Hearing Our Way: Spring 2023

The magazine for kids and teens with hearing loss

4 6 10 12

& Games Sophie’s Spotlight

Contributors

Melanie Paticoff Grossman • Editor in Chief

Magazine Design • N-KCreative.com

Overcoming Obstacles • Zandy

Eva’s Bookshelf • Eva

With special thanks to all of our featured H W friends

www.HearingOurWay.com

info@hearingourway.com

PO Box 13, Greenlawn, New York 11740 Volume 10, No. 1

©2023 Sophie’s Tales, LLC. All rights reserved. Hearing Our Way is published quarterly and is a publication of Sophie’s Tales, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. See p.11 for more information about subscriptions for homes, schools, and offices or visit www.HearingOurWay.com. For promotional opportunities, change of address, or other customer service, contact info@hearingourway.com. • All comments and suggestions received by Hearing Our Way become the sole property of Hearing Our Way and may be used without compensation or acknowledgment. Hearing Our Way disclaims liability for any losses or damages that may result from using information in this magazine. • Inquire today about sponsorship and advertising opportunities. Contact Info@HearingOurWay.com.

Dear Readers,

HELLO, 2023! What goals have you set for yourself this year? Whatever they are, I bet the principles of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) apply.

STEAM is a learning framework that embraces a variety of skills to help with critical thinking and problem solving. Is there a challenge you're facing this spring that STEAM could help you solve?

I can’t think of anyone who embodies STEAM more than Zandy, featured on our cover. She is an internationally-recognized scientist and disability advocate, and she is only a junior in college. Zandy has found ways to combine her life experience with hearing loss with her love of science to improve the lives of other people with hearing loss. Amazing work, Zandy.

In Things We Love, we not only have a new book review from Eva, but we also have an interview with the author, Rie Neal, all about her book series Astrid Astronaut, which features a main character with hearing loss who… you guessed it… loves science, especially space.

For a fun special feature, one of our readers, Margaret, invites us to learn about her city, New Orleans, Louisiana, and its Mardi Gras holiday traditions, which are happening this season.

Finally, on our back cover we have a spotlight on ben, a tenth grade boy who loves math, science, and music, too.

You can find ways to incorporate core values of STEAM such as curiosity, teamwork, creativity, growth mindset, and problem-solving into your goals and interests. Full Steam Ahead!

Mel Paticoff Grossman, M.S.D.E. Editor in Chief and maltipoo, Sophie

Hearing – Info about hearing aids, cochlear implants, and listening devices

Talking – Tips for speech and language

Self-Advocacy – Ideas for sharing your hearing loss story with others

Did you receive this issue from a friend, school, or office? Sign up for your own subscription to continue receiving HearingOurWay! www.HearingOurWay.com

You Are Strong! You can do anything you set your mind to.

InspiratioN Stati n

“[Growing up with hearing loss] has shaped me into who I am today. It has made me stronger, and I wouldn’t change anything, especially now. I found my purpose—what I’m going to do for my career. It was all worth it. Hearing loss, cochlear implants, disabilities in general, nothing can hold you back. You can achieve anything you want if you put your mind to it.”

—Meghan Westman, Doctor of Audiology, who was one of the youngest cochlear implant recipients in the country when she was implanted at just over a year old.

books We L ve: Eva’s Bookshelf

Eva is a 14-year-old girl from New Jersey who has always loved reading. She has hearing loss in her left ear, but with the help of her Roger Focus® receiver and wireless system, she never lets hearing loss hold her back. Ready to discover your next favorite book? Eva invites you to explore her bookshelf.

It was really special to receive a copy of the book Astrid Astronaut from the author, Rie Neal, herself. The story features a main character, Astrid, a third grade girl with hearing loss who dreams of being an astronaut. Astrid has had hearing aids since she was very little. They help her to hear quiet noises, and they connect to a microphone that she passes to her teachers, similar to the one I use. Astrid faces some challenges in the story that get in the way of following her hopes and dreams. Even as a teenager, I still enjoyed this book and could relate to Astrid about her life with hearing loss and the challenges she faces both due to hearing loss and also the ones unrelated to her hearing loss. I recommend this book to anyone who likes entertaining books, reading about science and space, books featuring characters with hearing loss, and books that teach valuable lessons.

Meghan shares her story of becoming an audiologist with a cochlear implant with NBC Today.

Meet Rie Neal, the author

f Astrid Astronaut

Hi there! My name is Rie Neal (‘Rie’ is short for ‘Marie’ and is pronounced “Ree”). I am a children’s book author with a background in audiology. I’m from San Francisco Bay, California, and I live with my husband, two daughters, and our cat Dex. In my free time, I like to read, tap dance (a little), roller skate (badly), and travel.

Becoming an author is NOT a fast process. I started by writing a middle-grade science fiction novel about seven years ago. I revised and revised and revised the book. Then I sent query letters to literary agents. It took six months until I finally found an agent! The agent sent my book out to publishers, but unfortunately it never sold (that happens sometimes). Instead, I received a write-for-hire book deal for a chapter book series, the Major Eights. The agent saw the success of that and suggested I write a chapter book series of my own.

Because of my background in audiology, I really wanted to write a book about a character with hearing loss. I also love STEAM, space, and science, so I decided to write a series about a girl with hearing loss determined to become an astronaut one day. I wanted to show that space is for everyone, because there is definitely a movement within the space community to make this true. Writing about space also reminded me of my grandfather, who passed away seven years ago and loved NASA.

I am looking forward to finishing Astrid’s series with her taking her longawaited trip to Space Camp. I also hope to write other books that show hearing loss as a normal part of life for so many kids. With Astrid, I didn’t want the main plot to revolve around her hearing loss. She has a wide range of interests, just like anyone else, and her hearing loss is only part of who she is. Kids with hearing loss can do so many amazing things, as Hearing Our Way celebrates.

If you want to become an author one day, there are lots of things you can do right now to get started. Since the age of 12, I always kept a journal. It’s a great way to practice writing. Also, READ. Read anything that sparks your interest, and make the library your best friend. Another tip is to get involved in drama classes—studying acting can be really helpful in writing when thinking about how characters express emotions. Make friends with other people who like to write. It helps to have a support system by your side. Finally, follow your favorite authors on their websites and social media. I like to post about the books I read on my Instagram, @RieNealWriter. I hope you all enjoy reading my chapter book series, Astrid Astronaut !

Full Steam Ahead

Language can be tricky, especially idioms, which are groups of words or expressions that mean something different than what they say.

You might hear the idiom full steam ahead and think of a steam train or of your school science program, but no.

Full steam ahead means you are moving forward with something full-force. Like this:

“After years of wearing hearing aids, I have finally decided to move full steam ahead towards getting a cochlear implant.”

vercomingbstacles

Zandy's Faves

H ACTIVITIES

Running

Tennis

H GAMES

Settlers of Catan

Mario Kart

H BOOKS

The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan

H TV

Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Glee

H CONCERT

Bruno Mars

H MOVIES

My Neighbor Totoro

Encanto

Inside Out

H FOODS

Cream puffs

Tiramisu

H W does Zandy hear?

With a magnifying glass in one hand, a TEDx mic in the other, and one BAHA!

All About Me

Hi, my name is Zandy (short for Alexandra), and I am a junior studying public health at Johns Hopkins University. I'm originally from Alexandra, Virginia. I love doing experiments in the lab, composing piano music, visiting Baltimore bakeries, and watching figure skating.

Hearing My Way

I was born with severe hearing loss in my left ear from oval window atresia, which means one of the bones in the middle ear (the oval window) is deformed. At 4-yearsold, I began wearing a hearing aid, and when I was 12-years-old, I had surgery for a B Attract implant. With my Cochlear BAHA (bone anchored hearing aid), I have full access to sound. I attended mainstream school since kindergarten and received speech therapy for many years.

School Cool

Starting college in a pandemic and virtual environment wasn’t easy. I quickly realized I would need more accommodations, such as CART captioning and clear masks, to ensure I could fully participate. To advocate for myself, it took a lot of emails, communication with my professors and disability services, and explaining my needs in order to get the services I needed. Now that campus is fully open, I enjoy being a campus tour guide and serving the Baltimore community as a member of the Alpha Phi Omega service fraternity.

STEAM Team

I’m really proud to be a girl in the science field. One of my current lab projects is playing really loud rock concerts in mice’s ears (mice-sized headphones not included) and seeing if their hearing can bounce back after extreme noise exposure. My other neuroscience project is creating algorithms that can predict the level of hearing loss in these mice from tracking their brain activity at different pitches.

Overcoming Obstacles

Growing up with hearing loss was an isolating experience at times. I didn’t know many other kids like me. It also wasn’t obvious that I had hearing loss, so there were many times people were unaware and said hurtful statements or excluded me without realizing I had hearing loss.

My Best Advice

Always remember that you control your own narrative, and don’t be afraid to dream big!

Zandy has so much to smile about.

I couldn’t hear well enough and didn’t yet have the words or advocacy skills to stand up for myself and be included in group conversations. College really changed things for me, and I’ve come such a long way.

Ear Gear

One of my favorite hearing lossrelated products is the Otter Ai app for transcription services. I also use vibration alarms to help make sure I wake up on time, although sometimes I have to use quite a few to get me up! Having singlesided deafness does have its benefits, like only having to use one headphone and being able to sleep on my right ear if I don’t want to hear my twin sister snoring. I also think having hearing loss has made me a more empathetic person and a great listener, because I know what it’s like to not be heard.

That's Just the Way I Hear

Hearing loss doesn’t define me. I don’t pretend that my hearing loss hasn’t given me challenges, because of course it has. Instead, I try to recognize how much learning to live with hearing loss has helped me grow into being a better friend, advocate, and scientist. I hope my hearing loss is recognized as a part of my narrative that has shaped every action I take.

Inspiration Station

I have many mentors who have inspired me. My mentor and former tennis coach/ audiologist, Dr. Sheila Moore-Neff, was one of the first people who taught me how to advocate for myself and find confidence to ‘own’ my hearing loss. She introduced me to Hearing Our Way magazine one of the very first times we met! My research mentor, Dr. Tilak Ratnanather, a Deaf Biomedical Engineering professor at Hopkins, was the first scientist I met who had hearing loss. He showed me that I didn’t just have a place in science, but that my hearing loss could be an asset to my research. Dr. Aliza Watters, Mrs. Tessa McKenzie, and of course my friends and family who are always cheering me on, also inspire me every step of the way.

Proud Accomplishments

I am really proud of what I have accomplished at such a young age. I’ve shared my story of growing up with hearing loss on the TEDx stage, podcasts, and more. I’ve interned on Capitol Hill (Congress) and spoke at the U.S. Department of Labor about engaging disabled youth. I recently was awarded the Heumann-Armstrong Award, which recognized my work advocating for accessibility in education. I’m excited to see what comes next for me!

# Goals

My goal is to continue working at the intersection of policy and science to help create a world where accessibility is universal. I’m not quite sure if my path will be towards becoming a doctor, a lawyer, or a neuroscience/public health researcher, but I am excited to find out. Hearing loss only enhances the work I do because I can use my personal experiences to inform the research and advocacy efforts I devote myself to.

Left: Zandy presents a TedX talk.

Right: Zandy speaks at the U.S. Department of Labor during her summer internship.

Zandy started her college journey during the pandemic.

with Margaret

Margaret is a ten-year-old girl with hearing aids

who loves rock climbing, arts and crafts, and reading Hearing Our Way. Margaret lives in New Orleans, Louisiana with her mom, dad, older brother Connor, little sisters Lyla and Mary Grace, and puppy Quigley. Did you know that New Orleans is considered the home of Mardi Gras? Margaret’s here to tell you all about it.

What

is Mardi Gras?

Mardi Gras is a fun holiday celebration where family and friends come together to celebrate before Lent. It started a long time ago and has been part of New Orleans since the city was founded.

When

is Mardi Gras?

Mardi Gras isn’t always on the same day each year. It usually falls in February or March, 47 days before Easter. Fat Tuesday is always on the day before Ash Wednesday, but in New Orleans, we don’t celebrate just one day—our celebrations go on for weeks! Mardi Gras season actually starts in January here.

What do people in New Orleans do for Mardi Gras?

There are lots of parties, fancy balls, and parades. Kids in New Orleans get six whole days off of school to celebrate. We go to lots of parades with our friends, and we eat a special cake called King Cake every Friday at school. People wear lots of fun costumes, and sometimes we like to paint our faces.

What is your favorite parade?

My favorite parade is called Muses. It is one of the most famous parades. I also really like the parades that take place at night because the krewes (people in the parade) throw lots of glow in the dark things like beads, balls, and toys. All the kids wave to the floats and yell, “Throw me something, Mister!” After the parades, we like to go home and trade with each other.

Top: Margaret loves rock climbing.

Bottom: Mardi Gras is fun for the whole family.

Right: The night parades are some of Margaret’s favorites.

Does hearing loss affect you during Mardi Gras?

There are lots of bands and music at the Mardi Gras parades. It can be so loud! Sometimes I turn my hearing aid volume down if it’s too loud. One time, my hearing aids ran out of batteries at the parade. That was a hard lesson, so now we always pack extra batteries before going to the parades. I always stay close to my parents at the parades because they are very crowded with people.

What is the best part about living in New Orleans?

Mardi Gras is the best part, of course. It is so much fun to see all the parades and floats. Living here, it feels like the Mardi Gras celebration goes on forever. Really, it only goes on for about a month, but we look forward to it all year long. I have been to Mardi Gras every year of my life, except for the year they canceled it due to Covid.

What else do you love about New Orleans?

To me, New Orleans means good food like crawfish, beignets, and king cake. Also, we have the best music like brass bands and jazz. New Orleans is so much fun. Come visit!

Sights and sounds of

Mardi Gras:

King cake

Carnival

Parade float

Jazz music

Beads

Masks & Costumes

Left: “Throw me something, Mister!” Right: Margaret succeeds in getting LOTS of beads.

fun & games

Why can’t you trust an atom? Because they make upeverything.

What did the science book say to the math book? You’ve got problems.

Whatkindofdogsdo scientists have? Laboratory retrievers.

How often do you like to hear jokes about chemistry? Periodically.

STEAM Drawing Game

STEAM uses different skills, like science, math, and art, to solve problems. You'll have to use art skills of drawing and math skills of using a grid to create your own version of these science lab cartoons.

You're invited to write your own STEAM story featuring a character with hearing loss like Astrid Astronaut.

bonus: Use alliteration (the same letter for both words) to create your own STEAM character—for example, Corey Chemist or Miles Mathematician.

Send in your story (and artwork, too!) to: info@hearingourway.com by April 1, 2023 and you could be featured in an upcoming issue of Hearing Our Way .

We all love our birthdays, but kids with hearing loss sometimes have a bonus celebration – their hearing birthdays – the anniversary of the day they got their hearing devices.

We want to see photos of YOUR hearing birthday celebration.

Email us at info@hearingourway.com and you may be featured in a Hearing Our Way birthday shoutout.

Your Photo Here

Malcom loves reading Hearing Our Way and you will, too.

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Sophie loves shining a spotlight on amazing kids with hearing loss around the world. To shine a spotlight on someone you know, write to us at info@hearingourway.com.

Ben, age 15, is a tenth grader from Fredonia, New York who loves to think analytically, read, and solve problems. He loves geography and math, plays piano and violin, and does LEGO® construction in his spare time. Ben is proud to have hearing loss and uses a cochlear implant and hearing aid.

Ben’s parents first discovered that he was deaf soon after he was born, and he received his cochlear implant at 8-months-old. Ben doesn’t find that having hearing loss makes him feel too different than other kids in his mainstream school. In fact, he admits that a lot of the time, he forgets he’s deaf! Sometimes, Ben gets frustrated that when people learn that he has hearing loss, they may make assumptions about him and don’t see the full picture. Attending and contributing to his 504 program meetings and advocating for himself helps his teachers understand who he is and what his needs are. At school, he finds that his FM system helps him to hear his teachers and classmates more directly and clearly.

Ben is really passionate about using STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) to solve problems. Not only does he find math and science fun, but he also plays piano and does an advanced music program for violin. Ben is interested in climate change and pollution and applies STEM principles to address those problems. Ben’s goal is to attend MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), a leader in STEAM, and earn a degree in engineering. He hopes to become an astronautical engineer at NASA, and he knows hearing loss will not stand in his way.