Documentary on how sound can be made available to deaf children

The New York Times’s Personal Health column recently ran an article about this new documentary and its creator, audiology consultant Jane R. Madell. Madell worked with film-maker Irene Taylor Brodsky to develop the clip.

According to Madell, who is passionate about bringing hearing to as many children as possible, “Children identified with hearing loss at birth and fitted with technology in the first weeks of life blend in so well with everyone else that people don’t realize there are so many deaf children.”

Madell says that 85% of children born deaf or hard-of-hearing successfully join mainstream schooling. She believes that parents need to know that listening and spoken language are a possibility for these children. The documentary tells the stories of a number of people who have seen their lives change thanks to hearing technology.

Some of the people who contributed to the documentary, all of whom grew up deaf or severely hearing-impaired, include Dr. Elizabeth Bonagura (obstetrician-gynecologist and surgeon), Jake Spinowitz (musician), Joanna Lippert, (medical social worker), and Amy Pollick (psychologist). All of the people interviewed started out with hearing aids that helped them learn to speak and understand spoken language.

Source: The New York Times