To gain access to sound, most Clarke students use cochlear implants, which bypass damaged portions of the ear and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. However, for five-year-old Jorden Flowers, who was born without auditory nerves, cochlea and ear canals, a cochlear implant was impossible.
Olivia’s deafness was discovered when she was two-years-old. Olivia was a bright and social child but could not speak, and for a while her family did not know what was wrong. Initial test results were inconclusive, but eventually Olivia was diagnosed as profoundly deaf and received a cochlear...
James Barden of Huntington, Massachusetts lost his hearing at 13 ½ months after a near-fatal battle with pneumococcal meningitis. Despite his positive recovery from the illness, he quickly became frustrated with his lack of ability to communicate. “He became an angry little kid who would...
Uma Gokhale Soman, born in Pune, India, graduated from the Smith College/Clarke Graduate Program in Teacher Education in 2003, but her first teaching role model was her mother. Uma’s mother trained to be a teacher of the deaf after Uma’s younger sister was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss.
Eva DeLeo still tears up when she talks about her two-and-a-half year old daughter Bella.
Julia’s hearing loss was diagnosed just before her second birthday, and she had received a cochlear implant by her third. Julia’s mother Elena considered several educational options for Julia, but after visiting Clarke’s Boston campus, the decision was easy.
