The RIDBC
uarterly
Autumn 2015
Listening Lucy and Hearing Hannah! Luke is taking on the world Music teacher’s cochlear implant journey
Listening Lucy and Hearing Hannah!
Luke is taking on the world
Music teacher’s cochlear implant journey
From the Chief Executive A look at Royal Institute for Deaf and Blind Children (RIDBC) this quarter. With 2015 now very much underway, I wanted to take the opportunity to give you a final snapshot of the incredible achievements of RIDBC during 2014. We provided education and therapy services to more than 1,500 children and adults during the year; fitting 380 cochlear implants and providing re/habilitation services to hundreds of cochlear implant recipients through SCIC Cochlear Implant Program. We also engaged over 61,000 supporters across our fundraising programs; enrolled more than 230 students in postgraduate education courses; and provided over 3,200 persondays of continuing education for professionals in our field.
Looking forward, 2015 is already shaping up to be an exciting and busy year for RIDBC. Just a few of the initiatives that we will drive into 2015 include continued geographical expansion in the ACT, using SCIC Cochlear Implant Program’s existing strong presence in Canberra as a launch pad to expand our services in the region. We will also be providing on the ground services into Queensland and we are looking at opportunities on the north coast of NSW. Last year RIDBC celebrated our many wonderful volunteers at the annual volunteer luncheon. RIDBC is extremely grateful to over 1000 dedicated volunteers who assist us in so many
diverse ways. We just couldn’t afford to provide our services without them. I must also take a moment to acknowledge His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley AC DSC (Ret’d), Governor of New South Wales, and Mrs Linda Hurley, who have both granted joint Vice-Regal Patronage to RIDBC. It is wonderful to have our work recognised in this way. The start of a new year is always energising, and we wish all the children, families and adults supported by RIDBC the very best for the year ahead.
Chris Rehn RIDBC Chief Executive
Ali and Richard with their son, Elijah, meeting His Excellency the Governor and Mrs Hurley, who both visited RIDBC to spend time with the children and adults who are supported by RIDBC
Hannah and Lucy with their mother, Natalie (left), and RIDBC Consultant, Lynne, using a puzzle to help develop their language skills
Listening Lucy and Hearing Hannah! Now four years old, when twin sisters, Lucy and Hannah were born their lives started to take very different paths. When Hannah was born she weighed 2.2kg. Lucy was just 1.7kg. “The girls were effected by twin to twin transfusion in utero,” said their mother, Natalie. “When Lucy was born we found out she had mild cerebral palsy and auditory neuropathy, a condition that can cause hearing loss.” Seeing the support they would receive from RIDBC, the family made the decision to relocate permanently from Shanghai to Australia. “RIDBC provides auditory verbal support along with other communication modes, like sign language,” said Natalie. “Lucy received two hearing aids at 11 months but as her auditory neuropathy causes her hearing to fluctuate, we thought she might need visual cues to
aid communication.” In 2013, Lucy received a cochlear implant through RIDBC’s cochlear implant program. “I have three daughters, so there is always a lot going on, but RIDBC accommodates our whole family,” said Natalie. “Hannah has been able to come along to all of Lucy’s lessons and as a result her speech is off the Richter scale from all the speech therapy! “Sometimes it’s hard – Hannah can answer questions so quickly but Lucy takes a few seconds to process. RIDBC is giving me strategies to support them both – like encouraging games where they take turns so that Lucy has an opportunity to take the lead. “Before the implant Lucy was
definitely more frustrated, but now her learning is just accelerating and she is so much more relaxed.” Natalie says RIDBC’s lessons are always fun and engaging.
“Our RIDBC Early Learning Program Consultant, Lynne Richards, has done incredible things to get Lucy to laugh and talk,” said Natalie. “We’ve had treasure hunts in sandpits and jumped and danced down corridors to key speech sounds! RIDBC really knows how to get the best out of kids. “Early intervention makes such a difference. Lucy can now attend a local preschool alongside her twin sister, and she will be able to go to the local primary school alongside her too. She has a very bright future - and it gets brighter all the time.”
Father’s fundraising ride supports his son Baker joined Bicycle NSW’s Spring Cycle to fundraise for RIDBC, which supports his son, Raiyaan, who has hearing loss. Diagnosed with moderate hearing loss at birth, Raiyaan received two hearing aids at six weeks of age. “It was very confronting for us as parents and it was an emotional time. You just want the best for your child,” said Baker. At three months of age Raiyaan began accessing intensive weekly speech and language sessions through RIDBC Early Learning Program (Hearing Impairment). “RIDBC has given us the skills we need to communicate with our son,” said Baker. “The progress Raiyaan has made is fantastic, his vocabulary increases every single day.” Baker raised over $6,000 for RIDBC through the Spring Cycle. “Firstly, Spring Cycle gave me an opportunity to convince my wife I wasn’t lazy - I had to commit to a regular training schedule!” said Baker. “At the beginning I thought that 55kms was completely unachievable but I trained hard!
“When I found out that I could use the ride to fundraise for RIDBC it was a eureka moment. My wife, Farida, and I often feel like, as humans, it’s so often about ‘what’s in it for me?’ This fundraising ride was a moment when we said, hang on, RIDBC has done so much for us, let’s give back.
Raiyaan, who has moderate hearing loss, helping his dad, Baker, prepare for the big race! “These are the values we want to instill in our son – one day I can show him what RIDBC has done for him, and what his dad did for them. I am already the happiest father in the world but I will be even happier when my son can be part of the process of giving back.” Community Fundraisers just like Baker are truly inspirational people with passion and energy for a cause that is close to their heart.
If you are looking to support a cause that inspires you, why not raise funds for RIDBC through your own event and help us continue to provide life changing programs for children and adults with vison or hearing loss. To learn more about our current community fundraising opportunities such as the RIDBC Great Wall Challenge 2015, call 02 9872 0324 or email helen.roche@ridbc.org.au
Luke and his mother, Rosemaree, both spoke at the RIDBC Hunter Sight & Sounds luncheon, sharing their stories alongside sporting heroes Michael Bridges, Danny Buderus and Mark Richards
Luke is taking on the world When Luke was born with vision loss, parents Rosemaree and Phillip knew that he would need to receive the right support from an early age so that he could achieve alongside his peers. “Luke is completely blind, he was born without eyes,” said his mother, Rosemaree, who now teaches at RIDBC. “At the time, both my husband and I were classroom teachers so we knew how important early intervention would be.
“Setting Luke on the right path from an early age has given him such opportunities. He has an Australian record in swimming, plays the trumpet in two bands, sails and even rides a motorbike – around a paddock of course!”
him to develop the tactile graphics and mapping skills he will need for his science subjects,” said Rosemaree. “RIDBC supports Luke to access the technology he needs to be able to do everything alongside his sighted peers. When he is giving a speech in class instead of holding paper palm cards, he has a braille note machine around his neck. The machine is like a little laptop with refreshable braille and that allows him to scroll through his speaking notes while he is presenting.”
Skilled support from RIDBC is ensuring Luke, who is now thirteen years old, can pursue his dreams.
Luke is no different to any other teenager but he must be supported to develop the skills he needs to succeed.
“Luke wants to be a particle physicist when he leaves school, so RIDBC is helping
“We haven’t yet found anything he cannot achieve!” said Rosemaree.
Skilled support has given Luke the confidence he needs to pursue his dreams. “I love riding my motorbike,” said Luke. “I have a communication system which I put into my helmet so that a sighted person can tell me which way to go. This skill started when I was a toddler coasting along on a bike listening for the walls in my house. “Early intervention gave me the building blocks I needed to find solutions for the challenges I face. RIDBC is a crucial component of my life and I know they will be there supporting me in the future. I will always strive to be the best I can be. There is no reason I can’t attempt what my sighted friends do! I just need to learn the skills I need to succeed.”
Lindy, a musician and music teacher, is one of the many adults being supported by SCIC Cochlear Implant Program, an RIDBC service
Music teacher’s cochlear implant journey Dr Lindy Crocker is a music teacher and professional musician who started to lose her hearing in her late thirties at a crucial point in her career. She faced non-reversible, degenerating and profound hearing loss. Lindy started out using hearing aids but her hearing deteriorated. She tried to cope for years before discovering she was a candidate for a cochlear implant. Today she barely thinks of herself as someone with hearing loss. This is Lindy telling her story: “Imagine this - music classroom, senior students looking on as we unpack and plug in a new synthesiser keyboard. Trying out all the wonderful sounds that came with the touch of a button trumpet, harp, train whistle.... ‘Goodness’, I exclaimed! ‘Some of the top notes aren’t working.’ That was around 20 years ago. Like most people, I only associated hearing loss with
old people or with disability. I had two young children, was building a career and was loving life – hearing loss wasn’t part of my plan!
later I was accompanying our choirs on the piano and holding conversations in all kinds of listening situations!
My hearing loss escalated faster than the best hearing aids could address. Years of trying to cope, hearing bits and pieces of conversations and many instances of embarrassment meant that I had lost a lot of selfconfidence.
As someone who is passionate about music and teaching young people to listen and hear beautiful sounds, I can only imagine the many lives that will be changed thanks to RIDBC’s SCIC Cochlear Implant Program.
When I was informed by my SCIC Cochlear Implant Program audiologist that I could be a candidate for a cochlear implant, I confess there were many moments of fear about the potential outcome.
Today I barely think of myself as someone with hearing loss. I am ever grateful for this extraordinarily miraculous technology and to the fine dedicated people who work for us in this field.”
Three days after my cochlear implant was switched on I was performing in a hand bells concert, a few weeks
For more information about cochlear implants or SCIC Cochlear Implant Program, visit ridbc.org.au/scic
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