Save the Date!  Thursday, May 17

6:00-10:00PM

The Villa, Mountain Lakes, NJ

To Benefit The Lake Drive Sound Start Program

For Babies Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Honorary Chair-Angela Kubisky

Executive Vice President, Membership and Marketing at Morris County Chamber of Commerce

Keynote Speaker – Sue Thomas, "F.B. Eye"

Former Undercover F.B.I. Agent, Writer, Speaker, and Trainer of Special Skills Dogs for Hearing Impaired Individuals

Honoree – Dr. Laura Crawford, Au.D. FAAA CCC/A

Program Director of MidAtlantic Newborn and Infant Medical Services (MANIMS), Providing Newborn Hearing Screening for 10,000 babies a year at St. Clare's Hospital, Morristown Medical Center, Overlook Medical Center, and Chilton Hospital.

About Keynote Speaker, Sue Thomas

Sue Thomas is profoundly deaf. But nothing can keep this indomitable woman from living her life to the fullest. At the age of 18 months Sue Thomas suffered an instant and total loss of sound.  When her devastated parents were told that little Sue would never amount to anything,  they made a vow to do whatever it would take to enable their daughter to become successful in the 'hearing world'. 

Through speech therapy Sue developed her voice. She also became an expert lip reader.  At the age of seven, Thomas became the youngest Ohio State Champion free-style skater in skating history. She learned to play piano, attended public school and graduated from Springfield College with a degree in Political Science and International Affairs. 

After college, Sue heard that the FBI was looking for deaf people. She started out as a fingerprint examiner, but when an FBI agent discovered her lip reading ability, she became a key member of an undercover surveillance team.

In 1990 Sue Thomas wrote her autobiography entitled Silent Night. The acclaimed book became the basis for the TV series to follow. Sue Thomas:  F.B.Eye was watched by more than 2.5 million viewers in the United States and was syndicated to 60 nations. The weekly drama helped raise awareness of the abilities of those with physical challenges.

In spite of being diagnosed in 2001 with multiple sclerosis, Sue remains active as a compelling speaker and runs a nonprofit center in Vermont to train special skill dogs like “Katie” to assist hearing impaired individuals.

About our Honoree, Dr. Laura Crawford

The evening’s Honoree is Dr. Laura Crawford, the Director of Newborn Hearing Screening for MidAtlantic Newborn and Infant Medical Services (MANIMS), the leading newborn hearing screening program in New Jersey. Dr. Crawford oversees the comprehensive hearing screening services within the newborn and intensive care nurseries for 10,000 babies annually at four major hospitals, Morristown Medical Center, Overlook Medical Center, St. Clare’s and Chilton Hospitals.

Hearing loss is the most common congenital health problem. As result of the large volume of children born with hearing loss, the state of New Jersey mandated screening of all newborns in 2002. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening mandate. The goal is to screen prior to one month of age, diagnose hearing loss by 3 months and to provide early intervention services by 6 months in order to maximize the optimum period of early brain development for communication.

Dr Crawford remembers how before newborn hearing screening, children were identified much later. “I will never forget the first time I had to tell a parent that their child had a significant hearing loss. The child was a little boy age 3 who had bright blue eyes. I gave him some crayons and paper and sat down with mom as she cried.” Crawford continues, “You can imagine the feeling of loss for her ‘perfect’ little boy but what she cried the most over was how guilty she felt that she had missed it, not seen the signs, was not there for him. She expressed how she should have done something sooner and blamed herself not only for the hearing loss but the delay.  She was distraught over the fact that she constantly yelled at him for not listening or following directions. Unfortunately this scenario played out too often.”

“I have been extremely fortunate in my career to see the changes that early diagnosis and early intervention can make in the lives of children born with hearing loss,” Dr. Crawford reflects. “Instead of being diagnosed at age three they are now implanted, aided and receiving crucial intervention services that will dramatically change their lives.”

MANIMS was founded in 2005 by neonatologists from MidAtlantic Neonatology Associates (MANA), a group dedicated to providing exemplary neonatal intensive care and improving neonatal outcomes. Medical Director Dr. Kathy Crowley and Managing Partners Dr. Andrew Schenkman and Dr. Larry Skolnick entrusted Dr. Crawford with their vision to create the preeminent newborn hearing screening program in the state.

As the Director of Newborn Hearing Screening, Dr. Crawford is responsible for the program’s development, protocols, quality assurance, and clinical research. In addition, she organizes a regional conference for hearing professionals, Current Topics in Congenital Hearing Loss.

MANIMS’ innovative protocols streamline patient follow-up and minimize false negative results. Statewide, 56.4% of babies who do not pass their newborn hearing screening are lost to follow up.  In sharp contrast, Dr. Crawford’s team ensures that every infant receives testing, and rescreening when necessary, prior to discharge.  Less than 0.1% of infants are lost to follow up. MANIMS’ highly trained technicians and state-of-the-art technology result in a low referral rate of just 1.3%, about half of the national average. With plans to publish results, Dr. Crawford’s team strives to contribute to the success of newborn hearing screening programs statewide, nationally and around the globe.

“MANIMS has set the standards for newborn hearing screening,” explains Dr. Laura McKirdy, co-founder of The Lake Drive Programs and trustee of The Lake Drive Foundation. “When every second of brain development counts, making sure babies with hearing loss are identified and receive early intervention services as early as possible is critical.”

 “Without programs like Sound Start,” McKirdy continues, “children with mild to moderate hearing loss, on average, achieve one to four grade levels lower than their peers with normal hearing. Children with severe to profound hearing loss usually achieve skills no higher than the third- or fourth-grade level. But when babies with hearing loss get appropriate intervention from birth to age three, they can acquire age appropriate communications skills by the time they are five. ”

Sound Start operates under the auspices of the award winning Lake Drive Programs for Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Mountain Lakes. Lake Drive offers New Jersey’s most comprehensive continuum of educational opportunities for children with hearing loss from birth to high school graduation.  The school serves 200 children annually from throughout northern and central New Jersey.

The “For the Babies Gala” is the signature event of The Lake Drive Foundation, dedicated to raising funds for The Sound Start Program.  There are no funds from the Department of Education for services for hearing impaired infants and toddlers until the children turns 3, beyond the optimal time to take advantage of the neuroplasticity of the developing brain.  Funding from the Department of Health and Senior Services, covers only one third of the cost of Sound Start early intervention therapies.

 

To find out more about the Gala, reserve tickets or become a sponsor please visit www.lakedrivefoundation.org or contact Sueanne Sylvester at ssylvester@mtlakes.org; 973-265-4168.