Hearing Our Way: Summer 2023

Contributors

Melanie Paticoff Grossman • Editor

Overcoming

Eva’s

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. 2

©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,

Summer is on the horizon, and that makes me think of the smell of hot dogs on the grill, the sound of fireworks booming in the night sky, and the feeling of quiet days spending quality time with family and friends.

Amena, featured in Overcoming Obstacles, loves an ‘All-American summer,’ too. She first shared with us her poem, What It Means to be an American, and then shared her story of life as a Muslim girl with hearing loss in New York City. What’s more ‘quintessential USA’ than NYC?

Anyone can imagine how challenging it would be to be part of a military family that moves around every few years. It wasn’t until longtime reader and teacher of the deaf Kayla Flaherty came to us with an idea to feature kids with hearing loss from military families, that I considered how much harder it might be for them, putting together all new teams of audiologists, speech pathologists, and teachers every couple of years. We are proud to share stories from military families in a special feature on pages 8-9.

As you may know, Hearing Our Way is based in the United States but reaches kids internationally in Canada, Australia, and beyond. So Stars & Stripes Summer isn’t just about the U.S.A., it’s about being proud of wherever you come from, and it’s about having the freedom to dream about where you’re going next.

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

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.

I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Gilly Segal and Kimberly Jones is a novel about two girls who form an unlikely friendship while trying to figure out a way home as chaos and violence erupts around them. Lena is a confident black girl who has lived in the town all her life, and Campbell is more insecure, a white girl who just recently moved there. The story is written in their two perspectives. The book includes themes of racism, stereotyping, and how different people can help each other grow. I recommend this book to teen readers who are ready for a summer read that will enlighten them about the important topic of racism in America.

Hats Off to the Class of 2023!

Sam’s first college experience didn’t end in a diploma, but nine years later he returned to college and graduated with honors. As a commencement speaker, he shared his story and words of wisdom with his fellow graduates.

“There was a time I thought I would never see this [college graduation] day… I [needed to] overcome the adversity of having [profound hearing loss and cochlear implants] and the stigma of being a ‘college dropout…’ Instead of letting my past failure at obtaining a degree define who I am and what I deserve, I started to shift away from, “Why me?” and being the victim of my own circumstances to, “Why NOT me?” and started taking control of my education, my career, and my disability… Fellow graduates, no matter where you plan to go from here, I’m confident that you’ll do great things. You already have.”

Flashback: Sam was our second-ever cover kid in 2014.

Meet two brothers from

Utica, New York, who never let hearing loss get in the way of fun!

On the Front Lines

Drew (age 9) and Ryan (age 7) were both born with hearing loss and each have bilateral cochlear implants. Together they love to play outside, build Legos, and watch Ninja Turtles.

Drew: I received my cochlear implants around two-years-old. Ryan and I are able to help each other since we both have hearing loss and cochlear implants. We each have extra equipment we can swap for each other if something happens to our devices at school. One time Ryan’s cochlear went dead at summer camp, so I helped him put new batteries in.

Ryan: I got my cochlear implants when I was one-year-old. I like having a big brother who has cochlears like me. It’s fun to play basketball, golf, and superheroes with Drew.

Drew: Ryan and I enjoy doing activities like CrossFit Kids together. The coach is able to wear a mini mic so that we can both hear better in the large gym. It helps to advocate for ourselves when we can do it together.

One Last Word: It’s nice to have a brother who is going through the same thing; it makes us feel less alone. We have someone who understands, someone to laugh with when we make mistakes or mishear things… like our mom. We won’t let hearing loss get in the way of our dreams.

Hearing loss is part of the whole family. Share your story with us: info@hearingourway.com

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 on the front lines and think of soldiers in the army, and yes… this expression was inspired by soldiers ready for battle. The expression on the front lines means that you have an important part in leading something challenging. Like this: “My mom has always been my biggest hearing loss advocate, but now that I’m older, I’m on the front lines alongside her at my IEP meetings, advocating for myself and my needs.”

Megan Mumford Photography

vercomingbstacles

H W does Amena hear?

With shopping bags in hand, music on, and her cochlear implant and hearing aid!

Inspiring Stories of Kids and Teens Like You All About Me

Amena's Faves

H MUSIC

Taylor Swift

Olivia Rodrigo

Harry Styles

H TV

Raven’s Home

Ms. Marvel

H MOVIES

High School Musical

Wonder

H FOODS

McDonald’s Samosas

Afghani food

H PLACES

The beach

My Grandma’s house

Favorite Quote

Hi, I’m Amena, and I am a 14-year-old eighth grader from Queens, New York. I love fashion, sports, technology, spending time with family and friends in the city, and expressing my creativity.

Hearing My Way

I was born with bilateral hearing loss and started wearing hearing aids when I was four-years-old. I remember how excited I was to put stickers all over my aids. When I was seven, I got my cochlear implant, and ever since then, I have been upgrading my equipment and working on auditory training for both my hearing aid and cochlear implant. Having access to the newest and most advanced hearing equipment released exclusively for people like me is pretty cool and has definitely inspired my interest in technology and software. My favorite feature of all is Bluetooth, which allows me to stream shows, videos, and music straight to my cochlear implant. Unlike others who have to put on and take off headphones or earbuds, mine come attached with my ‘ears.’

Overcoming Obstacles

One of the most frustrating things about hearing loss is feeling like I cannot do something on my own. For instance, sometimes I feel like I can’t go to the store by myself in fear that I may not be able to communicate clearly enough or be able to understand those around me. It makes me feel like I’m not capable of handling new situations independently. Thankfully, I have a support system of family and teachers who help build my confidence, skills, and independence to reach my fullest potential.

Brotherly Love

My older brother, Hasan, and I are very close. Even though sometimes he gets annoyed if I ask him to repeat something for me more than once, I know that he is always looking out for me and there to help me. When we watch movies together, he always remembers to turn on the captions for me, which is very sweet, because usually I have to remind people. If someone is talking to me but I don’t understand them, Hasan will repeat what they said for me without me asking. He can always tell when I need helpthat’s what big brothers are for.

Shop til I Drop!

I am really into fashion and the latest trends. I love to express my personality and creativity through my clothes and accessories. I can spend hours at the mall, just looking through the endless options of clothes. I have struggled with anxiety when it comes to going shopping on my own, especially during and after the pandemic, when masks prevent the ability to lipread. Nevertheless, I do not let my anxiety or hearing loss get in the way of my love of shopping.

“We’ve all got both light and dark inside us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.”

—Sirius Black, Harry Potter

Amena and her brother Hasan pose for the camera.

City Life

I love living in New York City! One of my favorite things to do is ride my bike through the streets of my big neighborhood in Queens. The feeling of exhilaration I get while riding helps me destress and forget any worries of the day.

Self-Advocacy Star

I have had numerous speech teachers in my life, but I often felt as if I was just a patient, and they didn’t really make an effort to get to know me. Thankfully, this all changed when I was matched with the perfect hearing teacher, Dina, who I am so grateful to have as part of my hearing journey. She recognizes my strengths and abilities and encourages me to go the extra mile in my work. She even inspired me to write my poem, What it Means to be an American, featured in Fun & Games. With Dina’s help, I was able to be a part of my IEP meeting starting in 7th grade. I was really proud of myself for being able to express all of my thoughts, concerns, and goals calmly and clearly in a meeting with adults, some whom I had never even met before. I went through a lot of past experiences where I could have advocated for myself and fixed a situation instead of sitting quietly. Now I know that I am fully included in the conversation, and my voice matters.

Inspiration Station

My hearing loss is not the only part of me that may appear ‘different.’ I am a Pakistani and Muslim, and I wear a headscarf. Someone who is an inspiration to me is Nakia, a character from the show Ms. Marvel on Disney+. The way that she handles challenges relating to being a Muslim is very courageous. She stays strong and firm in her religious beliefs, and she is the only one who wears a headscarf in her public school, which is very bold. Nakia inspires me to be brave like her and not allow my physical differences to be a hindrance in my path.

Goals

My dream job is to be a software computer engineer because I have a passion for technology, and I would love to work in the beautiful city of Los Angeles. I am very tech-savvy and could see myself traveling around the world to help companies fix software issues. It’s a skill I’ve built through remote learning, helping family members with tech issues, and troubleshooting my own hearing devices. My hearing loss will not get in the way of my dreams because I am willing to put my fullest effort into making them come true.

One Last Word

Having hearing loss isn’t easy. At times I get lost when people around me are speaking quickly. It’s hard to feel different from your peers, to hear differently, to speak differently. I have tried at times to erase my hearing loss by taking off my equipment or hiding my hearing devices. But in reality, without these devices life would be so much harder. They allow me to understand people and be independent. I have learned to fully embrace who I am, and I feel so fortunate and privileged to have access to this advanced hearing technology that has enhanced my life. Now I have come to believe that being hard of hearing has enabled me to unlock a rare inner strength. My hearing loss has made me into a very strong, resilient, and hard-working person. Nothing can stop me when I set my mind to something.

Amena's boat ride to Ellis Island inspired her poem about America, which is featured in Fun & Games (see page 10)

Amena is ready for a bike ride through the city.

Amena's family helps support her through challenges.

My Military Family & My Hearing Loss

Having a parent in the military can be really challenging for any kid- frequent moves to new cities, leaving friends behind and making new ones, and of course missing your parent while they’re away. But for kids with hearing loss, the military lifestyle has added challenges, such as changes in hearing specialists and teachers, frequent introductions and explanations of hearing loss to all new peers, and new accommodations and IEPs each time.

Kayla Flaherty and Stephanie Lopez, teachers of the deaf who work near a military base, invited their students with hearing loss from military families to share their stories.

Jessica’s Story

Hi, I’m Jessica! I am seven-years-old and in the first grade. I live in Fairfax Station, Virginia, and I have sensorineural hearing loss and wear bilateral hearing aids. I love to paint and draw. My older sister, Ashley, and I are part of a military family. Our dad has been in the Army for over 27 years. He helps keep us safe.

I was born in Kentucky and have moved four times since then. Sometimes I feel sad about moving because I know I will miss my room and the friends that I made, but I like to make new friends, too. Sometimes I’m even happy to move, like when we said goodbye to South Carolina, where we had red fire ants and wasps in our backyard.

When we move, my mom researches the new area and makes sure I have the help I need, like an audiologist and hearing teacher. Every time I move, I have to tell my new friends that I have hearing loss and wear hearing aids. I have to teach my new teachers about the Roger System microphone and receiver to help me hear in class.

Even though being part of a military family is challenging, it has helped me become a great self-advocate because I know how to work my own hearing aids and explain my hearing loss to friends and teachers. My hearing loss will not stop me from doing anything.

Drew & Quinn’s Story

Hi, we are Drew and Quinn, 11-year-old identical twins from Alexandria, Virginia, currently living in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. We both have moderate to severe bilateral sensorineural hearing losses and wear hearing aids. We have a 16-year-old brother, Kyle, and a 13-year-old sister, Keira, plus a dog, a cat, a bird, and three fish. Our mother is a Captain in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is in charge of fixing things like ships, boats, docking problems, and helping her team.

In our lifetime, we have lived in four houses and even some hotels. Moving is hectic and can be very interesting. We liked moving into our new house in Massachusetts because we finally have our own rooms, and we get to see our grandparents and cousins a lot more.

Sometimes moving with hearing loss can be hard, but other times, it can actually make things better, like our current move. We moved from Virginia, where kids at recess would ask every day, What are those things in your ears?,

Being from such a big family, Drew and Quinn are pretty excited to finally have their own rooms after their most recent move.

Even when Jessica's dad is away, she holds him close.

and we were very tired of explaining it so many times. But at our new school, we were surprised that our new fifth grade classmates didn’t question our hearing aids. We think it might be because as we get older, kids are more understanding, accepting, and aware of differences. We also got to return to the same audiologist that we had when we first got our hearing aids at three-months-old. That made things easier for our family.

Harper’s Story

Hi, I’m Harper. I am a ninth grader from Southern California who loves playing basketball, going to the beach, and hanging out with my two rescue dogs, Jelly and JJ. I have sensorineural hearing loss in both ears and have a cochlear implant on one side and a hearing aid on the other. I have an older brother, Battle, who is 17 and also has cochlear implants. Our dad just retired after 30 years as Colonel in the Marine Corps.

I have moved four times in my life (my brother has moved five). I think it’s fun to move to new places. Being new at school is hard when you have to teach others what hearing loss is like each time. I had to learn to advocate for myself pretty early on. Now I’m used to it and usually have no problems asking for what I need. One thing that has helped is keeping our same audiologist in California even when we move. It made it easier to do programming for my devices—we’ve known her since we were babies.

My mom and I enjoy writing books about our family’s hearing loss journey. In seventh grade I wrote my children’s book, Now Hear This: Harper Soars with her Magic Ears. My mom just wrote a book called Through the Fog: Navigating Life’s Challenges While Raising Kids with Hearing Loss.

MILITARY VOCABULARY

Army: the main soldiers on the ground Navy: maintain the freedom of the seas Marine Corps: defend on land and sea

Coast Guard: helps protect the coasts where land and sea meet

Air Force: protect air and space

Veteran: someone who has served in the military

Colonel: a senior military officer (pronounced ‘kernel’)

Corps: a branch of a military organization (pronounced ‘core’)

Harper and her brother both have cochlear implants.

fun & games

Where do soldiers buy their shoes? AtBootCamp.

What is the most populardanceon the 4th of July? Theindepen-dance.

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE AN

The land with such diverse eyes as I walk through the streets of the enormous buildings. The structures that manage to keep their lights bright while the sun is going down.

As I went on the magical boat, I could hear the sound of water droplets flowing away deep in the river.

As the boat sailed around, I saw the Statue of Liberty with my own eyes. It waved to me with its torch acknowledging I am from the same land as she is.

The ship was bumping left and right, I dreamed of a house near the enchanting water, as clear as a glass, as calm as a river.

As I glided on, my eyes started twinkling with all the magical spark that my dreams lit up within me.

All the different people walking on the crowded streets all day, all night just to have a living in the land.

As I glanced in the window of the tallest building, I could see the future me, standing proudly, ready to strut the street.

Laying with a world-wide view, I watched the people go walking, eating, sleeping, sighing after a long day of hard work.

Whatwouldyoucall agroupofrabbits trainedtofly? The Hare Force.

Little yellow taxis running in the streets, ready to pick up people, like a hero coming to the rescue.

And as I cuddled in the queen-size bed, I dreamed, dreamed of living in the city where I would wake up every morning, to this vast view of the world.

As I stare into my eyes, I see a whole new person, ready to come out of me, and let the never-ending water guide me to a new journey in this land.

Why did the duck say ‘bang?’ Because he was afirequacker.

Amena, featured in Overcoming Obstacles, was inspired to write this poem in seventh grade after taking a sight-seeing boat ride around New York City and learning about American history. The poem is dedicated to the city of New York and to everyone who believes in accepting the beautiful differences in the world around us and who is a dreamer!

In honor of Month of the Military Child in April, Emilia G.'s mom wishes her a special shoutout for being an awesome military kid with cochlear implants who loves dance, art, reading and Girl Scouts.

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.

Myles celebrated his second hearing birthday on April 29th. He was born with profound hearing loss and received bilateral cochlear implants at 11-months-old. His mom says Myles is completely thriving with his ‘miracle ears.’

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.

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.

Sophie, age 17, is a junior from Evanston, Illinois who likes to hang with friends, figure skate, create music, and make art. She has bilateral mild-to-moderately-severe sensorineural hearing loss and has been wearing hearing aids since she was two-years-old. Sophie enjoys volunteering, participating in service trips, and being a member of honor society.

When Sophie was younger, she was a competitive figure skater. She needed to practice in big loud skating rinks. Whether in a group or one-on-one, it was really difficult for her to hear and understand her coaches. Having her coach wear an assistive listening device microphone helped a lot because the voice came straight to her ears rather than over a bunch of noise.

Sophie’s latest Bluetooth-capable hearing aids connect to her phone and allow her to listen to music without headphones. They would have been perfect for figure skating so that she could practice her routine with music.

Even though Sophie grew up in a very supportive environment, she still has times when she feels insecure about her hearing loss. Growing up, she wasn’t necessarily trying to avoid talking about her hearing loss, but she also wouldn’t bring it up unless someone asked her about it. Now, Sophie will speak up if she doesn’t hear or understand something. She has become a stronger advocate for herself and embraces accommodations, which is important as she prepares to graduate high school.