In her inspiring and uplifting address, Lee Woodruff recalled how six years before Bob’s traumatic brain injury in Iraq, she and Bob faced a seemingly overwhelming challenge when one of their twin daughters, Nora was diagnosed with hearing loss. Reading passages from her book released this month, Perfectly Imperfect, A Life in Progress, Lee revealed her deeply personal reflections, tracing the initial heartbreak of her daughter’s diagnosis, to acceptance and appreciation of Nora’s potential disability as a different ability. Through early intervention services like the Lake Drive School’s Sound Start Program in Mountain Lakes, Nora learned to hear and speak. Lee also shared how speech and languages services were critical to Bob’s miraculous recovery. It was his daughter Nora who gave him the inspiration and courage to relearn to communicate.
Today, Nora’s “gift of gab” is an especially meaningful gift. Lee proudly shared that Nora is “jabbering all the time and leads a complete life, has lots of friends, plays soccer and wears hot pink hearing aids.”
Serving as Gala Honorary Chairs were nine year old activist, Grace Gleba, and her mother Jeanine. Grace was instrumental in the passage of a “Grace’s Law” in New Jersey requiring health insurers to provide coverage for medically-necessary hearing aids for children 15 years of age and younger. Grace made frequent trips to Trenton to convince legislators that hearing aids are not a luxury, but rather the first step in treating hearing loss and assuring the opportunity to learn to hear, speak, and communicate.
Jeanine Gleba told the audience, “As Grace’s mother, I believe that my daughter and all children should have the gift of sound, and that is why I am so proud to be Honorary Chair with Grace tonight. I understand the triumphs and tribulations of being a parent of a child who has a hearing loss.” She continued by adding, “Grace and I are the voice for the voiceless because without hearing aids, these children won’t be able to hear and won’t have a voice.”
Sitting side by side with Nora Woodruff, Grace was described by her mother as also having the “gift of gab.” Grace proved the point when she stepped up on a stool, barely reaching the mike at the podium and said, “I am very happy to be here to help these babies. Kids have a lot to say and sometimes it is important even if you don’t want to hear all about SpongeBob and Hannah Montana. I know they can learn to talk, because I did. I want them to know that you can do anything if you put your mind to it.”
Lake Drive School elementary students continued the theme with their performance of Neil Diamond’s We’re Headed for the Future. The evening also featured a silent and live auction with trips, jewelry and other items. New Leaf Floral Design of Boonton donated elegant spring centerpieces. Additional sponsors included The Daily Record, The Marine Law Enforcement Foundation, Russell and Stephanie Deyo, Ed and Dr. Laura McKirdy, Gallo Wines of NJ, Tri Plex Business Products, and Adams Addressing.
More babies are born with hearing loss than any other congenital health problem in the United States. “It is critical for these babies to receive amplification and therapy during the first three years of life to develop speech and language skills vital for learning,” according to Lake Drive Foundation president Stephanie Deyo. With proper amplification and Sound Start Early Intervention Services, even babies who are deaf can now acquire normal communications skills by the time they are five. “At Lake Drive, we are able to watch many of our Sound Start babies grow up and graduate high school.” says Deyo, “It is rewarding to see firsthand the wonderful results of this program.”
Sound Start serves babies in 12 counties throughout Northern and Central New Jersey. It operates under the auspices of The Lake Drive Program for Children who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing, New Jersey’s most comprehensive continuum of educational opportunities for children with hearing loss from birth through high school graduation.
Despite extensive research supporting the benefits of early intervention for children with hearing loss, state funding covers only a portion of the comprehensive Sound Start services. The Mission of The Lake Drive Foundation is to support the identification, evaluation, therapeutic intervention and education of hearing impaired and communication impaired infants, toddlers and children. The Lake Drive Foundation is a grass roots not for profit 501 (C) 3 established by community leaders in 1996 to seek funding and build an endowment for The Sound Start.
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