Ayano's story
Ayano was born on May 30, 1991. She was a healthy girl weighing 3014 grams. She was our first child and we were having a wonderful time enjoying everything she brought to our lives.
Around the time she started to walk, I noticed that she wouldn’t turn around when I called her name; what if she couldn’t hear? Although my husband and parents convinced me that there was nothing to worry about and that Ayano could hear, I couldn’t help becoming more and more anxious.
I visited otorhinolaryngologists and university hospitals, but I was told not to worry too much, since Ayano could pronounce a popular cartoon character’s name.
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When she turned 18 months, we were introduced to the Children’s Hospital, where she took the ABR test. The results showed that she had hearing loss in both ears which scored about 100 dB! Although I knew she was deaf, I kept blaming myself for her deafness. What if she couldn’t make friends? I decided to do everything I could to help her by providing the best education and opportunities for her. Ayano began wearing a hearing aid at 20 months. I was glad that she could finally hear sounds, but there was a new issue to worry about: she refused to wear it. Whenever I put it on, she immediately took it off. It was the same story every day. While I was desperately looking for a solution, I had a fortunate opportunity to attend a teacher’s lecture. He also had a child with hearing loss and I really wanted him to help Ayano. |
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With assistance from my husband’s company, my dream came true within three months. For the three years before Ayano’s attended elementary school, we were able to get training through the school in Waseda, Tokyo.
We attended a class once a week and spent the rest of the week with family. In class, I learned how to work with Ayano in a fun way and also taught her new words. When she was having fun, she would concentrate on my facial expression and mouth. During these fun sessions, she eventually acquired her vocabulary. I was so grateful to see her writing down new words and enjoying the process of progress.
When Ayano turned four years old, she went to a local nursery school with her younger sister. Teachers there always considered how to communicate with Ayano. In addition, her skill in lip reading helped her learn songs and words and she often taught me stories from school.
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While she was doing well in school, she still didn’t like wearing a hearing aid very much and she seldom wore it. When she was in the 2nd grade, I bought her a digital hearing aid, as I heard it would give her better hearing. But it ended up being left in a drawer. As a mother, I wanted her to hear all sounds to make the most of her remaining hearing. However, in spite of my hope, she insisted that the hearing aid was useless and simply too noisy for her. One day, I received a DigiFocus II Super Power brochure from Oticon. I decided to try one last time; if she refused, I would give up. Amazingly, after she tested it, she happily told me that this hearing aid was working! Tears welled up in my eyes and I was so thankful. We often got into arguments over whether or not she should wear a hearing aid; I was about to give up trying to convince her to wear a hearing aid. |
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Because we wanted her to have friends in the neighbourhood, we decided to send her to a nearby elementary school. She had six wonderful years in kindergarten surrounded by many friends and grew up a cheerful and talkative girl.
Ayano loves playing sports and is currently taking swimming lessons and gymnastics. She began studying harder on her own when she started 5th grade.
She watches TV with subtitles, but she tells me that she can understand what they are saying. She can also hear the sound of a recorder, so I’m hopeful she can sing with her friends some day.
Ayano will be going to junior high very soon. As she grows up, I realize that is important for her to have friends in similar circumstances. She needs to adapt to her handicap and accept herself.
With a lot of people’s help and kindness, Ayano was able to spend her childhood full of love. I can never thank them enough. Ayano is a very lucky girl, filled with joy.
Ayano, I am so glad that you are my daughter and we are part of a happy family. I look forward to watching you grow into a nice young lady.
Fusae Yamamoto – Japan
