Hearing Loss
For the Babies Gala
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 Photo with her dog Katie
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
As Program Director of MidAtlantic Newborn and Infant Medical Services (MANIMS), Dr. Crawford oversees newborn hearing screening for nearly 10,000 babies a year in four major hospitals, Morristown Medical Center, Overlook Medical Center, St. Clare’s Hospital and Chilton Hospital. Dr. Crawford is responsible for the program’s development, implementation, daily oversight, clinical research and annual conference, Current Topics in Congenital Hearing Loss.
Under her leadership, MANIMS’s model is a leading program in the state in identifying and tracking the follow up of newborns with hearing loss. Statewide, 56.7% of babies who do not pass their newborn hearing screening rates are lost to follow up. Dr. Crawford’s team ensures that every infant receives testing, and rescreening when necessary, prior to discharge. Fewer than 0.1% of infants are lost to discharge.
With future plans to publish results MANIMS strives to contribute to the success of newborn hearing screening programs both nationally and internationally.
In New Jersey, Universal Newborn Hearing Screening was mandated effective in January 2002. Dr. Crawford reflects how Newborn Hearing Screening has given babies with hearing loss a sound start for successful futures.
"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. 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. The advent of universal newborn hearing screening could never take away feelings of loss, anger, denial and heartache a parent feels when they find out that something is wrong with their child. With counseling and education however the feelings are replaced with hope, assurance and confidence in the success of their child. Universal newborn hearing screening took away the most important aspects of a new diagnosis, shock, regret and guilt.
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. I am extremely proud to be cog in this process, one part of a system that finally works.
This award is indeed an honor. The Lake Drive Program is not only one of the most committed programs to excellence in education, but what stands out is their commitment to the children. Just walking through the doors you can sense the genuine concern and love the staff, teachers, directors and administrators all express for the children. It is a privilege to work with them all.” -Dr. Laura Crawford
At age 30, her hearing began to fail from inoperable nerve damage when she was younger. She could hear her own babies cry, but couldn't hear their sweet coos and soft steps. As her children grew, she missed their would-be-insightful conversations with friends in the back of the car. Stephanie began to learn first-hand the frustrations of living with moderate hearing loss.
Today, the longtime Mountain Lakes, resident is using her personal experience with hearing loss and her education, a Wharton School MBA, and experience in marketing for Fortune 500 companies to help babies with hearing loss great the early intervention they need to reach their full potential. If you ask Stephanie "What's the best thing about The Sound Start program?" She will say "That it works! It warms my heart to be involved in something where you can see such tremendous results.”
At birth, mandatory newborn hearing screening identifies babies who require referrals for rescreening or follow up services. If your baby is referred, it is important to make a follow up appointment with a pediatric audiologist as soon as possible. Although your baby had a hearing test at birth, some babies may lose hearing later because of illness, injuries, medicine, or a family history of hearing loss. Watch for signs of hearing loss as your baby grows.
Early Identification, Amplification and Intervention is Critical
● Babies born with hearing loss are not starting from the same point as a child with typical hearing – as they have missed out on 20 weeks of development of their auditory brain pathways, as well as the neural development missed before they are diagnosed. Babies born with hearing loss are starting from a point of neurological emergency because they have a limited window of time in which to catch up.
● During the first three years of life, vital connections are made in the central nervous system that are uniquely attuned to receive auditory and linguistic information. In the absence of auditory information, nature has efficiently arranged for alternate use of the brain areas reserved for deciphering hearing, space that can not be reclaimed as effectively again.
● The focus must be on early detection, amplification and enhanced listening experiences to urgently develop auditory neural connections so that optimal developmental periods for brain growth can be maximized.
In the United States, more children are born with hearing loss than any other congenital health issue. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association various studies estimate that between 1-6 per 1,000 newborns are born with hearing loss. 9 out of every 10 children are born to parents who can hear.
Without programs like Sound Start, 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.
(The American Speech-Hearing Association)
When babies with hearing loss get the appropriate intervention from birth to age three, they can acquire age communication skills by the time they are five.
(Robinshaw, 1995 and Moeller, 1996; Yoshinaga-Itano, 1999)
One hour of early intervention therapy with the child and family learning together translates into 84 hours of education and therapy time when family member follow the model at home with their child on a daily basis.
(Lee Ann Jung, PhD)
Early identification and intervention for children with hearing loss can save schools approximately $420,000 per child in special education services, and has a lifetime savings to the community of approximately $1 million per individual.
(Johnson JL, Mauk GW, Takekawa KM, Simon PR, Sia CCJ, Blackwell PM)
