Allie's Ears

Allie passed her newborn screening, but when she was two years old we noticed that her speech was not developing as well as we thought it should. We had her hearing tested just before she turned three. Our family has no history of hearing loss and so we were really not prepared for the news we received. We were shocked to find out that she had profound hearing loss in her right ear and mild to severe loss in her left ear. I will never forget the feeling I had as the audiologist went over the test results. It was so unbelievable. Here was a two-year-old who knew her colors and numbers, but couldn’t hear! Apparently she had been losing her hearing over time without us realizing it. We have been through many tests – including genetics testing – but no cause has been found for the hearing loss. The first two questions that we had - why and when - will probably never be answered. We moved right on to the next question - what now??

She was aided right away in her left ear and we went right to work in speech therapy at the HEAR center. We knew nothing about the process and what lay ahead for our family. Just when she had started to finally show some progress in her speech, she lost the rest of her hearing. We felt like the rug had been pulled out from under us again, but she was then a candidate for cochlear implants. She received bilateral implants on January 4, 2010 just after her fourth birthday and was activated just nine days later. The look on her face at her activation when she could hear again was priceless!

Allie now attends the Alabama School for Hearing and is showing great progress. She started turning to her name just weeks after her activation – locating sound is something she could never do with only one good ear before. She has even starting running to get the phone when it rings!

Our journey began only 18 months ago, but what a roller coaster it has been!  I didn’t know what a cochlear implant even was before. We didn’t know any families dealing with this or where to turn for information. We are grateful for the support we have received. We have a strong Christian faith so we have always known that God had a plan for Allie’s life. It has taken some turns we were not expecting, but we are looking forward to watching it unfold!

Hear more about Allie from her story featured on the Alabama School for the Hearing video

Written by Natalie, Allie's mom

The Charity League's Rhinestones & Wranglers Event

The Charity League announces it's annual

Rhinestones & Wranglers event to benefit the Children's HEAR Center and E.P.I.C. School with dinner, drinks, live music, and an auction

Tickets are $75

Event is at B & A  Warehouse

March 25, 2010

6-9 pm

Find out more here

Alabama School for the Hearing

A few months ago, I was invited to observe a pre-school class at The Alabama School for the Hearing currently housed at The Canterbury United Methodist Church in Birmingham, AL. Children's Hospital and Alabama Ear Institute collaborated to give parents of hearing-impaired children a preschool that focuses on developing and increasing verbal language skills through listening. According to Nancy Gregg (Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist) who teaches at the school, "The curriculum is literacy- and language-based. Each child also receives individual parent-centered therapy sessions." She encourages parents interested in the school to come by and visit, which is exactly what I did.

When I entered the classroom, I first noticed the beaming faces of these young children. All had smiles and seemed to be having a great time. The teachers (all Certified AVTs) were very patient with the kids and the small group size made it easy for everyone to speak, be heard, and listen to others. A classroom sound field FM system made teachers easier to hear through the children's hearing devices. They sang songs, they had lunch, they played, and they were encouraged to listen and speak the entire time. Not a minute was wasted when valuable language and listening skills could be incorporated throughout the day.

Currently, classes are held three days a week at the large and beautiful church, tucked away just outside of the busy streets of Birmingham. If you have a hearing-impaired child in Alabama (ages 3-7) and are interested in learning more about this school, feel free to email Nancy for more info.

Children's HEAR Center Charity Concert

Todd Simpson and Mojo Child, one of Birmingham's most popular Southern rock/blues bands, will be at Workplay on Jan. 9, 2010, with proceeds going to none other than The Children's HEAR Center!

Alabama Power and Tom Williams Lexus graciously sponsored the event sure to attract music fans from all over the state of Alabama.

Order tickets HERE!   and get a sneak peek at the band   HERE!

We thank our sponsors and Todd Simpson and Mojo Child for doing this for the Children's Hospital outpatient clinic – The HEAR Center. This band is no stranger to sell-out shows so order your tickets fast. They are $20 each and on sale now!

Todd is also no stranger to Children's Hospital. Having been born with DiGeorge Syndrome, he's spent many days (and nights) right inside the walls of the Birmingham hospital. If you want to donate to The HEAR Center directly, CLICK HERE to see how. Stay tuned for more on this and other exciting news about Alabama deaf/hard of hearing children.

Miss Kate Morris

Kate is a precious 20-month-old who loves chasing after big sister Maggie, rocking her baby dolls, dancing to music, playing outside and getting into whatever she is supposed to stay out of. At first glance she seems just like any other 1-year-old. She loves to run, climb and blow bubbles. What makes Kate special? Many things actually, but among them are her "ears." Kate received bilateral cochlear implants when she was 10 months old at Children's Hospital in Birmingham. The surgery was done by Dr. Audie Woolley.

Kate is profoundly deaf and has sensorineural hearing loss in both ears, and the cause unknown. She is the only child with hearing loss in our family. Kate failed her newborn screening test and was referred from the hospital for a followup with our local ENT. She had an ABR at 2 months at our local ENT’s office, and we were then referred to Dr. Woolley at Pediatric ENT and Associates. In December 2007, at 3 months of age, she had an additional non-sedated ABR that confirmed the hearing loss. Kate received her first pair of hearing aids at 3 months from the HEAR Center and wore them almost up until her surgery in August 2008. Kate receives Auditory-Verbal Therapy (AVT) at the HEAR Center twice a month.


Kate has made amazing progress. After testing a few weeks back, I was told that Kate’s scores match those of her peers. Her language skills have caught up to her chronological age. Her speech has blossomed in the last two months. She now has over 50 words and is putting them together to make short phrases.
I will never forget the look on her face at her activation. It still takes my breath away to see her react to the simple sounds that I have taken for granted like a dog barking, the birds singing and giggling of sisters. One of my greatest joys is watching her dance to music. She also loves to point up at the airplanes flying overhead.

Here she is singing with her older sister in the car.

Kate is a gift to me and all those she meets.

Written by Kate's mom Ashley

Tiny Dancer

Riley and her six Little Mermaid classmates pranced onto the stage in front of about 2,000 at the VBC and did their routine to "Kiss the Girl" like it was no big deal. She knew the dance better than her teacher, who told me as much after the show. She didn't miss a beat or a step ... not bad for a deaf girl! Those cochlear implants really work.

Here are a couple of pics, and a video from the dress rehearsal (complete with curlers).