Thursday, October 30, 2008

A Loud Party for Deaf Kids

Hello again MLEA members,

Many of you know that my daughter is profoundly deaf because of a condition called Congenital Cytomegalovirus Exposure. She has no hearing in her right ear and an 80% loss in her left ear that they're currently treating with a hearing aide. As her dad it's been a learning experience every day, with all the highs and lows that you'd expect, but I wouldn't trade the adventure for anything.

At WSU-Riverpoint they have a program called the HOPE School which works with kids from birth to 5 who have any degree of hearing loss. On Tuesday night they had their annual Halloween Party, and it was a real treat to see all the kids dressed up (pirates are popular yet again!) and cutting loose. The kids didn't care a whit about who had a cochlear implant or who had double hearing aides or who knew sign and didn't; they were looking to have a good time, and so they did. Especially mine :-)

School really is the great equalizer, where everyone has a chance to succeed and find their way. Thank you to all of you for the work you do for all the kids, and good luck with your Halloween celebrations tomorrow!

With thanks and gratitude,

--Ryan, for the MLEA Exec Board--

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