A wonderful little Girl
Kathy Miller - February 2007
Bethany's mum Kathy, found her gorgeous baby girl Bethany had lost her hearing. This is Kathy's story.
mailto: Millers56@bigpond.comDownload a copy of Bethany's myStory Brochure
Bethany Belinda Miller was born on the 10th of December 1993 to the delight of her proud Mum (Kathy), Dad (Greg) and sister (Rhiannon). What a wonderful Christmas gift!
Bethany thrived and developed normally until at 10 months of age we noticed she didn't respond to voices or even loud sounds. It was an extremely frustrating 5 months waiting for a diagnosis and when it came it was almost a relief. At last we finally knew what the problem was and could start to deal with it. At 15 months of age she was diagnosed as profoundly deaf and was given her first pair of hearing aids.
We had no idea what to do. We did not know what to expect.
Around this time we also received a phone call from the principal of the Cora Barclay Centre (CBC), who encouraged us to come and talk about the possibilities (and limitations) for Bethany's future.
The staff at the CBC were the most encouraging people we had talked to and I remember the principal saying to us 'I believe we can teach your daughter to speak.' We had previously been told it was unlikely Bethany would develop usable speech so this was an exciting prospect. At this meeting we also heard about Cochlear Implants for the first time.
We commenced Auditory Verbal Therapy at the CBC when Bethany had been wearing hearing aids for about 2 weeks. She got used to the hearing aids fairly quickly and to our delight began to use some words very soon after commencing her visits to CBC. I adjusted to the daily sessions at home and with big sister Rhiannon's help we invented 'listening games'. We made this time special and fun with lots of surprises, new toys, games and rewards. Bethany used to sit in her high chair (so she couldn't escape) while we taught her to listen and begin to speak.
We spent time with the CBC's audiologist, Robyn Shakes who got to know Bethany so well she could interpret every blink or sound she made. We also changed ENT specialists and so we met Dr John Rice who is a South Australian pioneer for Cochlear Implant surgery in children. Dr Rice talked to us about the possibility of a Cochlear Implant for Bethany but said that while she was doing so well learning sounds and speech she should continue to use her hearing aids. Back then CI surgery was not something you rushed in to because it was still in the early development phase.
Bethany continued to make great progress until at age 3 her speech appeared to plateau. The noises she made were still mostly unintelligible and about this time Robyn did an audiogram. This appeared to show a significant drop in Bethany's hearing. A repeat audiogram confirmed this and so back we went to Dr Rice to talk about a Cochlear Implant.
We felt the weight of making an irreversible decision for Bethany.
It is hard to explain what a difficult time this was for us - it was very scary and although we were encouraged by other parents of implantees we felt the weight of making a decision for Bethany; she was too young to have a part in the decision and she wouldn't be able to change it in the future. Just making the decision to put our beloved daughter through the pain of the operation was hard.
After much deliberation, we decided to go ahead. We trusted the wonderful professionals around us who had been so supportive and always showed their care for Bethany. In October of 1997 (at age 3¾) Bethany had a Cochlear Implant in her right ear. She coped extremely well with the surgery and there were no complications. On September 10th the implant was switched on and for Bethany a new and exciting future began.
The early days post processor activiation were full of amazing new discoveries for Bethany - she could hear birds singing, the clock ticking and the sound of the sprinkler on grass (just to name a few).
Bethany started pre-school this same year and that's when the hard work really began. She had to be taught to listen and speak just as we teach our babies from birth. But Bethany was 4 years old. We spent more and more time doing 'listening games' and now Bethany's little brother Joshua joined in the fun! I can well remember the frustration of trying to teach her about more than one. For Bethany it was 1 dog, 2 dog as she had never heard the 's' sound. We went over and over this. It seemed like a million times and then one day she just said it. From then it became part of her language. There was much celebration over "2 dogs." (It was not surprising that after all this language work 2 year old Joshua spoke beautifully for his age.)
There were lots of new sounds and so many words for Bethany to learn just trying to catch up. I remember wondering (despairing) if she would ever speak like the other children her age. She loved Kindy and made friends but I knew her language was nowhere near as advanced as her peers. It was an unsettling time with school looming and the decision whether to start her at age 5 or not. She loved the CI and wore her processor constantly without any encouragement. After her bath it was the first thing to go on and she would sometimes run around the house naked except for the pouch on her back holding the processor.
We decided to start her at school at the beginning of 1999 so she commenced Reception at St Michael's Lutheran School in Hahndorf where her big sister attended. Bethany couldn't wait to get there and it was decided that if she need to do 2 years in Reception then that would be okay. She had a language age of less than 3 years when she started school but she had a personality that could not be quenched. She entered school with all the enthusiasm and excitement that a 5 year old can hold.
Bethany has a personality which cannot be quenched.
Some of her classmates were familiar with the CI but we taught the others all about it and soon no-one even noticed it any more. Bethany loved and excelled at school. She did not have to repeat Reception and after that first year she has never looked back. She was in the same class all her primary school years and her friends accepted her without hesitation. Her language, both expressively and receptively, is now well above normal for her age. She was delighted to receive Cochlear implant upgrades (an Esprit processor in Year 1 and now the 3G) and loves to change the colours to match her outfits.
Bethany today is a happy, confident 13 year old with an amazing ability to use language. No-one ever realises she is deaf without being told and she likes to keep it that way. Bethany loves to speak in public and never suffers from any kind of nerves. She plays netball, has dance lessons, has been part of a pedal prix team and loves to be the centre of attention. She does very well academically and last year was a finalist in the Nestle Write Around Australia Competition.
Bethany started high school in 2007 and takes it in her stride just as she did primary school.
We have been blessed that Bethany was born at a time when she could be helped by so many amazing people and especially by her Cochlear Implant.
We are so proud of our beautiful, confident and amazing daughter and thank God daily for people who have cared enough to make a difference in the lives of those who cannot hear.