Dear CHC Friend,
Aidan with his younger brother
Aidan was three-years old. He wasn’t talking like friends his age. We were told not to worry – that he would catch up – but we were concerned. We knew something was wrong, but we were sure it couldn’t be his hearing. Although Aidan had failed his newborn hearing test, when our pediatrician retested him a few days later, Aidan passed. So we were completely shocked when three years later we found out that Aidan had a severe hearing loss.
How could this be possible? What would his life be like if he couldn’t hear and couldn’t learn to speak? To say we were in a panic would be an understatement. We were frightened, and we had no idea what to do and where to go.
And then we found the Center for Hearing and Communication.
We showed up on CHC’s doorstep quite literally in tears, confused and fearful for our son’s future. CHC opened their doors and opened their arms to Aidan and to us. Aidan immediately started individual and group speech therapy twice a week and received unparalleled care from CHC’s audiologists, speech therapists and psychologists. CHC helped us to navigate our next steps and provided the emotional support we needed to confidently make the important choices we faced as parents of a hearing impaired child. They taught us to be Aidan’s best and most informed advocates. We were on our way… Aidan to speaking and hearing and we, as Aidan’s parents, to dreaming of his future again.
Now Aidan is eight-years old. With CHC’s help over the past five years, he is doing everything we hoped for and more. In spite of his late diagnosis, he is in school with his peers. He is fully comfortable talking to everyone he meets, always ready with a joke or a story. All the things that we were afraid he wouldn’t be able to do when he was diagnosed have faded into the background and are now replaced with evidence of what he can do. He can even whisper secrets into his little brother’s ear without giving it a second thought.
There is simply no way that Aidan would be where he is today without CHC. For over 100 years, CHC has changed lives by providing the finest, most comprehensive services not only to children, but also to adults with hearing loss, regardless of their ability of pay. But in order to continue to provide these services, CHC needs your help.
Please consider what CHC has meant to Aidan and our family, as well as to so many others who have shown up at their doorstep desperate for guidance and services. Your gift will truly make a world of difference to all the children just like Aidan who are ready to begin their journey to hearing and speaking.
With our sincere thanks and warm best wishes,
Cynthia & Yaron
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