Reece’s story

Read Reece's story

"Reece is our second child, born full term and healthy in September 2019. Although he passed his newborn hearing screening, we became aware of his hearing loss at 12 months when he had not developed speech as expected for that age. Due to COVID-related delays, it took another six months for him to be diagnosed with a bilateral profound hearing loss. He was then quickly assessed and approved for cochlear implants, and switch-on came at 2½ years old.

"With Reece turning four and about to start school in the autumn, we felt this would be the perfect time to attend The Elizabeth Foundation’s Summer Programme. We had heard countless positive stories of others’ experiences, so it was no surprise that we decided to attend.

"On our first day, Reece and his seven-year old brother Kaiden settled quickly and were happily playing as we said goodbye and headed to the parents’ room. Reece attended the preschool nursery with three other deaf children. The class was structured to enable the children to sit for up to 40-minutes of circle time. They played games, sang songs and engaged in lots of other age-appropriate activities. On the last day, parents could observe the children through a two-way mirror, and we were amazed to see how much all the children participated and how much fun they were having.

"Each day, while Reece attended the nursery, Kaiden participated in the sibling programme. He particularly enjoyed cake decorating, making pizza and learning to skip with a skipping rope.

"Throughout the week Reece underwent assessments by an Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapist and a Teacher of the Deaf. We received separate written reports from each of the professionals a couple of weeks after the programme had finished. These were incredibly detailed and have been accepted by our local authority for Reece’s EHCP.

"Parents were provided with a schedule for the week and daily presentations. We met various professionals who provided us with information on how best to support our children. It was hard to choose our favourites, as every speaker gave invaluable information and all were highly engaging. The standout moments included meeting the inspiring young deaf adults who were so kind in answering all our questions, as well as the parents of deaf children who shared their invaluable advice.

"We returned home with a folder full of resources. I love these resources – I’m often looking at it to refresh my memory or get ideas of things to work on. It’s like having a comfort blanket or secret weapon which will undoubtedly help us in Reece’s journey to listen, speak and develop educationally.

"Our time at the Summer Programme was incredibly enriching, and it’s astonishing how much they pack into five days. It’s truly an exceptional place – the staff are fantastic and we all enjoyed our week immensely, wishing it could have lasted forever. We left feeling positive about the future and empowered to take on this next chapter as a family."