It's Worth the Two-hour Drive!

Riley is six years old and was born deaf due to auditory neuropathy, a rare genetic chromosomal disorder. She was implanted with cochlear implants at 18 months. A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted device that helps people who are severely hard of hearing or profoundly deaf to perceive sound. It works by converting sound into electrical signals that stimulate the auditory nerve, by passing damaged parts of the ear. Riley started going to Easterseals when she was only 2 years old. Before beginning speech therapy at Easterseals, Riley had a lot of trouble saying single words.

The difference during those first few weeks of speech therapy was amazing! She started using words and putting two words together within the first month. She is now thriving in kindergarten and has come leaps and bounds since starting around 4 years ago. Riley and her family appreciate Easterseals so much for everything, saying it is definitely worth the 2 hours of driving every week!

About Cochlear Implants

A cochlear implant is a device that can help someone with a severe hearing loss perceive sound.  Getting a cochlear implant requires surgery. Part of the implant is placed inside your inner ear, and part of the implant is worn on the outside of your head. These parts work together to help you notice sound.

For most children with a cochlear implant, speech therapy has an important part to play in developing language skills.   Therapy is designed to teach the child to use the hearing provided by the cochlear implant for understanding speech and learning to talk.