Back
Photo of a preschool aged boy with shoulder length blonde hair. He is wearing a light blue knit hat with a pom pom on top and a navy blue sweater with grey pants and white sneakers. He is standing outside on a sidewalk with plants lining the path.

Early Intervention in Action

Early Intervention is Key

Landon was diagnosed with mild-moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing loss at two months old, after failing his newborn hearing screen. The journey to get his diagnosis was a challenge, but we eventually received confirmation that he was born with a genetic mutation, involving deletion of both the STRC and the neighboring CATSPER2 gene. This condition makes it more difficult for Landon to access higher frequency sounds, like running water or the letter S. Landon has worn hearing aids since he was 17 months old.

Smooth Services for a Smooth Start

Our family started services with Listen and Talk when Landon was three months old. Meghan, our Birth to Three program specialist, was an immense support from the very beginning. She feels like part of our family now. It was a very emotional and stressful beginning of Landon’s life, as we spent so much time getting tested and retested at the pediatric audiologist’s office. Meghan was such an emotional support to us as parents. We have learned a tremendous amount of ways to support Landon on his journey, including improving his access to speech sounds, reading techniques, and hearing aid troubleshooting, just to name a few. Meghan has also provided support to Landon’s teachers at his preschool. She has offered them strategies such as having Landon sit closest to the teacher, limiting ambient noise, and leaving space for him when he is exhibiting hearing fatigue. On the days that our monthly home visits with Meghan occur, Landon is absolutely ecstatic to leave his preschool class and see her at home.

Celebrating Success

Additionally, Listen & Talk has helped us as parents celebrate Landon’s wins! Through consistent testing and assessment, we have seen Landon’s vocabulary skyrocket and his articulation improve. We are truly so grateful for Listen & Talk – they are such a guidepost for new parents that are navigating uncharted waters. Thank you, Listen & Talk!

The Magic of the Blended Classroom

Listen and Talk’s Blended Classroom provides education for children with hearing loss and their typically hearing peers in an auditory rich stimulating environment. Children with hearing loss are pulled out for speech therapy in the building where they have class. They develop advocacy skills to help them as they progress to Kindergarten and beyond. Promoting advocacy ensures that they will be able to access critical communication with their teachers, coaches, peers and family friends. Learn more about our Blended Classroom here.

Donate Now

By supporting our social impact enterprise, you can help ensure that future generations of children with hearing loss have access to the same high-quality education and resources that helped shape the journey of countless families struggling with the impact of hearing loss. Your contribution will directly fund programs such as early intervention services, speech therapy, audiology testing, and parent education classes which help children with microtia atresia and other deaf and hard of children with hearing loss on a daily basis.

Thank you for contributing to the lives of deaf and hard of hearing children and their families to reach our vision that “no child is limited by hearing loss.”

Tag:, , ,

Kristin Hill

You may also like

Photo of a toddler with short red hair looking at a penguin in green water. The toddler is wearing a black headband with hearing technology around his head. He is wearing a beige t-shirt and beige and black patterned shorts with black sneakers.
Early Hearing Screening is Key
March 24, 2026
Photo of a preschool aged boy wearing a navy blue hat and puffy jacket with a light green fleece pullover. He is wearing jeans and snow boots. There is snow in the background and he is holding his mittened hand up to the sky while he looks up.
The Impact of the Blended Classroom : Raiden
March 23, 2026
Photo of a girl on a swing smiling. She is wearing a t-shirt with a fox on it. and striped pants with blue sneakers. She wears a headband.
Microtia Atresia and the Power of Listening and Spoken Language Education
November 9, 2025