Hearing Our Way: Winter 2023

The magazine for kids and teens with hearing loss

SUGARPLUM

ing m o c ver acles bst

Meet ! gie

Mag

fun & s e m a g

Contents 4 Things

Hi from Mel!

We Love

6 O vercoming Obstacles

10 Fun & Games 12 Sophie’s

Spotlight

Contributors Melanie Paticoff Grossman • Editor in Chief Magazine Design • N-KCreative.com Overcoming Obstacles • Maggie Eva’s Bookshelf • Eva ith special thanks to all of our W featured H W friends

www.HearingOurWay.com info@hearingourway.com PO Box 13, Greenlawn, New York 11740 Volume 10, No. 4 ©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.

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Dear Readers,

stories reminds me an end. Reading all of your to ng mi co is 23 20 ve lie day!

It’s hard to be t only every year, but every no sh pli om acc s los ng ari ries, how much kids with he ne cochlear implant surge rgo de un s, aid ng ari he w tten ne s, and Readers like you have go ed your talents and dream rsu pu s, ard aw n wo lls, ski proud of this year? gained self-advocacy 2023. What are you most in all sm d an big s ng thi accomplished ch to be proud of. g Obstacles, has so mu in m co er Ov in ed tur I heard her Margaret, fea self-advocate. As soon as at gre a a d an er nc da ed ries She is an accomplish er, visions of sugarplum fai ack tcr Nu The in ing rm rfo pe her r girl for our story and saw pictures of would be the perfect cove e sh ew kn I d an , nd mi danced through my pires each year while w many young kids she ins ho ine ag im ly on n ca I . reading her story. winter issue d I hope you feel inspired an s, aid ng ari he r he in performing on stage included many e more the merrier!’ and ‘th d, sai we so ily, fam t ot, Holidays are all abou ot, we have Cousins Sp Sp g lin Sib of d tea Ins es. tur s recently family members in our fea her cousin Luke, who wa d an ) elf sh ok Bo a’s Ev n words, featuring Eva (from e a few moms in their ow lud inc o als We f. sel him s pets are part of our diagnosed with hearing los mes. And, of course, our Ga d an n Fu d an ve Lo nny in like in Concert We d hear about Milo the bu an 8 ge pa on ge an Or r ive families, so you’ll meet Ol elan.

Ch on Sophie’s Spotlight to create pages was certainly a fun twist it , ah kk nu Ha es rat leb ce erent As someone who celebrate the season in diff all we is th tru e Th . irit sp ay ’re sending you lots filled with so much holid th whom you celebrate, we wi or , ere wh w, ho r tte ways, but no ma wishes for the new year! of holiday cheer and good

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

Look for these symbols throughout the magazine for special tips.

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 Hearing Our Way : www.HearingOurWay.com Cover photo: Artistry Reimagined, Jennifer Fitzpatrick

You Are Inspiring

You can do anything you set your mind to.

VE Concert We L

tickets l she wanted was al , ay hd rt bi th For Hannah’s 18 fore the concert, ur. Just hours be To as Er ’s ift Sw Hannah’s to Taylor tickets. Thanks to ith w r he ed ris her mom surp and sing along was able to hear e sh , ts an pl im so gratef ul cochlear shares, “We are h ra Sa om m er H en joy he r to every song. al lo ws Ha nn ah to at th gy lo no ch te ylor Swift fo r this being a huge Ta to n tio di ad In ” . favo ri te mus ic gh school team s tennis on her hi ay pl so al h na fan, Han g solo routines. , even performin zz ja es nc da d an

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books We L ve: Eva’s Bookshelf Eva is a 15-year-old girl from New Jersey who has always loved reading. She has hearing loss in her left ear, but with the help of a crossover hearing aid, she never lets her hearing loss hold her back. Ready to discover your next favorite book? Eva invites you to explore her bookshelf.

With the winter season upon us, I am reminded of holiday books I enjoyed as a child. The Mitten, adapted and illustrated by Jan Brett, was always a favorite tradition to read. This Ukrainian folktale is a sweet and simple book filled with wonderful illustrations. It shares the journey of a lost mitten and the woodland creatures who try to fit inside the mitten to keep warm from the snow. The book contains themes of sharing and inclusion.

I recommend this book to families looking for a cozy read this winter.

ins s u o C usins Mee t t whoonecvoer let

r se y w f rom New Je un ! the way of f in t e g s s lo hearing

Eva (15) (our friend from Eva’s Bookshelf) has unilateral hearing loss and uses a crossover hearing aid. Her first cousin Luke (14) was recently diagnosed with moderate bilateral hearing loss and received his first pair of hearing aids. Together they love celebrating holidays and spending time as a family.

The m ore the merrier

Eva: I was diagnosed with hearing loss when I was born and have been using hearing

assistive technology since kindergarten. I grew up always aware of my hearing loss, working with teachers of the deaf and audiologists, learning how to advocate for myself, and building my confidence. So when my cousin Luke was recently diagnosed as a teen, I was nervous for him because I knew it could be a hard adjustment. However, Luke has done a great job with it, and I can see how confident he is now.

Luke: Until last year, my life was all about playing football, video games like Madden, and spending time with my family, including my younger sister Morgan and my dog Winnie. I knew I had ADHD and auditory processing disorder, which can resemble symptoms of hearing loss, but finding out I needed hearing aids was a big surprise.

I went from being told by my grandma that I had the TV volume way too loud to wearing hearing aids and discovering for the first time that shoes, hardwood floors, and squeaky chairs all make so much noise!

Eva: My advice for Luke is that self-advocacy is key. People won’t know you

have hearing loss right off the bat, and they might not always remember or be respectful of it. It is our job to ask for what we need. For instance, I remind my friends to stand on my right side when speaking to me.

Luke: Eva and I were always close growing up, but I never really thought about or

understood her hearing loss in one ear. To me, she was just my cousin, and it was normal to me. But as soon as I found out about my hearing loss, I FaceTimed Eva, and I felt like I wasn’t alone. Overall, I’m feeling confident about my hearing loss.

My friends have been really supportive and say I have superpowers! For the first time, I can hear what’s going on in the back of the room—no one is going to sneak up on me now.

One Last Word: We think sharing our hearing loss journeys will bring us even closer together. We are only a grade apart in school, so we can really help and learn from each other along the way. We were always close, but now we share a common bond.

Hearing loss is part of the whole family.

Share your story with us: info@hearingour way.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 the more the merrier and think it is only about wishing people a ‘Merry Christmas,’ but no! The more the merrier means that the more people who are invited and included in something, the happier and better the event will be. Like this: “Mom wanted to keep the holidays small this year, but when we heard our friends had no one to celebrate with, we said, ‘The more the merrier!’ and invited them to come. The house was more crowded, but we had a lot more fun!”

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f Stories o Inspiring Y e ou Teens Lik Kids and

Maggie’s Faves H ACTIVITIES Ballet/Dance Girl Scouts Band Spending time with my sister H GAMES Roblox Block Craft 3D H BOOKS I LOVE to read any subject that interests me!

H MUSIC Taylor Swift Frozen & Frozen 2 soundtracks H FOOD Macaroni & cheese Hawaiian pizza Ice cream H PLACES Road trips to Canada and Nebraska to visit family

Want to be on our ne xt cover?

Email your stor y to info@he aringour way.com

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H W does Margaret hear?

With her clarinet in hand, ballet shoes on, and two hearing aids!

All About Me Hi, I’m Margaret, but you can call me Maggie. I am a 13-year-old eighth grader from Fairfax, Virginia. I love different styles of dance, including ballet, tap, and contemporary. I also play clarinet and I'm a cadet Girl Scout. One fun fact about me is that I am half American and half Canadian!

Hearing My Way My family and I didn’t find out about my hearing loss until I was in preschool. It was at this time that my older sister was in kindergarten and learning how to read.

I wanted to learn, too, so my mom taught us the sounds of the letters. I watched her lips and tried repeating the sounds, but because I couldn’t hear some of them, especially /s/ and /z/, I moved my lips to match hers, but I didn’t make a sound. My mom was concerned and took me to an audiologist.

I was diagnosed with a bilateral mild to moderately-severe sensorineural hearing loss. I have tried different hearing aids over the years along with the Phonak Roger System at school. I currently have Marvel hearing aids with the built-in Roger system.

Support at School I am fortunate to have a team of itinerant* providers who help me with my hearing loss at school. Dr. Cossettini is my itinerant educational audiologist.

She checks on me each month and makes sure my amplification equipment is working. Mrs. Flaherty was my itinerant teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing in elementary school. She taught me about my hearing loss and helped me become

Maggie loves to perform as a dancer. an advocate. She has hearing loss like me and has a cochlear implant, so she really understands how I feel!

Overcoming Obstacles I think one of the biggest challenges about having hearing loss is feeling like I have more responsibilities than my friends. I have to make sure my amplification is working for school, give the microphone to the teacher, and manage, charge, and clean my devices, which takes time. At the end of each school day, I want to walk home with my friends, but I have to take care of my assistive devices and plug them into their chargers. By the time I catch up to my friends down the block, we might already be in front of their house, so I miss out on walking with them. It’s little things like that that make me feel different or like I have more on my plate than other kids.

*Itinerant means ‘on the go,’ so they travel from school to school visiting students.

half my school day, I was taught math, science, and social studies in Spanish, and the other half, I was taught writing and reading in English. Learning another language is challenging, but I love it!

Self-Advocacy Star

#Goals Photo: Artistry Reimagined, Jennifer Fitzpatrick

It is important for me to be proactive and advocate for myself in the classroom.

I need to know my own IEP (Individual Education Plan) and accommodations so that I can share them with my teachers.

I know that my accommodations are put in place to help me be successful in school. They include my assistive listening devices, strategic seating near the teacher and away from noisy hallways and HVAC systems, captioning on videos, extended time for assignments, and a privacy screen to help block out background noise and distractions while taking tests. There are also little things I do as needed, like raising my hand when I need help or need something repeated, reminding my teachers to mute the Roger system when they’re speaking to other students and I’m working, and making sure my teachers have my attention before they start talking.

Holiday Traditions Family is really important to me, and hearing loss is something that I share with my dad and my grandpa, who have hearing aids like me. Each holiday season, I dance in our local production of The Nutcracker ballet. One year I even had the starring role of Clara! My dad performs every year, too, in the role of a party guest.

It’s really special to perform on stage with my dad and both wear our hearing aids proudly.

Languages & Learning

Maggie loves performing in The Nutcracker with her dad each year.

I am in the mainstream setting at my public middle school. One thing that has been really special for me is learning a second language— Spanish. Now I take it as an elective, but in elementary school, I had the opportunity to be part of a Spanish-English Immersion Program. That means that for

One day, I hope to be a professional ballerina. My hearing loss does not affect my dreams and doesn’t stop me from doing what I love. In fact, I show off my hearing aids with charms and wear them proudly. I think my natural personality is shy but having hearing loss has made me brave, strong and a better performer.

Above: Maggie and her hearing aids shine on stage.

Below: Maggie baked pretzels made from scratch for her Girl Scout troop.

SANTA PAWS with Oliver Orange Oliver is a three-year-old orange male tabby cat. He was rescued as a baby kitten, and it was discovered that he had breathing issues and was also deaf. Becky Parpart, a teacher of the deaf from Arizona, learned that there was a deaf kitten for adoption, and she was very excited. She wanted to give him a great home and help him learn to communicate, just like she helps her students with hearing loss.

Hi, I’m Oliver Orange!

I am a happy, healthy, and smart feline—that’s a fancy word for cat.

Even though I cannot hear, my mom Becky helps make accommodations for me so we can communicate. She wiggles her fingers to say, “Hi, come here, it’s safe.” I always use great eye contact and watch my humans to figure out what is happening. Do you use accommodations, too?

Sometimes I need special things to help get my attention. I like to call them my ‘assistive devices.’ One is a colored flashlight that grabs my attention when it shines and flashes. The other is a vibrating collar that buzzes.

Just be careful not to wake me with touch because I might get startled !

Do you use assistive devices, too?

I am very cuddly. I love to play and wrestle, especially with my best friend, Cinder, who has typical hearing. One of my current hobbies is to knock things off the table and spill drinks. It’s the best. My humans try to use a sign for ‘no,’ but I haven’t learned that one yet.

It’s great to be a cat, especially with a great mom like Becky.

She thinks I’m the coolest cat around.

Happy Meowlidays!

Love, Oliver

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The Gift of Hearing for Lucy Some of our readers have cochlear implants. Some have hearing aids. Others have bone anchored hearing aids. Some even have one cochlear implant and one hearing aid. But Lucy, 6, a first grader from Hebron, Kentucky, has a pretty unique set of hearing devices: one cochlear implant and one bone anchored hearing aid (BAHA).

Hi, I’m Lucy! I am a big sister to my younger sister Joy and baby brother Timmy.

I love to swim, ride my bike, ice skate, and bake.

I was born with microtia of the right ear, which means my outer ear is not fully developed, causing moderate conductive hearing loss. My left ear has severe sensorineural hearing loss, which means hearing loss in the inner ear. I was diagnosed with hearing loss at birth through newborn hearing testing. At first I tried a set of traditional hearing aids, but it was pretty clear that I would need something different to help me hear.

Lucy wins third place in the Kentucky State Spelling Bee for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, December 2022, after placing first in regionals!

Having a team approach is really important for any kid with hearing loss, but especially for a more complex case like mine. Luckily, I have an amazing team of doctors at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. When I was just 7-months-old, they suggested a BAHA softband for my right ear, and I loved it!

I wanted to wear it the moment I woke up in the morning, and my parents couldn’t take it off until I was fast asleep. When I was 3, my audiologist and ENT recommended that I get a cochlear implant for my left ear. Everything went great.

When I turned 5, I decided to get the BAHA implanted so I wouldn’t have to wear a headband any more.

Hearing with a cochlear implant is very different from hearing with a BAHA. Learning to hear and understand speech with only my cochlear implant has been challenging, but my CI is great for helping me locate where sound is coming from. It’s also great for swimming, since it has a waterproof case. My BAHA is my preferred device because my right ear is my dominant ear. Words sound very clear through my BAHA, but I would not be able to localize sound with only my BAHA. Together, my CI and BAHA make the perfect listening pair for me.

I wear both of my hearing devices every day, all day, and I am extremely thankful for both of them. I am lucky to have a team of doctors who are not afraid to do things differently and think ‘out of the box’ for my unique hearing needs. Thanks to hearing devices I can count on, I enjoy school, learning, reading, and making friends. I would like to be a baby doctor and a mom when I grow up.

Lucy’s hearing devices: her bone anchored hearing aid and cochlear implant. “ Lucy is a kind-hearted and caring 6-year-old who has been through a lot (medically) since she was born. She exemplifies strength and bravery each and every day. She is a great leader and sets a great example for her friends and family.”

—Samantha, Lucy’s mom

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Write to Us

We asked, “If you could make one special wish, what would it be?”

In the last issue of Hearing Our Way, Caleb shared his story about attending WrestleMania for his Make-A-Wish opportunity. After reading Caleb's story, Ella , a high school junior with bilateral cochlear implants from Wisconsin, wrote in with her big wish.

Hi, I’m Ella.

oes potat ake y n a m m How t take to ? i s does pancake o t a pot -ke!

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the does an t a m Wh read d? b r e e ging n his b o put okie A co et! she

of kind t a h W lves do e y e n mo use? lls! le bi Jing

lpers Virtual Hearingare He brothers with Matthew and Jason s who moderate to severe hearing los ges understand the unique challen s face. that students with hearing los

service They offer a virtual tutoring o need for students in grades 3-9 wh dies, help in math, science, social stu or English.

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For more information please

yahoo.com. email VirtualHearingHelpers@

1. Inspiring stories and

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Bring Sophie Home for the Holidays The Award Winning Series about Hearing Loss and Cochlear Implants The perfect gift for holidays, birthdays, cochlear implant surgery, friends, students, and younger siblings.

order now: SophiesTales.com

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To shine a spotlight on someone you know, write to us at info@hearingourway.com.

Chelan, an eighth grader from Hudsonville, Michigan, wears CROS hearing aids.

She loves playing with her bunny Milo and hanging out with her best friends.

Chelan was born deaf in her left ear and received hearing aids in kindergarten. She has an asymmetrical sensorineural hearing loss in her left ear with a cookie bite audiogram of moderately-severe hearing loss dropping to profound then rising to severe. Chelan didn’t always recognize the importance of her hearing aids and how much they helped her, but now that she’s older, she understands why she needs them and feels more responsible for caring for her devices. She enjoys working with her teacher of the deaf, Ms. Katie, and building her self-advocacy skills.

Chelan has grown to accept her hearing loss and recognizes that everyone has different abilities, struggles, and strengths. Now she feels grateful for her hearing aids and for being different, the way she was meant to be. She doesn’t feel ashamed; in fact, she feels stronger, like everything happened for a reason. She really relates to the book El Deafo in which the main character goes from feeling ashamed to feeling like a mighty superhero. Plus, it has bunnies, just like her pet bunny Milo.

As the second oldest of seven siblings, five of whom are adopted, Chelan has a heart for helping others.

When she grows up, she would like to help the poor, rescue animals, or be an adoption worker and help kids find good families, just like her parents did with her siblings. Chelan says, “Hearing loss is not going to distract me from helping people and animals!”

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