ORGANIZATION SPOTLIGHT

The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (AG Bell) opens up doors for children and their families seeking options.

CHILDREN WHO ARE DEAF OR HARD OF HEARING CAN HEAR AND TALK

BY EMILIO ALONSO-MENDOZA, J.D., CFRE AND LISA A. GOLDSTEIN

In 2009, a few weeks after Marin Zocca was born, her mother Naticia noticed that she wasn't responding to sound or noises. When she laughed or giggled, it sounded nasal and different from other babies.

Naticia and her husband Michael spoke with a pediatrician and a number of doctors, all of whom told them not to worry - it was probably just fluid in her ears that would clear itself out.

Finally, they got an appointment at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta for an Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) test. There, they were told that Marin had severe to profound hearing loss and that hearing aids would never be sufficient for her to hear spoken language. After taking a few minutes by themselves to cry, the Zoccas asked as many questions as they could, because this was a whole new world.

"American Sign Language (ASL) was an option," Michael Zocca said. "But we didn't know it and were concerned about not being able to communicate with Marin, and her falling behind while we tried to learn it. We opted for cochlear implants, as we were told they would allow Marin to hear and speak.