Do you remember the classic book The Little Engine That Could?
When we first began this endeavor, Chris, Mary Clare, Bridie and I never imagined that our little engine Padapillo, a book about our journey with late onset hearing loss, would grow into a grassroots mission taking over the world one audience at a time, but it has done just that.
Over the years, our family has come to realize that:
It is possible to find children with postnatal hearing loss sooner.
Speech and language disorders and developmental delays often associated with late-identification are largely preventable.
If parents, professionals and community leaders were to start talking in social, civic and professional circles about monitoring developmental milestones more closely, normalizing the topic of developmental disability, learning about the common signs and risk factors of pediatric hearing loss, and demanding more frequent hearing screening of young children - we would find kids sooner. Collectively, our efforts could change lives.
The time to start is now.
OUR MISSION: We improve outcomes for children who are deaf and hard of hearing, and offer hope to their families, by educating the public about pediatric late onset hearing loss and the consequences of late-identification. We do this through the sale of our books Padapillo and Padapillo (Edición en español), but also through our educational outreach work and active partnerships. Guest speaking, author visits, publishing articles, presenting at conferences, writing curriculum, consulting, hosting community events, and program coordination are a few examples of how we go about our mission.
OUR VISION: We foresee a time when all children who are deaf and hard of hearing have equal opportunities to thrive, when communication disorders caused by late-identification are rare, and when academic success is the norm.
OUR CORE BELIEFS:
Children who are deaf and/or hard of hearing are beautiful and perfect just the way they are.
Children with postnatal/late onset/acquired hearing loss deserve the same amount of time, effort, and funding for identification their peers with congenital hearing loss have received since Federal Universal Newborn Hearing Screening was established in 1999.
One organization working alone cannot tackle this issue - it will take all of us creatively and collaboratively working together.
Ready to partner with us?
Questions and inquires can be forwarded to valeriejamesabbott@gmail.com.