Listening To The Waves
Speaking at Valtronic Industries
EXCERPTS FROM MY BOOK:
"NO ONE LIKES AIRPORT SECURITY, HERE IS HOW I DEAL WITH IT..."
I was diagnosed with a severe to profound bilateral hearing loss at 13 months of age. I received my first Advanced Bionics cochlear implant when I was 21 months old, and my second implant at age 7 1/2. Through the Auditory Verbal approach to learning language, and a lot of perserverance and hard work, I was taught to use my residual hearing to learn to listen and speak. I am now a sophomore at Harvard College studying Economics and Sociology where I am involved in a multitude of co-curricular and extracurricular programs such as women's leadership, the Institute of Politics, Effective Altruism and crew (to name a few!). My interests include psychology, economics, debate, education, photography, math, politics and science (lots of things!) I understand how devastating the diagnosis of hearing loss can be for a family. It is very important to me that parents are educated about all of the communication options available for their child so they are able to make informed personal decisions. My hearing loss is just a small part of who I am and it never holds me back from my chasing my dreams. I hope this website and blog inspire others to dream big!
When I was younger, my Auditory Verbal therapist (pictured with me above) would often show a video of me reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in his presentations to others. Click below to hear me recite the Pledge of Allegiance (age 13)
My desire to write about growing up with hearing loss grew from my love of reading and my desire to share my knowlege with others. Hearing loss knows no boundaries. I want my story to reach far and wide and to educate others about the amazing power of amplification, perseverance, and hard work. I believe I was given the amazing gift of spoken language and my hope is to use that gift to inspire and educate others. It is my sincere desire that Listening to the Waves will help others facing the diagnosis of hearing loss or any disability realize that they can lead a successful life. Anything is possible-
Dream Big!