The
purpose of our family's web site is to help share our journey with a
profoundly deaf child trying to make it in a hearing world. Our daughter Laney
Jane was born in October 1998 in Valdosta, GA. Three months later we found out
she was profoundly deaf in both ears. The worst part of our ordeal was the
unknown. We needed information to help develop a plan, so that is our
purpose
with this website. We hope to document from our first thoughts and fears to each
milestone Laney reaches. We hope to share our experiences so that other families
facing similar situations will become more informed in order to make the best
decisions possible for their child. We, by no means, profess to be authorities
or experts...just parents who are trying to make the best decisions possible for
their child and who want to share the experience with other parents.
We have chosen for Laney to receive a cochlear implant and to use the Auditory-Verbal therapy approach. Laney received her first MED-EL© cochlear implant on May 16, 2000 and her second on December 5, 2006. Laney was enrolled at The Auditory-Verbal Center of Atlanta, Inc. in 1998 until her graduation in May 2006. We strongly believe in the auditory-verbal approach and strongly encourage it, but that is for each parent to decide. We think the results we have obtained show that a cochlear implant and auditory-verbal therapy can give some deaf children the ability to listen, speak and achieve, like a normal hearing child.
Currently,
Laney is nine years old and has had her first implant about seven years. She is
progressing extremely well (click
here to hear Laney). Her comprehension and verbal skills are increasing
daily. At times we forget how far Laney has come because our life and
interaction with Laney has become as if she was a normal hearing child. I
guess that is a true testament of the effectiveness to the implant and
auditory-verbal therapy. Check out the library of audio clips to hear Laney's
speech progression...it truly overwhelms us to hear how far she has come in such
a short time.
Please browse our site if you are interested in finding out more. Sign our guest book if you would like to be notified when we update the website. If you ever have any questions please do not hesitate to e-mail us. We will be happy to help in any way possible.
Sincerely,
Lane, Tina, Sydney, Sam and Laney Anderson
