When we welcomed our first child, Mia, we discovered she had bilateral hearing loss.  Mia received a newborn hearing screening at birth, and hearing loss was detected.  As a new mom, I was blindsided, but I am so thankful for the early detection.  Mia was fitted for hearing aids when she was just 2.5 months old and participated in the Early Intervention program.

We discovered the Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education through our Early Intervention speech therapist and enrolled Mia in the preschool program.  As a parent, our Early Intervention therapist was so helpful in navigating the process and just overall acceptance.  In my own career as a Speech Language Pathologist, I could draw from that experience – but I had to be a mom first, and I’m so thankful for all the knowledge we received through Early Intervention and WISE.

When our second daughter, Elizabeth, was born, we knew the importance of early detection and all the questions to ask our medical providers.  Elizabeth’s newborn hearing screening detected unilateral hearing loss at birth.  However, her hearing loss progressed to bilateral at the age of 2 years old, and she was fitted with hearing aids.  

Early detection and WISE really changed our kids’ lives.  WISE is truly a phenomenal and irreplaceable organization with an astounding knowledge base and readily available resources to assist parents as they navigate their child’s hearing loss journey.  

Both girls are graduates of WISE.  Mia is now 11 years old and in the gifted program at school.  She is very involved in Taekwondo and is nearly halfway to receiving her black belt!  She also adores cats.  Elizabeth is 8 years old and enjoys anything creative.  She loves coloring, making crafts, and doing puzzles.  She can be silly sometimes and is such a joy!
                                           

 Sara Stewart – Elizabeth & Mia’s mom