Audiology Connections - 2022 - 31

HE CAN, AND HE WILL
He Can, and He Will: One Family's Story of
Positivity and Connection
passionate little dude. At age 3, Liam
began receiving hearing screenings
at his well visits. No concerns were
indicated at his 3- or 4-year checkups.
Liam began attending preschool at
the local elementary school when
he was four-and-a-half. When his
school SLP and I later attempted to
get a better picture of when Liam's
hearing loss had reached the point
where he could no longer pass a
hearing screening, we surmised that
his preschool must have screened his
hearing and he must have passed. The
county screened Liam's hearing twice
in the fall of 2017. Liam failed both
screenings.
We immediately saw an ENT
After a healthy pregnancy, our son
Liam came into the world 3 weeks
early. Liam's APGAR scores were good,
and he passed the newborn hearing
screening. All was well in our world.
Fast-forward 14 months: Liam was
having difficulty with expressive
language, so we initiated speechlanguage
therapy. At that time, his
speech-language pathologist (SLP)
suggested that we get him a hearing
assessment at the local health
department. I had a 14-month-old,
a four-and-a-half-year-old, and a
husband who was often out of town
for work. I did not proceed with the
hearing assessment. Liam was making
slow progress with his speech, so I
didn't see a need for the assessment. It
is a decision that I will always regret-
but one that Liam's future audiologist
would help us to move past.
As Liam progressed through speech
therapy, he continued to lack several
sounds in his speech. Liam also got
frustrated and acted out physically.
I chalked it up to him being a
physician, who referred us for an
immediate audiological assessment.
That day we learned that Liam had a
complex pattern of sloping, bilateral,
sensorineural hearing loss. Everyone
in Liam's life was shocked. None
of us realized how much Liam had
been struggling to make sense of his
auditory world. And yet, things began
to make more sense, such as why Liam
was missing high-frequency sounds in
his speech, or why he always switched
the phone from his left to his right ear.
We were scheduled to meet with
a pediatric audiologist to discuss
Liam's options. From the moment we
met Lindsay Creed, AuD, we formed
a connection-one that quickly
developed into a bond that continues
to this day. Dr. Creed introduced us
to the world of life with a child who
is deaf or hard of hearing, and she
patiently walked us through each
new step of our journey. Our world
had been rocked, yet, never once did
we have thoughts of, " What if Liam
can't...? " or " He will never...! " We have
our audiologist to thank for starting us
off on the path of, " He can, and he will
... "
Today, Liam wears a hearing aid
in one ear and a cochlear implant in
the other. Liam is the life of any party
or gathering. He is full of joy, laughter,
wonder, and excitement. Liam is active
in sports: soccer, basketball, lacrosse,
BMX, and dirt biking. He loves singing
and making music with his drums and
guitar. In 2021, Liam began playing
the saxophone at school. He doesn't
let his hearing loss get in the way. He
once said that he wants to be the first
deaf person to travel into space, but he
currently wants to become a K-9 police
officer. I have no doubt that Liam will
achieve his dreams because a caring
audiologist helped Liam find his way.
To the audiologists reading this...
when administrative work feels
overwhelming, or when you finish a
session with a difficult patient, please
hang on to the knowledge that even
the smallest things you do have a
tremendous positive impact on the
lives of your patients and their families.
You sow the seeds that continue to
grow-years beyond your service to
patients.
Thank you!
Bethany Carr (Liam's mom)
asha.org/aud 2022 AUDIOLOGY CONNECTIONS
31
http://www.asha.org/aud
Audiology Connections - 2022

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