hearing impaired family. I have 10 deaf and hearing impaired relatives and was fitted with hearing aids at five when I […]
Hannah tells her story
Hi my name is Hannah. I am 10 years old and live in WA with my Mum and Dad and little brother. I have unilateral hearing loss on my right side. I was born with this type of hearing loss and my Mum and Dad only found out about my hearing loss when I was five […]
Felix’s story
Felix was born in April 2009, a younger brother for Amelie who was almost 3. He was just perfect. He was keen to get out into the world and even beat the obstetrician, much to the midwives’ horror. Within 24 hours he had his first SWISH screen which he didn’t pass. I was told that […]
A father’s perspective
When I found out Misha had a bilateral profound hearing loss I was shocked. A couple of days later, after I had gone through a box of tissues, I looked at my chubby, 10-month old, adorable angel, the picture of health, and thought – “This is only news to me.” Nothing for him had changed. Very […]
Olivia and genetic testing
We discovered our daughter Olivia’s hearing loss through the SWISH test at birth, but by about 18 months, it had worsened. Due to the fact that it had gotten worse, and because of the pattern of her hearing loss, the ENT and audiologist suspected Large Vestibular Aqueduct Syndrome (LVAS) and ordered a CAT scan and […]
Misha’s story
When I found out Misha had a bilateral profound hearing loss I was shocked. A couple of days later, after I had gone through a box of tissues, I looked at my chubby, 10-month old, adorable angel, the picture of health, and thought – “This is only news to me.” Nothing for him had changed. Very […]
First name Amelia
In the months following Amelia’s diagnosis of hearing loss, I picked up a strange habit when introducing her to people we met in our daily travels. Like an involuntary verbal tic, I would call her ‘deaf’ before I said her name or anything else about her. This new tendency was the result of many obsessive […]
When you find your team
This story represents the stories of parents whose children are deaf or hard of hearing with additional needs. We interviewed some parents and their thoughts and perspectives are combined into this story – written for Aussie Deaf Kids by a writer and academic. “My thing was about trusting my intuition and gut.” You will receive […]
When it’s too much
This story represents the stories of parents whose children are deaf or hard of hearing with additional needs. We interviewed some parents and their thoughts and perspectives are combined into this story – written for Aussie Deaf Kids by a writer and academic. “And I ended up having to say ‘no more! I can’t do […]
When there’s more
This story represents the stories of parents whose children are deaf or hard of hearing with additional needs. We interviewed some parents and their thoughts and perspectives are combined into this story – written for Aussie Deaf Kids by a writer and academic. “I just had this funny feeling in my guts; I said this […]
Empowering understanding: a smooth transition for Indy
My daughter has bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and wears hearing aids. At the age of eight, we decided to change schools as we had moved house and wanted her to go to the local school. She was doing well at her current school, both academically and socially. Her schoolmates had grown up with her wearing […]
