Alyna received her first implant in infancy. She and her family dedicated themselves to following a listening and spoken language approach to communication development. Now 14 years old, she is an 8th grade student in her local school. She enjoys pop music, playing soccer and socializing with friends.

Alyna attended Pre-k through her county鈥檚 program for kids with hearing loss. Upon entering kindergarten, she transitioned to a mainstream classroom within the public school system and relies on a 504 Plan for access to FM technology.

What is the best and worst part about having cochlear implants?
鈥淭he best part about having cochlear implants is being able to go to a public school and participate in sports and other things I love to do. The worst part is having to keep up with everything and making sure they are working correctly. Also it鈥檚 harder for me to do or participate in some things/activities than it is for other kids.鈥�

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Despite multiple disabilities, including cerebral palsy, hearing loss, cortical visual impairment, and intellectual and language developmental disabilities, David is successfully working in three different worksites and has a thriving social life.

• Though David’s hearing loss wasn’t identified until he was 3 years old, he was not considered for CI until his late teens.
• His mother reports that he loved his first cochlear implant so much that he took his remaining hearing aid, flushed it down the toilet and demanded a second cochlear implant.
• He has a fantastic network of family and caregivers who support David and help foster his ability to communicate independently despite the many obstacles he works to overcome.

On communication modality . . . He is a sign language user and also uses a Vantage speech generating device for communications. We have always taken a total communication approach focusing on communication with family, friends, and others in the community.

Enjoying all of life’s sounds . . . David is a huge music fan and is often found at the stage at music venues and festivals around NC watching his favorite bands. He uses his hearing very well to answer when people talk to him or to take in sounds in the environment. He especially loves bells, wind chimes and on a recent trip to NYC David told us he loved the city because there were so many noises and cars honking their horns.

The impact of better hearing . . . We have seen improvement in many other areas such as willingness to try to use his voice, paying attention at plays or other events, and he is motivated to try to communicate with many other people in ways that he couldn’t before. He still uses all of his modalities to communicate. Hearing what is happening around him and responding to all of it has been the most amazing part of receiving the CIs for David. They have truly transformed his life.
– Gwen, mother of David

A freshman at Lenoir-Rhyne University, majoring in Public Relations & Human and Community Services, Emily enjoys her world of sound, and relies on Cued Speech to understand her teachers, friends and family.

Emily鈥檚 family first researched the possibility of cochlear implants for her when she was 3 years old, but because she has bilateral cochlear dysplasia, she was not deemed a candidate. Her family chose to learn and use Cued Speech to communicate with and educate their daughter. Six years later, as individuals with abnormal cochleae were being considered CI candidates, Emily and her family chose to give it a try. Prior to implantation, as a result of learning to communicate through Cued Speech, Emily already had age-appropriate language skills. Though she does not exclusively rely on her hearing to communicate, using her cochlear implant has made Emily more connected to her surroundings.

Ian was diagnosed with mild to moderate hearing loss at 15 months; and he progressed to a severe-profound loss within 9 months. He received his first cochlear implant at age 2 and his second implant 6 months later.

Today, Ian is a 4th grade mainstreamed student. He enjoys basketball and soccer, plays the clarinet and excels in math.

Ian now uses the Cochlear mini-mic with his Nucleus 6 speech processors; he can have wireless access to his teacher and friends鈥� voices without added accessories on his ears.

Kyle and his twin brother both have hearing loss, though Kyle uses cochlear implants, while his brother wears hearing aids due to only having a mild loss. They were born before Universal Newborn Hearing Screening was first implemented as a routine test for newborns. Kyle鈥檚 hearing loss was first suspected when he was a young toddler when his parents noticed that while Kyle鈥檚 brother cried when he heard motorcycles, Kyle was smiling as if he didn鈥檛 mind the loud noise coming from the bikers. He received his first cochlear implant when he was 14-months old and decided to get a second implant when he was 11-years old.

Kyle is a graduate of the Davidson Early College High School program where he worked to earn his high school diploma and an Associate鈥檚 Degree concurrently. Hearing loss has never held Kyle back from participating in any activities that interest him. He鈥檚 been involved in clubs such as Drama and Yearbook, Student Government Association, and TEAM+S. He played on a travel baseball team throughout middle and high school.

Today Kyle attends North Carolina State University where he will study Engineering. He is currently part of the Leadership Village at NCSU.

Mercy Anne received her CI in Holland at 17-months of age. When her family relocated to North Carolina, she was enrolled in pre-k at CASTLE where she and her parents participated in auditory-based therapy. Now a 6th grade student, Mercy Anne enjoys basketball, taekwondo, shopping and acting. She continues to receive educational support services through her local school system, including using a Cued Speech transliterator in class.

Adopted from Guatemala at the age of 11 months, Hannah鈥檚 deafness was diagnosed at 13 months of age. She received her first cochlear implant at 22 months, and her second cochlear implant at 2陆 years. She attended pre-school and received listening therapy services at CASTLE.

Today, Hannah is a mainstreamed 3rd grade student; she uses bilateral personal FM with her CIs so she can hear her teachers without having to work so hard to keep up with classroom instruction.

She enjoys playing baseball and loves to listen to classical music, especially the Nutcracker.

Brianna enrolled in the CASTLE preschool at age 3 just before she received her first cochlear implant. Along with the strong support of her mother and grandparents, she has grown from a sweet little girl, to a beautiful young lady.

Brianna received her second CI at age 9. She is now an 8th grader in a local, mainstream class.