From the Streets of Salem; Children with hearing loss deserve support

Salem, Mass. —

I can still remember placing a book upon my rising pregnant belly with each of my children and reading whatever I could find to my unborn babies.
Statistics state that 26 percent of children who were read to three or four times in the last week by a family member recognized all letters of the alphabet, compared to 14 percent of children who were read to less frequently. Also, cognitive ability such as letter recognition and the ability to write your name and to count are milestones too that reading enforces. How, then, does a parent ensure that a child who is hard of hearing or deaf has the same opportunities and abilities?
The 2000 data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 8.6 percent of the population ages 3 and older are deaf or hard of hearing. In 1998, Massachusetts passed a law mandating hearing screening for all newborns born before leaving a hospital or birth center. Once hearing loss is diagnosed and hearing aids are prescribed, parents or caregivers must pay out-of-pocket for hearing aids for their children, which cost upwards of $2,000 each and must be replaced.
One agency that is attempting to alleviate costs and help children to hear is the Massachusetts Hearing Aids for Children Coalition (MassHAFCC) which is a statewide network of families and professionals working together to maximize a child’s lifetime potential through educational, medical, social and emotional support.

I was blessed with many wonderful days of reading with my children and I know I have many years ahead of me reading books with my grandsons. Marsha, too, has always read to her granddaughter, utilizing both the traditional method and sign language since Madison has a hearing aid — a hearing aid provided by MassHealth because Madison is being raised by her grandparents.
Too many families do not qualify for MassHealth: They are the borderline families who are considered too wealthy for state-funded insurance yet are living paycheck to paycheck.
One of the biggest events that Marsha and her family experienced was when 5-year-old Madison mastered a new developmental stepping stone by saying her first word.
As Nana Marsha and Papa Larry summed it up, “That was over-the-moon awesome!” An over-the-moon awesome too many families may never experience without House Bill 52 being passed.

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http://www.wickedlocal.com/salem/news/lifestyle/columnists/x2022724205/Tammy-Callanan-Children-with-hearing-loss-deserve-support#axzz1JapLGlxa