Chris and Debbie Brown, Parents

The Central Speech and Hearing Clinic has given our daughter the most precious gift possible, ... her hearing. The devastation we both felt at the time of Hannah's diagnosis has been replaced by a quiet confidence that our daughter with a little work, love, and commitment will be fully capable of living a productive, rich, full life in the hearing world. Without the support of the professionals at the Clinic our daughter's opportunities in life would have been considerably diminished.
* UPDATE: Hannah is in Grade 8 in her neighbourhood school. (2009)

Marlene Russell, Parent

Our son, Derek, was born with a profound hearing loss and at 18 months of age attended the Central Speech and Hearing Clinic for the first time. The clinic provided tremendous hope for Derek and our family and showed us how to help our son learn to listen and speak. We were given invaluable ways to assist Derek with his language and speech needs and because of the support we were given we were motivated and had the confidence to help him when we returned home to Calgary, two weeks later.  The auditory verbal therapists showed us how to integrate AV therapy into our everyday lives. Today Derek is quite the sophisticated listener. He is mainstreamed at school with his hearing peers and is truly a vocal 12 year old kid.
* UPDATE: Derek is in third year university at the University of Carleton in Ottawa. (2009)

Tammy Kostick, Parent

The option of Auditory-Verbal therapy is one that every parent of a hearing-impaired child should strongly consider. The unique parent-centred therapy has shown us how to make each day count as even the most everyday activity becomes a listening and learning experience for our son. At 2 ½ years old, he loves to listen and likes to talk even more! The unwavering commitment of our therapists at Central Speech and Hearing have led us from the sadness we felt upon hearing our son's initial diagnosis to the belief that, truly, anything is possible!

Gord Kostick, Parent

My son was fitted with hearing aids at ten months old and now- at the age of 2 ½ years old- he is speaking and hearing at the same level as most other kids his age! Without a doubt, our son would not be where he is now if it were not for the help and support of Central Speech and Hearing Clinic. The incorporation of their progressive approaches, along with the inclusion of our own personal goals, have led to results beyond our hopes and dreams. I would hate to think where we might be now if we had not chosen CSHC!
* UPDATE: Jack is now in Grade 6 and just received his second implant in October of 2008. (2009)

Lance Giesbrecht - age 15 years, severe to profound hearing loss

My Essay about Cochlear Implants

The reason I wanted my cochlear implant was so I could hear better and listen easier. So in order to receive an implant, we had to go for an assessment, reading word lists and listening to sounds in the sound booth.

The cochlear implant surgery is six hours long. I had a sore head and bandage around my head. It had swelled on me about a day or two after the surgery. But it might not swell on you.

The cochlear implant is turned on at about five-six weeks after the surgery. The turn-on was exciting and tiring. The first thing I heard was my name but I didn't understand or comprehend it. I went outside and heard the traffic and thought it was the wind. It took about a week before I could understand as well as I could with my hearing aids.

With my cochlear implant, my hearing got better and better all the time. I tried my hearing aid on about eight weeks after turn-on and it was very quiet. I really like my cochlear implant. It lets me hear better on the telephone, hear my friends better than I ever could with a hearing aid. All in all, I am extremely glad that I got the implant.
UPDATE: Lance has moved to Ontario with his family and works with his Dad on the family farm (2009)

Ryan Mobberley - age 15 years, severe to profound hearing loss

My name is Ryan Mobberley and I'm hearing impaired since a few months after I was born. My Mom and Dad didn't know that I was deaf til I was two and a half years old. When I was three, I got hearing aids. After I got hearing aids, I had to go to Ottawa for Auditory-Verbal lessons. A few years later, my Mom, Dad and some other families joined together to form the Central Speech and Hearing Clinic in Winnipeg. Since the Central Speech and Hearing Clinic started, it helped me to hear and talk better. Without the Clinic, I would not have been in the grade that I'm in or have the marks that I have now in school. Since my Mom, Dad and the other families started the CSHC, it has helped a lot of children in Winnipeg, Manitoba and from other provinces
UPDATE: Ryan is in his final year at the University of Manitoba. (2009).

Christopher Loewen - age 14 years, severe to profound hearing loss
I

I  always had trouble with catching the sound
I decided I wanted to hear,
But the creepy surgeons scared me a lot,
My mother said, "Don't you fear"

The nurse gave me wicked medicine to drink,
She said it would make me relax,
She then strolled me to the surgery room,
The last I remember was the mask,

When I awoke I was hooked up to a bag,
That dripped fluid into me all day,
All night long the fluid made me run,
"How long will the doctors make me stay?"

Now I can hear the blinker in a car,
The whistling of a friend down the hall,
And I like to hear the cool sounds of life,
The implant is fun, and that's all!

UPDATE: Christopher completed two years of Bible College in Alberta and now has completed his first year of a two year diploma program in Agriculture. He is also an accomplished magician. (2009)