It’s a Blackboard Jungle Out there

Melinda Hildebrandt, mother to four

year old Amelia shares her story of

Amelia’s journey as she embarks on

‘big school’ next year.

Nobody ever thinks that you’re going to

send your child to a special school. You

know, you don’t wake up and think to

yourself, I really hope my child gets into

a special school. That’s just not how we

are is it? I think I’ve changed.

– Sara James (‘A Place for Us’,

Australian Story, 12 August, 2013)

I recently watched this episode of

Australian Story and the above quote

from Sara James, mother of a young

daughter with a disability, stopped me

dead in my viewing tracks.

Because a variation on her words could

so easily have been spoken by me

about my own little girl, Amelia, who will

begin her primary school years at a

school for deaf children.

We certainly didn’t think we would end

up sending her to anything other than a

mainstream school. Going to any other

kind of school wasn’t on the list of

hopes we had for her before she was

born, but like Sara James, I have

changed my mind about how I feel

about this too.

You see, Amelia’s deafness and autism

(and their impact on her development)

make it impossible for us to plan her

school years more than 6-12 months

ahead. Right now, we know where she

will be next year but after that, it’s hard

to be more definite.

The pre-birth notion of mapping out an

arrow-straight educational course for

her, from attendance at the small local

kindergarten in the church hall a few

streets away, to the nearby primary

school we liked because of its bright,

new buildings and wide open spaces is

now just a fanciful set of ideas turned to

dust.

Thankfully, we didn’t have enough time

to really take those places to heart

before we understood that for us, and

for Amelia, the path of life would never

be so clear-cut or sure. We have also

worked out that institutional structures

won’t always be central to our truest,

deepest wishes for her.

What do we care about brand new

buildings now, or the ‘best’ scholastic

reputations or keeping up with the

expectations of others? Not a goddamn

thing, because when the goal posts

move to the margins you have to start

playing a different game – the long

game.

It’s funny how far my attitude to this

situation of uncertainty has evolved in a

period of just two years, as we have

adapted to two life-altering diagnoses

before Amelia is five years old.

I will never forget the first question that

popped into my head when the

audiologist at the Royal Children’s

Hospital opened the floor to me after

we found out that Amelia was deaf:

“Will she be able to go to a normal

school?”

Normal. I would cringe at that word

now, but back then, I seized on it

without thinking twice. But in that room,

‘normal’ was just a code for the life I

had imagined for Amelia while it slipped

through my hands in a matter of

minutes. (continued p.4)

Summer Edition

Amelia Hildebrandt

Inside... Tips for Getting your Child

‘School Ready’ 6

CommuniCate - A New

Resource 8

A Guide to Advocating for

Your Child 9

Tim Palmer - Lessons Learnt 10

History of Deaf Education in

Australiasia 12

Lyndal Carter - All About Me 14

Summer Edition 2

Hello everyone!

Since the last edition of Sound News,

there has been quite a few exciting

movements at PODC. We held our

very f i rst fundraiser event in

September, a Trivia Night at

Willoughby and raised over $8000.

Many thanks to everyone for your

donations, presence and support on

the night. At times like this, it is a

humbling experience to see how many

people in the community show their

support for PODC. With this funding,

the Management Committee will be

working on a regional roadshow for our

members during 2014.

We have also have held the AGM and

Connections BBQ on Sunday, 17

November. Despite the extreme

weather conditions, it was great to see

all the families and professionals

making the effort to attend. We were

also fortunate to hear from Tim Palmer

and his wonderful mother, Mandy about

their personal journey. Both Tim and

Mandy are truly inspirational people

and we have enjoyed listening to their

stories.

I am delighted to report that the

Management Committee has remained

the same for 2013-2014. This continuity

will allow us to establish the

groundwork for PODC to be NDIS

ready, setting up the regional roadshow

and continue to build relationships with

various organisations in the deafness

sector.

As we are coming to end of the school

year, there are many anxious parents

whose children are either attending

kindergarten or high school for the first

time. Other children will be leaving

school to go out into the workforce or to

further their education with more study.

My son, Tobian, will be graduating from

kindergarten and I cannot believe how

fast this year has gone. I do remember

very well how anxious I was about how

he would go during his first year of

school and looking back, all of my

concerns were well and truly addressed

which is a big thank to the school and

the itinerant teacher of the deaf. The

one tip I always say to parents, is to be

proactive and communicate your

concerns to the school and the support

staff – I have found that they would

bend over backwards to make sure that

Tobian is well supported in the

classroom. Also remember, PODC is

here to support your journey during this

time of anxiety so please drop us a line

any time.

On behalf of PODC’s Management

committee and team, we would like to

wish you and your family a very merry

Christmas and may 2014 be a great

year for everyone. Please do not

hesitate to contact us if you have any

feedback or concerns, we are here for

you!

Leonie Jackson

This edition of Sound News is full of

good reading and we trust you will have

some time after the Christmas and New

Year rush to put your feet up and enjoy.

This edition has a focus on education

and we are particularly pleased to

share Professor Greg Leigh’s

reflections on the history of deaf

education in this country. An edited

version of the opening address at the

2013 Deaf Educators Conference,

Greg gives us a history lesson, along

with a moving tribute to his great friend

and colleague, Des Power, who sadly

passed away this year.

We also share some parent insights

into their children starting school. In

particular, the cover story of Amelia

and the choices her parents are making

along the way as they learn more about

their unique daughter and what she

needs from an educational setting.

You will also find a profile piece on

three children who are about to start

kindergarten. Their parents write with

such joy and excitement about this next

chapter in their lives. There are

teacher tips on getting your child

‘school ready’ which will be helpful for

those parents grappling with the next

year ahead.

I want to draw your attention to the

NDIS website and a link that will be

useful in learning about what supports

are to be included and costed in the

NDIS when it becomes more widely

ro l led out f rom 2016. h t tp : / /

www.ndis.gov.au/document/290. We

recommend you keep an eye on the

NDIS website (www.ndis.gov.au) for

updates on what the NDIS will mean for

your child and your family over time.

Lastly, on behalf of the staff of PODC

(that’s myself and Allison) I would like

to wish you, our members and

readership a very Merry Christmas and

Happy New Year. We look forward to

catching up with you next year. In the

meantime, have a safe and happy

festive season.

Kate Kennedy

3 Summer Edition

Guest columnist and par-

ent, Sarah Klenbort re-

flects back on her daugh-

ter’s first year of school.

As the year rapidly draws to a close,

this is a moment when we look back -

full of clichés about time zooming past

at lightning speed - and assess the

year that’s gone. One year on, into my

child’s first year of school, I sometime

find myself pondering the value of a

formal education. I can’t help but re-

member a few lines from A.A. Gill’s

cynical piece on school in Vanity Fair

last year:

. . . . In the 100 years since we really

got serious about education as a uni-

versally good idea, we’ve managed to

take the 15 years of children’s lives that

should be the most carefree, inquisi-

tive, and memorable and fill them with

a motley collection of stress and a neu-

rotic fear of failure.

My daughter, deaf and bright (but no

genius) started kindy this year with a

love of learning that has since been

squashed. She used to like the work in

school; now she doesn’t. She used to

like to read and write. Now, not so

much. Why, I ask her? Because at the

end, I get things wrong. Especially

spelling quizzes. Words like hut and

hat spoken out of context are difficult, if

not impossible, to spell correctly when

you’re deaf and you can’t hear the dif-

ference. She’s also complained of

other kids not letting her join in their

games at lunch and recess. Some

mornings she plainly does not want to

go to her mainstream school.

And yet, what is the alternative? To

home school her and drive us both

mad?

The truth is, as a parent, it is difficult to

know what goes on inside the closed

doors of a classroom and impossible to

gauge the thoughts inside a child’s

head (I know because my parents had

no clue how much I hated school). The

only thing parents have to go on is

what our children tell us. And, as I

think back over the school year, an-

other truth is that my daughter has

managed to learn to read—an amazing

feat. She’s also learned to count to a

161 and to skip rope backwards and

she’s learned that lambs eat, and then

they throw up the food, and chew it

again and then they swallow it and this

time it stays down.

Last week she came home with a

rhyme that she spoke and signed si-

multaneously: When the movie started,

Mickey Mouse farted, before erupting

into giggles.

So, it’s not all doom and gloom.

And although my instinct is to criticize,

especially when it comes to what’s best

for my child, I know that if everything

goes swimmingly in school, this will not

prepare her for adulthood. I know that

children have to get things wrong; they

have to learn to cope with rejection on

the playground and elsewhere. And

although I’m still not a fan of the aca-

demic pressure that teachers put on

children at such a young age, I’m also

grateful that someone else is teaching

my child to read and maths and lamb

digestion!

Parents of Deaf Children would like to wish all our members and

their families a very happy and safe Christmas.

We thank you for your support over the year and we are looking

forward to seeing you in 2014.

What I really wanted to know was, “Will

she be able to live the life I expected

her to have, just like everyone else? Do

I dare to hope that despite her

deafness (her difference) that her life

will be easy enough to navigate?

Please, will she be okay?”

I admit it was a desperate grab for a

slice of optimism about the future. I’m

sure my questions, both articulated and

unsaid, are not uncommon to those

parents who have found themselves in

a similarly dramatic position.

My panicked mind flew years ahead to

school because it was an obvious point

on our family timeline where I imagined

the normality of our lives would truly be

tested. Before then, the outcomes for

pre-school aged children are much

more private and far less scrutinised.

If school age represented a big fork in

the road, I didn’t want us to take a hard

left while everyone else got to turn

right. We’re most of us pack animals at

heart, and never more so when trying

to slot our children into the ‘safety’ of

the herd.

The audiologist reassured me, “Yes,

with lots of work on her speech and

language, Amelia will catch up by the

time she is six or seven. She will be

able to go to a mainstream school.” At

the time, there was no reason to think

otherwise.

So, I clung to that small promise for the

next two years. I had to believe that if

we just did the tough yards of early

intervention and speech therapy and

everything else, we would emerge from

this temporary blackout and resume

normal programming.

But something happens to you over the

years of taking your child to

appointments and tests and scary

places you never thought you’d be. You

grow into it, you stop resisting and you

begin to accept this life as the real one,

the one you were meant to have.

It started in no small way with Amelia’s

time at her three-year-old bilingual

(Auslan and English) kindergarten run

by the Aurora School ’s early

intervention service. It gave me a

chance to see first-hand the benefits of

a bilingual learning environment

tailored for deaf kids.

Far from emphasising difference, this

program offered its charges the

security of shared experience. It gave

them multiple ways to communicate

(sign, speech, gesture), exposure to a

wonderful Deaf role model and the

freedom to develop at their own pace.

I watched Amelia embrace the visual

communication that helped connect her

to people, places and things. That

kindergarten year laid some important

foundations for her when she needed it

most.

By the time she was four, it was clear

that Amelia still needed a lot of support

to develop her speech, language and

social skills. There seemed little point

throwing her into the deep end of a

mainstream kindergarten three days a

week just so I could walk her there and

console myself about ‘normality’.

We chose the bi l ingual deaf

kindergarten on our side of the city

because it is a 20 minute drive away,

and is part of a primary school for the

deaf so there’s lots of expertise and

support available. (continued p.18)

Summer Edition 4

Upcoming Events

For further information regarding upcoming events, please visit www.podc.org.au

POD DATES TERM 1 2014

POD North West - 10 Feb, 10 March

POD Macarthur - 19 Feb, 19 March

POD Northern Sydney - 24 Feb, 24 March, 28 April

PODC PLAY IN THE PARK

Tues 14 Jan 10.30am -12.30pm

Buffalo Creek Reserve, Pittwater Rd, East Ryde.

Keep an eye out for the PODC banner. BYO morning

tea, bikes, scooters etc. Cancelled if raining

CIRCUS OZ 2014: CRANKED UP

AUSLAN interpreted shows

Sat 11 Jan - 1.00pm & 7.00pm

Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbour

Expect the irreverent Circus Oz spirit, laugh out loud

with the company’s much-loved larrikin characters and

thrill at daring new death-defying feats performed by a

multi-skilled team of acrobats, musicians, jugglers and

clowns – all accompanied by an original rocking eclec-

tic live band.

To book seats with a clear view of the Auslan interpret-

ers, please email peter.folan@deafchildren.org.au by

23 December.

2014 VERONICA JAMES SCIENCE CHALLENGE

FOR HEARING IMPAIRED CHILDREN

12 & 13 April 2014

Held at Sydney University, the Challenge is a great

opportunity for students of all abilities to explore and

get excited about the wonderful world of science. Join

other hearing impaired children and open your mind

to interesting and useful science. For further informa-

tion visit http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/pathology/

vjsc/index.php

SIGNING PLAYGROUP

2nd Saturday of the month. Upcoming dates include:

8 Feb, 8 March, 12 April

2.00 - 4.00pm

Ephpheta Centre, 4 Turner St, Punchbowl

Playgroup for anyone who signs or is interested in learn-

ing Auslan. Both hearing and deaf parents, and their

children welcome.

For more, please contact Sarah Klenbort on 0401 232

248 or sarahklenbort@yahoo.co.uk

FILMMAKING WORKSHOPS

Sat, 1 Feb & Sun, 2 Feb - project aims, research, inter-

view, writing techniques

Sat, 22 Feb & Sun, 23 Feb - technical filmmaking ba-

sics, practice interviewing

Sat, 15 Mar & Sun, 16 Mar - shooting and reviewing

rushes

Sat, 29 Mar & Sun, 30 Mar - editing

If you are a young deaf person (between 12 and 25

years old), come along and attend these FREE work-

shops organised by the Deaf Society of NSW. Work with

professional documentary filmmakers to create short

films about school and work experiences. Please con-

tact Amanda Faqirzada on youth@deafsociety.com for

further information.

BARBER OF SEVILLE NSW SCHOOLS TOUR

Mon, 24 Feb - Fri, 28 Feb

Venues and times to be arranged

Deaf Children Australia will partner Opera Australia’s Oz

Opera to present the NSW Auslan schools tour of The

Barber of Seville. Auslan interpreters will be involved as

performers on stage and in costume, rather than stand-

ing to the side of the stage. For bookings, contact Peter

Folan - peter.folan@deafchildren.org.au

5

Summer Edition 6

With the start of the new school year

upon us, here are some tips that may

help parents feel more at ease and

allow their youngster to cope with the

transition to school.

The year before your child starts

school, make an appointment

with the Principal to inform the

school that your child has a hear-

ing impairment. This then en-

sures the appropriate level of

support will be in place when

your child starts school ie: Itiner-

ant Support Hearing Services.

If possible, participate in the

schools transition program. This

provides an excellent opportunity

for your child to meet their kin-

dergarten peers, kindergarten

school staff and ISTH (Itinerant

Support Teacher, Hearing)

Provide your child with opportunities

to practice:

• Talking with children and

adults and communicating

their needs to them.

• Answering and asking simple

questions.

• Using terms like: all, many, a lot,

more, less, same, different.

• Using a variety of things (pens,

pencils, textas) to draw, to scrib-

ble, to write.

• Putting on and taking off jackets,

jumpers, shoes and socks with-

out help.

• Opening/closing lunchboxes,

drink bottles & school back-

packs.

• Unwrapping gladwrap if you will

be using this.

Going to the toilet independ-

ently and washing hands after-

wards.

Sharing and taking turns

Following simple directions

Recognising their name

Teach your son to use a urinal

if he doesn't know already.

Establish a home reading rou-

tine

Try to establish a night-before

routine to ease the chaos of

mornings ie. laying out uni-

forms, packing hats, library

books/bags. This will get your

child into the habit of getting

as much ready the night be-

fore as possible.

Parents check hearing aids

and FM are working and fully

charged.

Help your child pack their own

bag. This will assist with in-

creasing their skills of inde-

pendence and they will know

what is in their bag.

Pack a spare pair of under-

pants and socks in your child’s

school bag in case they have

any toilet accidents. Let your

child know this when they are

helping to pack.

Jackets, lunch boxes, drink

bottles, hats etc must be la-

belled.

Ensure your child knows who

will be picking them up each

day.

Read the schools newsletter

to help foreshadow events.

Talk to your child about these.

First day of school:

• Be positive and happy

• Let your child dress themselves

• When you are about to leave, tell

your child you are leaving

• Take photos!

The above tips are available on

PODC’s website, reprinted with per-

mission from ISTH Service, Canter-

bury Public School.

7 Summer Edition

LEVI

Levi will be attending a mainstream

Public Primary School in January 2014,

and we couldn't be more proud.

Levi was diagnosed with a mild-

moderate hearing loss at 14 months.

Over the past year he has developed a

social awareness, and most importantly

a real sense of himself, which we be-

lieve will give him the personal strength

to master this new and bigger school

environment.

Levi will be attending our local Public

School, Tuggerah Primary, where the

Head Master and the teaching staff

have met every need we laid before

them. He breezed through his orienta-

tion days, and didn't look back after

waving me goodbye, while I walked off

stunned and not a little teary that he

could cope with this so well.

I have great faith that both he and the

school will create a smooth transition,

and the first weeks of school will not be

the disaster I initially imagined.

Levi will be using an FM system which

will be fitted a few weeks before Christ-

mas.

Most importantly, Levi is excited about

this new season, he considers himself

ready for BIG School, and is asking

daily about the children he will meet,

the work he will be doing and the sports

he will get to play!

Truly, a regular boy, with regular con-

cerns and dreams, who values his

hearing aids and the world it has

opened up for him.

ANJALI

Our daughter Anjali has bilateral pro-

found hearing loss and uses cochlear

implants. We have been going to the

Shepherd Centre for early intervention

since she was three months old. It is

really satisfying to see that all our hard

work guided by the auditory verbal

therapist at TSC is paying off. She is

listening and talking well. She engages

in beautiful conversations which has

been a dream come true.

We decided to send Anjali to the local

public school - Croydon Park Public

School. The Principal of the school has

been very understanding and suppor-

tive. The school so far has shown a

genuine concern and is keen to learn

about hearing loss. I am sure with such

a supportive school staff, Anjali will be

able to achieve her full potential.

Anjali is very excited to go to “Big

School”. The thing she is looking for-

ward to the most is spending more time

with some of her friends. She loves her

new school uniform. I hope she enjoys

the whole experience and continues to

inspire us with her perseverance.

CAYDEN

Cayden is 5! After 5 years of visiting

therapies all over town from Bronte

Beach, to Annandale, Strathfield,

Chatswood and Gladesville, our young-

est is now going to BIG SCHOOL,

something we once thought might not

happen. Cayden has bilateral cochlear

implants, developmental delays and

moderate autism.

After five years of therapies and sup-

port from the Catherine Sullivan Centre

and RIDBC Matilda Rose, coupled with

a great SCIC audiologist, our son can

communicate. He walks, smiles and

laughs. He is a cheeky little fella that

will keep the St Lucy teachers on their

toes!

Cayden’s come a long way, but his

journey is only just begun. This is a

great new phase for us as it means we

can now focus more on our lives and

our other children as well. St Lucy’s

staff has been great so far and we have

the comfort that he will be taught well

there.

The uniform has been bought, including

a new bag and hat. We had to train

Cayden to use a hat, to pull down his

pants, to use the toilet, to request for

things and to communicate where he is

going. We know there will be huge tran-

sition to the new timetable, with trans-

port assistance hopefully for the long

trip to Wahroonga. But it is a challenge

we relish. Preparation for school

started since March. We are almost

there.

A few of our members’ children are starting school in 2014. Here, their parents reflect on their journey so far.

Summer Edition 8

Deaf Children Australia have recently

developed a comprehensive range of

resources called CommuniCate. These

resources guide parents as they teach

their infants or preschool children lan-

guage/s. It provides families with the

opportunity to learn Auslan in their own

home, in a supportive and accessible

format.

In this article, Michelle Nathan shares

her story of why she wanted her family

to learn Auslan and how CommuniCate

has made the process of learning an-

other language a lot easier.

“CommuniCate resources are really

helping our family learn Auslan to-

gether. I have always wanted our family

to sign well since my daughter Serena

was one year old and we found out she

has a hearing loss, as well as cerebral

palsy. When she was almost two,

Serena had a hearing aid fitted but still

didn’t respond to noises. We realised

Serena was profoundly deaf in both

ears. When she was three, Serena was

fitted with a cochlear implant. Now at

the age of seven, she doesn’t like her

implant and still often refuses to wear it

but she knows it helps her.

Since we received DCA’s Communi-

Cate kit, Serena and her twin sister

Kiya have enjoyed playing with it and

they show everyone who comes. We

use the flash cards as a memory game

and we make up our own games with

the different scenes. I ask Serena to

spell out words too. Serena has always

been great at Auslan and Kiya used to

sign a lot with Serena when they went

to the deaf preschool together. Since

we moved to Melbourne and they

started at different schools, Kiya hasn’t

been so interested in signing. It was

frustrating for Serena as Kiya lost a lot

of her signs while Serena was getting

better and better. Serena was signing

slowly to Kiya and Kiya was speaking

to Serena in reply. Auslan is Serena’s

first language so I think it’s really impor-

tant for all of us to use Auslan with her.

When we started using CommuniCate,

Kiya got more involved and began us-

ing more signs again.

Our extended family is wonderful in

wanting to learn Auslan and the kit has

really helped. They have been coming

to our house every Sunday for us to

practice signing. I told them that I

wanted them to make an effort to com-

municate with Serena directly, rather

than relying on me to interpret. It’s fan-

tastic to see Serena teaching the other

children. She does the signs and then

they will repeat them.

Serena’s speech has come a long way

and now, she can have conversations

with us using her voice as well. We

went through a lot of speech therapy

and I asked her to repeat the words

over and over again from the books I

read to her. Now she speaks and signs

at the same time.

I think CommuniCate is really good for

other families too because you can

learn together at home in your own

environment and at your own pace. I

wish we could have had the kit at the

beginning because we didn’t have any-

one to teach us. It was hard just learn-

ing signs from Serena and her school.

Now I plan to build on what I have al-

ready learned through an Auslan

course. I hope to be able to work as an

interpreter or in a school supporting

deaf children in the future.”

The CommuniCate kit includes game

cards, story cards, a manual and a

DVD-ROM. If you would like to find out

more about CommuniCate and consid-

ering purchasing the kit, go to

www.deafchildrenaustralia.org.au or

phone 9539 5300.

Families could be eligible for Better

Start funding to purchase this resource.

Go to www.betterstart.net.au to check

your eligibility.

This resource has been developed by

Deaf Children Australia with permission

from the National Deaf Children's Soci-

ety in the UK and with the financial

support of Queensland Health.

Serena and Kiya Nathan

9 Summer Edition

What is Advocacy?

According to the Institute of Family

Advocacy and Leadership Develop-

ment, the definition of advocacy is “the

process of standing alongside an indi-

vidual who is disadvantaged and

speaking out on their behalf in a way

that represents the best interests of

that person.”

Advocacy has no prescribed or clearly

determined method, rather it can take a

number of forms. It may involve speak-

ing, acting or writing on behalf of an-

other person or group who may need

support to exercise their rights or to

uphold their rights. Commonly it will

involve working against established or

entrenched views or structures. It is

important to note that advocates are

not impartial.

It can be difficult for parents to take on

this role of challenging authority or in-

stitutions over the course of their child’s

life. They often feel ill - equipped to

perform this role. However, there are

skills that parents can learn to assist

them in this essential role on behalf of

their child.

Learning to Embrace your Natural

Authority as a Parent

Parents know and understand their

child better than anyone else and as a

result parents are their child’s natural

advocate. They have a natural authority

because of this relationship and this

authority holds weight in decision mak-

ing processes.

If you are unsure of your authority as a

parent or family member, this exercise

may help to clarify this:

Make two lists on a sheet of

paper

In the first column list all the

people who have been constant

in your child’s life.

In the other column list all the

people who have come and

gone over the same period.

Keep a hold of the first list – it may be

quite short, if you are lucky there may

be other family members on it, perhaps

a few close friends. This is a valuable

list – these people can begin to claim

some authority in your child’s life. The

other list will be enormous, but proba-

bly not that relevant.

Developing Advocacy skills.

Learning to advocate is a process. It

will involve building new skills along

with using existing skills that parents

already have. Parents can help them-

selves by being better informed about

their child and their school life. Become

involved and be aware of the latest

information on education and support.

Parents of other children, may also be

a good source of information and sup-

port.

School is often where parents are

called on to support or advocate for

their child, as there is a realisation that

the playing field is not a level one at

mainstream school, where most deaf

children go to school in NSW.

Working with your School

School is going to be a big part of your

child’s life. As a parent, work with the

school and help out where you can.

Build knowledge and form relationships

with the staff, as these relationships will

be important if and when a problem

arises for your child.

Tips for Being an Effective Advocate

Reprinted from the Association for Chil-

dren with a Disability’s guide, Through

the Maze, there are a number of tips to

being a good advocate:

Have a clear idea about the

outcome you want for your child.

Find out who is responsible for

the decision and action you are

seeking.

Try to stay calm.

Focus on getting a positive out-

come for your child.

Follow up verbal agreements in

writing if needed.

Keep accurate records about

your efforts relating to a specific

issue.

Ask a friend or professional to

help you if you need support.

See further information and ad-

vice from an advocacy organisa-

tion if you need to .

Summer Edition 10

Eighteen-year-old Tim Palmer, recently

spoke with his Mum, Mandy Palmer at

PODC’s AGM in November, He is a

cochlear implant recipient from Drum-

moyne in NSW, and has been awarded

this year’s Graeme Clark Scholarship.

He talks about how important his family

have been throughout his life and his

passion for sport.

I was diagnosed as profoundly deaf at

only six weeks of age, which is quite

remarkable when you consider in 1994

there was no newborn screening for

babies, so it fell to my Mum to make

the diagnosis. I wore hearing aids from

10 weeks old and when I was two I got

a cochlear implant in my left ear. I

stopped wearing my right aid but at six

resumed using it when at school. At

thirteen I got a cochlear implant in my

right ear. Bilateral implants help me

with direction but the second implant is

still not that effective at helping me with

understanding speech though I am still

working hard at improving this.

Right from the start my family were

very supportive and have continued to

be throughout my life. Mum and Dad

and my older brother form one of the

best support networks anyone could

hope to have. From a very early age

they made sure my language devel-

oped at the appropriate rate and put in

an incredible amount of work to ensure

I was never left behind at any stage. I

believe having an older brother proved

invaluable as he could teach me all

teenager-type things that can be easy

to forget when it comes to kids with

disabilities. It can be easy to forget how

teenagers interact and that is through

things like music, movies and sport - so

often, the overwhelming focus can be

on the deafness, and as a result the

social aspect can be neglected. Sam -

who at 22, is three and a half years

older than me - made sure I stayed in

touch with all the things that “kids my

age liked.” I remember one summer

holiday just before I was about to start

high school, sitting in the car listening

to him lecturing me about what kind of

music I was to say I liked when the

people at my new school asked me. As

it turned out, his suggested answer -

Red Hot Chilli Peppers - was a superb

one, even if at the time I’d never lis-

tened to one of their songs.

Sam was also key to my love of sport,

which has since turned into a passion

and something I’m determined to make

a career out of (in 2014, I’ll be heading

to the University of Technology Sydney

to study Exercise and Sport Science

and International Studies). Seeing my

older brother heading off to play soc-

cer, rugby and cricket every Saturday

certainly had an effect on me and it

wasn’t long before I was out on the

pitch every weekend as well, learning

to love all different types of sports and

even going on to develop quite an inter-

est in athletics. That in turn gave me

the opportunity to complete in the Ath-

letes with a Disability Sector which was

a fantastic way to meet other people

with hearing impairment or other dis-

abilities, while doing something I love. It

doesn’t have to be sport but it is things

like these that give you confidence and

happiness, and you never quite know

where they might take you.

My parents have encouraged me to try

many activities to provide balance in

my life, to give me opportunities to mix

with a range of people and to see what

I enjoyed in regard to leisure pursuits.

As well as many sports I had a go at

debating, drama, public speaking and

music, all with varying levels of suc-

cess. I was also chosen to go on my

school’s trip to Papua New Guinea to

help with a remote brother school and

to be a leader at the annual camp for

children with disabilities, both of which

gave me a better understanding of peo-

ple and the many challenges they face.

I’m often asked how I deal with

coaches (and on a similar note) teach-

Tim at 18 months old.

Tim on his first day of Kindergarten with

his brother , Sam (Year 4) at Drummoyne

Public School—2000.

11 Summer Edition

ers, and indeed anyone who needs to

be aware of my needs in regard to my

hearing impairment. I always fall back

to the strong belief I have - “just be

yourself”. Deafness is a part of who I

am and if you treat it as part of who you

are, it is only inevitable that others will

accept it as simply what makes you,

you. There are so many ways to deal

with all the various problems that arise

but the solution is made so much eas-

ier if it is dealt with in an upfront and

honest manner.

I always found that open dialogue was

the easiest and most efficient way to

sort out problems and in particular, I

remember a time when in the first les-

son of Business Studies class at high

school, the teacher (new to the school)

spoke to me in a very slow, deliberate

manner, dragging out the question of

whether I'd done my homework as if I

couldn't understand him. I promptly

answered him with a long-winded reply

full of the longest words I could think of,

and from then on he treated me just

like anyone else and in fact he became

somewhat of a mentor for me, helping

me achieve many things in athletics.

My family and itinerant teachers also

have to take some credit for that as

well. They always encouraged me to

speak my mind and be proactive with

teachers. I had many fantastic itiner-

ants and in Year 11 and 12, I was fortu-

nate enough to have Alan Kelly, whom

I struck up a fantastic relationship with.

I always appreciated Alan's time be-

cause not only did he take me out of

class twice a week, but because those

periods were spent not talking about

deafness or language, but about

"normal" things - like silly teenager di-

lemmas, rugby scores and sometimes

even girls. The opportunity to get away

from it all and talk about the little stuff

ties back to the idea of not neglecting

the teenager element of deaf kids, and

remembering that underneath the co-

chlear implant, hearing aids and all the

equipment, is a person with the same

everyday problems and issues that

everyone else faces. Year 12 at St Joseph’s College

Representing St Joseph’s in GPS Atleletics Carnival—800m

The 27th Australian and New Zealand

Congress on Education of the Deaf

(ANZCED) was held in Brisbane in July

this year. The conference was framed

around the theme of “Sailing Ahead

Towards a Bright Future”. Conjoint Pro-

fessor Greg Leigh gave the opening

address and adopted the Congress

theme for his speech which was titled

“ANZCED 2013—Setting Sail for the

27th Voyage”.

In his opening remarks, Professor

Leigh provided some reflections on the

history of the Congress and also one of

Australia’s most prominent identities in

deaf education—Emeritus Professor

Des Power.

Here are some edited excerpts from

Greg’s speech.

Following the International Congress

on Education of the Deaf (ICED) in

2000, the late Professor Des Power

and I co-edited a book titled “Educating

Deaf Students: Global Perspectives”. In

the first chapter we reflected on the

history of professional meetings and

scholarly debate in this field. We noted

that the ICED was “…almost certainly

the world’s oldest continuously con-

vened educational conference” (p. 10).

With the exception of two periods

around the two World Wars, the ICED

has been convened consistently since

1878. The 19th ICED was held in Syd-

ney in 2000 and the next meeting (the

22nd ICED) will be held in Athens,

Greece in 2015. By any measure, that

is a remarkable fact.

Just as we had considered the history

of the ICED, Des and I often mused

about whether there were any Austra-

lian or New Zealand conferences in

education that could compare to the

long history of this conference

(ANZCED). We concluded that, as for

the international conference, this event

is similarly the longest continuously

held conference in any field of educa-

tion in Australasia.

The first ANZCED conference was held

in Melbourne in 1935 and has been

held continuously (and regularly) ever

since. At the first conference in 1935

there were 59 participants. The pro-

ceedings of the conference make fasci-

nating reading. Given the small num-

bers of participants and the financial

and other practical constraints on inter-

national travel at that time, the program

was comprised of a combination of

presentations by Australian practitio-

ners and “invited papers” which were

sent by mail from overseas and then

“read” and discussed at the confer-

ence. This this was also the pattern for

the second conference (in Sydney) in

1938.

With the advent of the Second World

War there was a hiatus in the staging of

ANZCED and the third conference was

not convened until 1948 in Adelaide.

The conference came to Queensland

for the first time in 1950 and was held

in the facilities of the Queensland

School for the Deaf in Annerley, not

that far from where we are meeting

today. There were 58 participants. At

that conference the role of opening

speaker was assumed by a much more

public and high profile identity in the

form of the Hon. Vince Gair. Mr Gair

was Minister for Education and Deputy

Premier in Queensland. He would go

on to become Premier and later a

Senator and the founder of the Democ-

ratic Labour Party. He was one of the

most influential characters on the Aus-

tralian political landscape until his res-

ignation from Parliament in 1972. Im-

portantly, however, he was also the

President of the “School Committee” of

the Queensland School for the Deaf.

In his opening speech at the 4th Con-

gress in Brisbane, Vince Gair presaged

many of the issues and developments

that have shaped our field and continue

to play an influential role on the field

today. He noted the growing impor-

tance of the “modern developments in

the field of acoustics”, and the certain

place of technology in the education of

deaf children. Mr Gair could not have

been more accurate in his prophecy.

However, at that time, being “current

with technology” meant that just nine

classrooms at the Queensland School

for the Deaf were equipped with “group

hearing aids”. Of course, in 1950, per-

sonal hearing aids were still very much

a work in progress. He spoke proudly

of arrangements that his Government

had made with the British Ministry of

Health “for the despatch of portable

hearing aids to enable children…to

continue to receive sound stimuli during

out-of-school hours as well as in their

classrooms”. The field was only just on

the threshold of a new era in the provi-

sion of personal amplification devices.

Mr Gair could scarcely have imagined

the ready availability of highly sophisti-

cated personal technologies (hearing

aids and cochlear implants), which is

the foundation of current approaches to

the education of deaf children.

Importantly, Mr Gair acknowledged

what we still know to be an important

truth today—“that the provision of mod-

ern equipment will be of little use”

unless it is deployed by competent

teachers who appreciate children’s

needs for development across a wide

Summer Edition 12

“...professional education for

specialist teachers of the deaf -

based on research and a strong

base of evidence - Is the cor-

nerstone of good practice.”

range of areas. On this point, Mr Gair

was followed to the podium by the Di-

rector-General of Education in Queen-

sland, Dr Lewis Edwards, who spoke

eloquently about the role of the teacher

of the deaf. In his speech he noted that

the Directors of Education of each of

the states had met in Sydney in 1949 to

discuss those issues and he foreshad-

owed a visit to Australia by Professor

(later Sir) Alexander Ewing and Mrs

Irene Ewing from the University of Man-

chester. History shows that the visit did

occur later in 1950 and that the impact

on the education of deaf children in

Australia was profound. Regardless of

the controversy surrounding some of

their recommendations, the Ewings

were very clear in their views about the

need for graduate level teacher educa-

tion. The commencement of tertiary

educational programs in the education

of deaf children was a direct conse-

quence of their visit. Then, as now,

members of this Association were

united in their view that professional

education for specialist teachers of the

deaf—based on research and a strong

base of evidence—is the cornerstone

of good practice.

Before I conclude I want to make just a

few remarks about our dear friend and

colleague, Professor Des Power who

passed away in April.

After completing his teacher education

at Geelong Teachers’ College (at just

19 years of age), Des completed his

education as a teacher of the deaf at

the Training Centre for Teachers of the

Deaf in Melbourne—a Centre which

was created as a direct consequence

of the visit by Sir Alexander and Mrs

Ewing in 1950.

Des commenced teaching at the Victo-

rian School for Deaf Children in 1956.

As a part-time student, he completed

an honours degree majoring in Psy-

chology and a Masters’ Degree in Psy-

chology at the University of Melbourne

and during that time became a member

of the staff of the Training Centre for

Teachers of the Deaf (the Centre would

later become part of the State College

of Victoria and ultimately of Deakin

University). In 1969 he was awarded a

prestigious Harkness Scholarship to

attend the University of Illinois where

he gained his PhD working as part of

the team of researchers under the lead-

ership of Professor Stephen Quigley.

The work of that team led to the pro-

duction of the Test of Syntactic Abilities

(TSA) and the development of the TSA

teaching program of which Des was

one of the co-authors.

In 1979 Des accepted a position at

Mount Gravatt College of Advanced

Education, which later became the Fac-

ulty of Education of Griffith University.

He established the Centre for Deafness

Studies and Research which spawned

an impressive array of innovative pro-

grams. Following his retirement from

the university in 2000, he was given the

title of Emeritus Professor and he ac-

tively continued his involvement in the

Centre and his scholarship in our field.

Long before there was a Disability Dis-

crimination Act in Australia, Des was a

pioneer of equality of access for deaf

and hard of hearing people in tertiary

education. He founded the Deaf Stu-

dent Support Program at Griffith Uni-

versity—the first program in any Aus-

tralian University to provide dedicated

access services for deaf and hearing

impaired students. Dr Breda Carty (who

was honoured at this conference as the

first recipient of the Des Power Memo-

rial Award) is just one of the many

grateful Deaf colleagues who were able

to work with Des on a range of projects

and to complete studies at Griffith Uni-

versity with his support.

Des was a magnificent contributor to

our field and to Australian society more

broadly on a wide range of fronts.

Those contributions were honoured in

1994 by the award of Membership of

the Order of Australia—a recognition of

which he was enormously and rightfully

proud. In 2009 he also received the

Peter Howson Medal of the Victorian

Deafness Foundation “for services to

the education of deaf students”.

Des was a great scholar, an inspiring

colleague, and a wonderful teacher and

mentor for countless people in our pro-

fession. He was also a generous and

loyal friend. There is no question that,

like so many people here at this confer-

ence, I would not be doing what I am

doing today without his influence.

There is also no question that, were he

to be here today, he really wouldn’t

want to hear all of this. Rather, he

would simply be urging us to “get on

with it”, making sure that educational

provision for deaf and hard of hearing

students is the best that it can possibly

be. He would want us to “get on with”

making sure that governments know

what the consequences of their deci-

sions and plans might be in regard to

opportunities and outcomes for deaf

and hard of hearing children and their

families. Quite simply, he would want

us to “get on with” making the place

better than it was when we found it—

which is exactly what he did! Vale Pro-

fessor Des Power.

So, with that, it only remains for us to

“get on with” the 27th Voyage of the

good ship ANZCED. I wish you all a

successful and enjoyable conference.

References:

Australian Association of Teachers of

the Deaf (1950). Proceedings of the 4th

Conference of Teacher of the Deaf in

Australia. Brisbane: Author.

Power, D., & Leigh, G. (2004). Educat-

ing Deaf Students: Global Perspec-

tives. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet Uni-

versity Press.

Summer Edition 13

The late Professor Des Power

Summer Edition 14

Lyndal Carter

Lyndal Carter was awarded with the

Libby Harricks Achievement Award in

March 2013. In this article, Lyndal re-

flects back on her life and her career

and throughout both, her humility

shines through.

In March this year I was very surprised

to learn that I was to receive the Libby

Harricks Achievement Award. Knowing

the calibre and achievements of others

who received this award before, and of

Libby herself, I felt extremely honoured

– but actually a bit of a sham. When I

was presented with the certificate at the

SHHH AGM and heard the kind words

that were said about me I was, for

once, pretty well speechless.

Our good president invited me to make

up for my reticence by writing a bit

about my life with my hearing loss. My

first draft was rejected on the grounds

of “insufficient detail”. So if this seems

like too much, blame the president. I

couldn’t argue. He is a lawyer after

all….a very persuasive man. So here

goes:

I have a moderate, sensorineural hear-

ing loss and I wear two behind-the-ear

hearing aids- nothing fancy. I don’t use

a lot of technology but I do LOVE cap-

tions for TV- wish there were more at

the movies.

I am pretty sure I had “normal” hearing

until my senior high school years. As

my hearing was never tested before

that I can’t be 100% sure, but it

seemed that my hearing difficulties

occurred quite suddenly – at the time of

a run of other health troubles. I have

clear memories of things that I was

able to hear before my hearing loss -

rain outside, whispers in the dark, the

high-pitched hum from the back of the

telly. My hearing deteriorated a little

over the years. Best medical advice is

that I have a form of “hydrops” (a par-

ticular cochlear problem, like “Meniere’

s”) but although I have had some hear-

ing fluctuations and have tinnitus, I

fortunately don’t suffer with vertigo.

My hearing loss was first identified

when I was 17 years old.

As Laurie Eisenberg said in her recent

Libby Harricks Oration – it is “all about

the mothers”. My mother noticed my

hearing loss first. Like many good

mothers, she shared her concerns with

our local doctor. After checking my

ears for wax on several occasions

(there was none) he dismissed the

“problem”. Sometime later, a new doc-

tor sent me off to the kind and helpful

Audiology team at the Hornsby and Ku-

ring-gai Hospital (it is a great shame

that wonderful service is no longer

available to the local community). I like

to joke that it was Ann Austin who

“made me deaf”. Ann confirmed that I

had a hearing loss and referred me to

NAL at Parramatta (now Australian

Hearing) and I was fitted with my first

binaural hearing aids at the age of 18

years.

I was less than delighted. My hearing

loss back then was only mild, but the

hearing aids seemed very substantial –

a good friend called them my “chubby

babies”. Seriously, it wasn’t the look of

the devices that bothered me most.

The hearing aids were helpful, but they

were LOUD. The older “peak clipping”

type. Everything seemed such a terri-

ble din. It’s 30 years ago this Novem-

ber, but I still remember the first night I

wore the hearing aids at home – the

sound of the fridge motor coming on

was an unidentifiable roar. Rather star-

tling. At that time I was also very both-

ered by tinnitus and terrified that my

hearing would become even worse. I

avoided any noisy situations, including

the things others my own age were

doing, like going to pubs and seeing

bands. I think the fact that my hearing

loss was initially dismissed by profes-

sionals was also a barrier. I somehow

didn’t feel ‘legitimate’ about wearing a

hearing aid.

I had just started university - with the

idea of becoming a high school English

teacher. After getting my hearing aids I

was told by the student “support” per-

son at Uni that the Education Depart-

ment did not employ people with hear-

ing loss. I don’t remember getting

much in the way of advice about how to

deal with it. It was another downer.

However, my very considerate Ear,

Nose and Throat specialist (Dr Ted

Beckenham) made the helpful sugges-

tion that I pursue an alternate career -

in audiology. The rest, as they say, “is

history”.

I set to, and worked my way through

my undergraduate degree with audiol-

ogy as my burning ambition. I was

“gonna show ‘em”! I found my under-

graduate years quite hard, particularly

socially. I didn’t say much. I learned

(long afterwards) that wearing two larg-

ish hearing aids made me look “very

deaf” and thus I was avoided due to a

fellow student’s (now friend of almost

30 years!) concern they may not be

Presentation of Libby Harricks Achieve-ment Award 2013. L to R—Ingrid Yeend, Richard Brading, Lyndal Carter, Emma Scanlan

15 Summer Edition

able to communicate with me verbally.

An esteemed colleague in the hearing

sciences also revealed (again, much

later) that he thought I was “weird” –

because of the way I looked so intently

when he was giving us a lecture. He

mustn’t have noticed my chubby ba-

bies! He found out later that I had a

hearing loss. Apparently he still thinks

I’m weird, “but knows why now”! Oh

well. Perhaps my hearing did cause

some social isolation? I don’t know. I

really was very shy and retiring in my

tender years. I realise some may find

this hard to believe. It has been more

recently said (by a fellow audiologist)

that I’d “go to the opening of an enve-

lope”- mmm very social. Invite me, I’ll

probably say yes!

However, I made it into to the post-

graduate audiology program at Mac-

quarie. The teaching staff and many of

the audiologists I encountered in my

training were very welcoming, helped

me “lighten up”, and helped me to de-

velop the confidence I needed to com-

municate effectively, particularly with

other people with hearing difficulties.

Unfortunately, I also encountered

strong negativity from other quarters.

Few audiologists (and no teachers!)

had hearing aids back then. I think that

maybe, as a hearing aid wearer, I chal-

lenged an invisible “us and them”

boundary. It seemed that everyone

had their opinion about what I should

do about my “problem”. I laugh about it

now, but to this day I am regularly

asked questions like, “what are you

wearing? Or “why don’t you wear this

(or that) ‘whizz bang’ hearing aid”? I

used to mainly wear only one hearing

aid, but now I always wear two, so at

least I no-longer get nagged about that.

In my student days I was introduced to

SHHH. My first visit to Hillview was

during ‘Deafness Awareness Week’ as

it was then known, probably in 1987.

Under Dr Jenny Rosen’s stern and

watchful eye we students screened the

hearing of unsuspecting locals. At the

recent AGM Charles Jones remem-

bered meeting me for the first time on

that occasion. Charles obviously has a

good memory – I hope our meeting was

memorable for the right reasons!

In January 1988, like my father before

me, I proudly joined the Australian Pub-

lic Service. My first “proper” job was at

the Sydney Hearing Centre which was

on the 9th floor at 175 Castlereagh

Street. It was a different time! Girlie

calendars were still de rigeur in the

male domains of the work area, and

smoking had only just been disallowed

on the job - the diehards hung out the

window for a ciggie (yes, you could

actually open the 9th floor windows)!

As new ‘recruits’ we tested the hearing

of many young children and fitted hear-

ing aids to older people. Home visits

were another regular activity, and work-

ing in the inner city some of these

house calls were a bit of an eye-opener

for the young and naive.

There were not so many country audi-

ology services in the 80’s, so we also

were rostered to ‘sojourn’ from the city

on a regular basis – to country towns all

over NSW. These country trips were a

lot of fun and a good way to meet other

audiologists, as you were paired up

with someone from another centre.

Dinner each night at the local RSL or

Bowlo was a given.

The hearing aids we fitted to most of

our adult clients back then were pretty

basic. Mostly they were exactly the

same behind-the-ear hearing aids I

wore myself. The wonderful, NAL de-

signed, Australian made, Calaid V. By

then, the Calaid had progressed from

the loud “peak clipping” I was first fitted

with to compression. I loved that aid!

A few people still wore the body level

aids – a box with a cord attaching the

aid to a chunky mould in the ear. Even

fewer people wore spectacle aids,

which were very bulky and always

seemed troublesome. The hearing aid

prescription for each client was worked

out using a cardboard slide rule. There

were NO computers! All the adjust-

ments were made to the controls inside

the aid using a little screwdriver. The

equipment we used to measure the

hearing aids recorded the results with

little texta pens with actual ink! Reports

were typed on a typewriter (by a cleri-

cal assistant) and there was a carbon

copy for the file. We had “minutes”

from our managers (no emails kids!).

The public service really did have red

tape.

While the equipment and hearing aids

may have been basic, the senior audi-

ologists provided a wonderful and com-

prehensive rehabilitation programs to

the clients - particularly those with se-

vere or profound hearing loss, or with

other disabilities. Programs included

rehabilitation group activities and regu-

lar communication training. As young

audiologists we were very fortunate

that we were encouraged to observe,

Sydney Hearing Centre Party at the Spanish Club 1990

L to R David Hartley, Lyndal and James Cantrill

assist, and then later learn these skills

from a team of very experienced senior

colleagues. There were also many

training courses in which we learned all

the skills we needed to broaden our

horizons. At the same time, I was com-

pleting my Masters Degree part-time. I

was fortunate to have tutors including

Denis Byrne and Geoff Plant, and Har-

vey Dillon supervised my first attempt

at hearing aid research.

At Sydney Hearing Centre in those

days, some clients were also seen for

worker’s compensation (for noise-

induced hearing loss). This involved an

opinion from an Ear, Nose and Throat

(ENT) specialist. Dr Albert (‘Bertie’)

Khan came to our centre every week

for these assessments. He was an un-

assuming man who arrived each time

in his white terry towelling hat. Dr Khan

was also very kind and patient, and

always very prepared to give informa-

tion and medical advice – including

reassurance about my own ‘condition’.

I remember that he kept some human

temporal bones (the ones that include

the cochlea) in the drawer which he

used to give an explanation!

After several years in Sydney, I worked

in a number of other centres in the met-

ropolitan area, mainly seeing adults

with more complex hearing needs, and

later doing some supervision of audiol-

ogy students. In the early 90’s I trans-

ferred to a permanent position at

Chatswood Hearing centre, where I

started to work with younger hearing

aid wearers. At that time, I visited the

St Gabriel’s school for hearing impaired

children every Tuesday which I still look

back on as one of the most rewarding

parts of my audiology life. I also went

to Wagga Wagga hearing centre on a

regular visiting schedule to see the

families down there. Children tell it

how it is – and I have found that there

is much to learn from them, and their

parents. At Chatswood, an integral

member of our paediatric team in-

centre, and another wealth of informa-

tion and experience, was our teacher-of

-the-deaf. For many years this was

Margaret Colebrook, who is still a pow-

erful advocate for young consumers

and is to be congratulated for her dedi-

cated striving for extended hearing

services for young adults.

Further down the track I found myself

“acting” for the Audiologist-in-Charge at

Chatswood. I must have been a good

actor because I eventually became the

full-time “Hearing Centre Manager”. It

was a big centre in those days. We

had around 14 audiologists on our

books (which, by the way, were actual

books). Eventually we got one com-

puter.

The demand for services was very high

and the work could be quite pressured,

but there was always a great sense of

cameradie and great support from our

leaders. Margaret Dewberry was my

direct supervisor and absolute rock for

the next nine years. The team spirit

existed not just within our own centre,

but in our hearing centre region, and

also with our professional colleagues in

broader community health. Our local

consumer groups were integral. For a

number of years a SHHH volunteer

visited clients at our centre on a regular

basis. We worked together, and we

celebrated together. I remember a very

enjoyable afternoon tea back in Archer

Street, to celebrate 50 years of Austra-

lian Hearing Services. Ah, the parties

in the good ol’ days….!

Towards the end of my time as man-

ager at Chatswood we moved to a

brand new centre- one block away in

Spring Street. The centre was opened

with due pomp and circumstance –

attended by the local member, mayor

and the managing director of Australian

Hearing, and of course, representatives

from our consumer groups. But in

2002, I moved on - to the National

Head Office of Australian Hearing in

Greville Street. While seconded to

work on a training and development

program for audiologists, one lunch

time I met up with Gitte Keidser who

lured me into the secret world of the

National Acoustic Laboratories (NAL) -

into the dark, cavernous depths of the

anechoic chambers, with little hope of

release. After a year on ‘probation’ at

NAL my fate was sealed and the move

became permanent. I spent the next

few years conducting various hearing

aid experiments (and being a guinea-

pig for a number of hearing aid experi-

ments myself!). All above board and

very ethical however- rest assured.

Who said you should never work with

children or animals? As I mentioned, I

think working with children is great and

I have continued to do so in my time at

NAL. After working with Gitte’s hearing

aid team I worked a while on a project

investigating the long-term outcomes of

babies with hearing loss. Following on

from that, the next several years really

did pass by virtually in the dark - re-

cording cortical evoked auditory poten-

tials (CAEPs) which are brain re-

sponses to sound – from babies and

young children. Many happy hours of

Wiggles and Teletubbies, blocks and

blowing bubbles. The best part of audi-

ology of course is playing with toys –

sometimes we even let the baby have a

turn. I did see some big people as well

as the smaller ones- Richard willingly

subjected himself to electrodes in these

experiments!! He didn’t watch Tellytub-

bies by the way.

Ad break: The CAEP experiments were

part of the development of HEARLab –

a portable machine that allow CAEPs

to be measured in babies and young

children wearing hearing aids. Even

the youngest babies fitted with hearing

aids in Australia can now have an as-

sessment of their hearing, while wear-

ing hearing aids, using HEARLab. I feel

very privileged to have had the chance

to help in this advance. HEARLab also

won a prize recently - for excellence in

innovation.

Animals? Well, only very briefly. I had

a delightful opportunity to provide some

information to a scientist studying the

hearing of seals. Apparently marine

mammals have hearing problems too.

The highlight was a trip to Taronga zoo

to meet the seals in person (?).

In 2009, I moved into NAL’s Hearing

Loss Prevention team. I’ve been run-

ning a study to find out whether loud

sound during recreational activities

(e.g., iPods/MP3s, rock concerts, motor

sports etc.) is really affecting the hear-

ing of young Australians. Five truly

dedicated audiologists tested, inter-

viewed and surveyed 1400 young peo-

ple in workplaces and schools. One of

the very first schools we visited was

Summer Edition 16

17 Summer Edition

Willyama High in Broken Hill. Retired

audiologists never really retire. Jenny

Rosen became an active supporter of

our project and came with me on the

first foray. What a great town. We

were initially attracted to it by the local

events- for example the legendary St

Patricks Day races - where I helped Dr

Rosen place her first bet. Actually, it

was the folk at the hearing resource

centre - Cath Bonness and Anne

Woods- that drew us out West- they

made wheels turn when we needed a

school to help us get started

and had trouble getting in the

door - strong women.

That brings my work story back

to the here and now- I’m still

working on that project. We’ve

extended the survey to find out

more about the hearing issues

and everyday leisure activities

of young people who wear

hearing aids or cochlear im-

plants.

Apart from my day job, I’ve

been involved in my profes-

sional association, the Audi-

ological Society of Australia

(ASA), and have had various

roles on the NSW committee of

the ASA. I’ve also done a bit

of time on the SHHH Board.

Many meetings. I think I have a

secret mark that says

“committee member” tattooed

right in the middle of my fore-

head. However, I do believe it

is important to be active, par-

ticularly in the workplace –

whatever it is. I have been a

workplace delegate representing other

staff for many years now. Not bad for a

shy girl.

Hobbies? According to a very dear 92

year old friend of mine - not enough

time spent on hobbies. I love music,

but looking back I let it go to some ex-

tent when I developed my hearing loss.

More recently, I have taken up singing

(only in groups!) which is a fantastic

community activity I would highly rec-

ommend. My hearing loss doesn’t

seem to be a barrier in enjoying this to

the full. I have been as far as Cuba,

and even had a television appearance

in my choral capacity. I haven’t actually

watched the episode in question but I

believe I have quite a prominent role in

a certain ABC comedy series- for a

second anyway.

My work forces me to think constantly

about hearing but these days I don’t

think about my own hearing loss all that

much. Apart from when my hearing

aids are mucking up, or like recently

when I managed to lose an earmould

out the window (was it a bird?). Maybe

that’s why I felt such a fraudster receiv-

ing the award? Over the years I have

met so many people who have faced

far greater challenges because of their

hearing loss than I have.

I’ve heard Richard talk in public about

the positive side of acquiring a hearing

loss. I truly agree with him there are

some definite pluses. My hearing loss

opened up the 25 years of working life

which I’ve now realised is hard to sum

up in a few paragraphs. From being

too nervous to make a single comment

in an undergraduate class, I have given

many public presentations – to doctors,

nurses, teachers, parents and, most

frightening of all, my peers in audiol-

ogy. I’ve travelled to some interesting

places and met interesting people. In

the last 25 years there have been in-

credible technological developments in

the hearing world, including the advent

of the cochlear implant- the very first

children were receiving cochlear im-

plants at about the same time I started

my working life. As NAL is co-located

with the local Australian Hearing paedi-

atric centre (formerly Greville St, now

Macquarie University) I’ve had the

pleasure of seeing young people that I’

ve worked with grow up, get

married, have children of

their own, and go on to

many different careers, in-

cluding becoming audiolo-

gists too. I’m also fortunate

to have be back at Uni now

- studying for a PhD.

This is preaching to the

choir, but there is still much

to be done. Hearing aids

help, but they can’t change

the behaviour or attitudes of

our communication part-

ners. I totally believe in self

-help, but at the end of the

day other people have to do

their bit. It is very frustrating

that there is still little atten-

tion to the acoustics of our

environment. Architects still

seem to think about the

visual, not the auditory ex-

perience.

In conclusion, I think my

own experience of disability,

and the experiences of oth-

ers that I have shared over

the years, have given me a broader

understanding of a lot of different things

everyone goes through - and the ways

we can manage. Not just hearing loss,

or other disabilities, but the challenges

of life in general.

Last, but not least, Audiology has given

me the most wonderful friendships –

the type you hope will last a lifetime. It

was one of my audiology classmates of

the class of ‘87 who nominated me for

the award by the way for which, I must

say again, I am honoured and very

grateful.

Reprinted with permission from The

Journal of SHHH Australia INC.

Illawarra Music Festival 2010

Summer Edition 18

Three of Amelia’s classmates from

Aurora joined her there this year, so

she’s been able to follow a group of

friends through the early stages of

school life. In this, we count ourselves

very lucky indeed.

Seeing my daughter’s growth in stature

and self in this class has filled me with

a happiness I did not dare wish for at

the start of the year. It is so clear to me

that she has found a soft, enriching

place to land while being challenged to

learn and play in novel and stimulating

ways.

At this school, deafness is the baseline,

the common denominator. It defines

what is the same about her peers, not

what is different. It requires no

explanation; it is simply understood and

catered for in every possible way.

Amelia is talking and signing so much

more every day and is fast outstripping

her mother’s knowledge of Auslan.

She’s even started correcting me when

I try to copy a new sign she brings

home with her at night. Cheeky little

blighter.

My girl will turn five in January next

year and I did not think that she would

be ready for school, any school, by this

age. The recent diagnosis of autism

didn’t knock us off a straight line

because we’ve never known one. It

merely confirmed to us that there is still

much work to be done.

I thought perhaps Amelia would repeat

another year of kinder, play it safe for a

bit and see what the following year

might bring. Being a January baby I

could have reassured myself that she

was entitled to an extra twelve months

of development under her belt.

But her marvellous kinder teachers

were having none of this overly

cautious, pessimistic stuff. It is their

strong belief, and I do have faith in their

opinion, that Amelia is ready to make

the leap to the big kids’ part of school.

It helps that our paediatrician and child

psychologist support this assessment

and agree that a bilingual school for

deaf children is the best place to ‘super

-charge’ her progress.

Although this decision made me a little

nervous, I couldn’t feel more supported

by all of the people who count. I soon

realised how low risk our choice was

while paving the way for so many

benefits and rewards.

I took a tour of the primary school and

current Prep class last week and

discovered it has four children with the

teaching shared by two people (one

deaf, one hearing). Not fourteen kids or

ten. FOUR.

I had heard that the numbers were

small but I had no idea just how

optimally low they would be. The

numbers are capped at eight, but five is

usually the highest number. Now that’s

a teacher-pupil ratio we can all live

with.

The school already has a number of

children who are both deaf and autistic

so there is plenty of built-in specialist

support on the spot and ready to go.

The primary school children have

weekly speech therapy sessions and

start to learn more formally about

deafness and Deaf Culture among the

other programs like art and sport and

music that make up the curriculum.

What this unique context means for

Amelia is that despite her less-than-

perfect start to life, at five she will be

able to go to school with a handful of

friends, one of whom she has known

since she was three. They are a tightly

bonded group and it’s thrilling to see

them advance together.

Money can’t buy the kind of confidence

and self-esteem that comes from

progressing with your peers from one

milestone to the next, no matter what

your individual challenges might be.

In a specialised setting like this, every

child gets a chance to grow and move

on and up.

If the next 12 months are principally

about taking stress off Amelia’s

shoulders and helping her to realise her

potential, then I couldn’t really think of a

more suitable place for her to be.

No mainstream school with all the best

intentions, good will and deaf-friendly

technology can give her the same

Amelia and Melinda

19 Summer Edition

g u a r a n t e e s o f s e c u r i t y a n d

personalised support, particularly at

this most crucial time.

I do not see this choice of a school for

the deaf as a compromise or as

something below par, as I might have

two years ago. We are choosing the

right school at the right time for our

daughter and her needs. Our family

feels incredibly fortunate to be able

send Amelia there.

If you’d asked me back in 2011 if

Amelia would be starting school in

2014 and where she would be going, I

would have answered, “I just don’t

know.” But here we are, with our

collective bags packed with books and

excitement, ready for school next year.

Prep is a happening thing.

So, I’ve opened my mind and my heart

a little bit more, just a touch, to let in

the dreams that Amelia’s ascension will

bring. She will stand on our porch in

her red and blue school uniform and

have her photo taken and maybe I’ll

surprise myself and be one of those

mums who cries on her first day.

Or maybe not. But who even cares?

Because my beautiful girl’s going to

school, and baby that is a wonderful

thing.

Further reading:

The brilliant Aussie Deaf Kids website

has an informative overview of the

types of schools available to families of

deaf children. The general section on

primary school is also a valuable one

for parents with children entering into

this stage of learning.

Reprinted with permission from Melinda

Hildebrandt

Amelia and her Dad

PODC’s Annual General Meeting was held on Sunday, 17 November.

Our Annual General Report is now available online at

http://www.podc.org.au/2012-2013-annual-report.html

The Management Committee was elected at the AGM for 2014.

Congratulations to Leonie Jackson - President, Leesa Cluff - Vice

President, Amanda Li - Treasurer, Mark Burfield - Secretary,

Anna Messariti, Sarah Klenbort and Julie Frendin.

If anyone is interested in a Committee position in the future, we would love to

hear from you. The organisation is run by parents for parents and we would

value your contribution.

Summer Edition

PODC is endorsed as a deductible gift recipient under the Income Tax

Assessment Act 1987.

All donations of $2.00 or more are tax deductible.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in Sound News are those of the

individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of

Parents of Deaf Children.

Sound News is produced by Parents of Deaf Children to inform and

educate families with a child who is deaf or hearing impaired.

Enquiries, comments and suggestions are welcome.

Note: We use the term ‘deaf’ to mean all types of deafness.

Parents of Deaf Children is proudly supported by the NSW

Government and Deaf Children Australia Parents of Deaf Children is

registered under the Charitable Fundraising Act 1991 (CFN 11530)

and incorporated under the Associations Incorporation Act, 1084

(Y08318-25).

Executive Committee

President Leonie Jackson

Vice President Leesa Cluff

Treasurer Amanda Li

Secretary Mark Burfield

Ordinary Committee Members

Anna Messariti

Sarah Klenbort

Julie Frendin

Our mission:

‘To empower parents in NSW to

support their children who are deaf or hearing

impaired in reaching their full potential through

information, support networks and

representation.’

www.podc.org.au

Block D, Dara House,

361-365 North Rocks Road,

North Rocks NSW 2151

PO Box 4748,

North Rocks NSW 2151

Phone: 9871 3049

email: info@podc.org.au

Website: www.podc.org.au

ABN: 47 618 685 904