When Katherine was born, she passed her newborn hearing screening and seemed to be developmentally on track the first two years of her life.  When Katherine was around 2.5, we noticed her speech was behind her peers. Thinking it was just a speech issue, we weren’t too worried.  When she was almost 3, her daycare teacher noticed that she wasn’t moving towards sound during a music activity. We immediately had her hearing tested and discovered she had profound bilateral hearing loss. We began the process of getting cochlear implants and just 10 days before she turned 4, they were activated.  She has now been using her cochlear implants for 18 months and just started kindergarten. The past year and a half has been life changing for Katherine and our family.  With the support of WISE, we watched Katherine’s language blossom, and her confidence grow!  From the very beginning, we felt like we had a team of professionals behind us to walk us through our new normal after Katherine’s hearing loss diagnosis. They have been there every step of the way, from preparing us for her surgery and activation to teaching us how to advocate for her in elementary school and beyond. We are forever grateful for WISE.

Kelly Weekly, Katherine’s Mom