Let’s Talk About Late-Identified Hearing Loss in Childhood
Join us for a special Back-to-School Parent Chat on August 20!
Not all childhood hearing loss is present at birth. In her recent advocacy project and published book, Late to the Party: Extraordinary Stories of Hope After Late-Identified Hearing Loss, parent advocate and author Valerie James Abbott beautifully narrates sixteen true stories of families with children whose hearing loss was identified after newborn screening when safeguards failed, risk factors were missed, and parent concerns were dismissed. Drawing from her own daughter’s late diagnosis, Valerie’s motivation has been focused in recent years on helping reduce developmental delays and negative academic outcomes for tomorrow’s children, and meeting the emotional needs of their families through various collaborations and projects.
In this Parent Chat, Valerie will share her family’s story and her path to advocacy, and lead a conversation on navigating the uncomfortable and unknown during the journey, finding support that works, and speaking up confidently and successfully with medical professionals.
By exploring the insights shared in this parent advocate forum, caregivers will gain the tools to:
- Recognize Subtle Behavioral Milestones: Look beyond newborn screening results to identify red flags, such as a toddler relying on lip-reading, missing language milestones (like colors or numbers), or exhibiting unexplained social-emotional changes.
- Hold Space for Yourself and Others: A late diagnosis of hearing loss can occur for many reasons. Understand the natural feelings of guilt, panic, worry, or anger that may accompany a late diagnosis. Replace isolation with the reassurance that caregivers are not alone and can lean on a massive, supportive community.
- Advocate Proactively Across Professional Systems: Gain confidence in small steps, speaking up when concerns are dismissed by medical professionals, demanding thorough pediatric audiological evaluations rather than accepting assumptions.
Parent Chats are designed and intended for parents/family members; we kindly ask that only parents/family members attend.
Featured Guest Speaker
Valerie James Abbott is a parent advocate, author, and awareness ambassador for early childhood hearing loss. In addition to founding the national Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness Campaign with Justin Osmond, CEO/Founder of the Olive Osmond Hearing Fund, she is also co-founder of the ListenUp! Preschool Hearing Health Outreach Initiative, Virginia’s largest, free early childhood hearing screening program offered by the Lions Clubs of Virginia.
