Posted
3/11/2008
Oh! The sweet sound of success
By John Dixon
Columbia Star
The success of one six-year-old boy who has triumphed over all odds
was celebrated last month.
The South Carolina Speech and Hearing Association celebrated its 50th
Anniversary with a luncheon and gala at the Charleston Convention Center
February 21 and 22. William James Price, known to all who love him as
Jay, was named SCSHA Ambassador for 2008. Jay is the son of Scott and
Robin Price of Northeast Columbia. Jay and his family accepted the award
in front of a packed house of speech and hearing professionals.
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SCSHA names William James "Jay" Price Ambassador for 2008.
With him is his mother Robin Price. |
Dr. Cheryl Rogers, director of the Auditory Verbal Therapy Program at
the University of South Carolina Speech and Hearing Research Center
proudly introduced her protégé and his family and told her story.
Jay was first diagnosed shortly after birth through the First Sounds
Neonatal Hearing Screening Program and fit with bilateral hearing aids.
Rogers' voice broke slightly with emotion as she told the crowd of
first meeting Jay at the age of eight months when he began therapy using
hearing aids. She told of his hard work and slow progress, which
prompted a second hearing evaluation.
Sadly, Jay's hearing had continued to decline, and he was receiving
little to no benefit from his hearing aids. He had become a prime
cochlear implant candidate.
Jay received his implant shortly before his third birthday and
resumed therapy immediately after the initial stimulation. A few months
later, he became a student in the auditory learning partnership program
at Windsor Elementary in Northeast Columbia.
Jay continued in his church preschool program in the morning and
attended Windsor in the afternoon for the next two-and-a-half years.
Along with his parents and older sister Anna, he continued with auditory
verbal therapy sessions at the University of South Carolina.
Before long, all the hard work and team effort paid off. In the fall
of 2007, Jay entered mainstream kindergarten at Forest Lake Elementary
with his neighborhood peers. He receives minimal support from a teacher
of the hearing impaired and a speech language pathologist. His language,
cognitive skills, auditory development, and speech production are on par
with typically developing kindergartners.
Jay is typical in other ways, too. He loves music, creates awesome
artwork, plays baseball, and hunts pirate swag. As Jay charmed the crowd
Thursday afternoon with his smile and a few brief words, his father
Scott thanked the SCSHA board for the honor of representing them for
2008. He recognized the therapists, teachers, and audiologists who
contributed to Jay's success.
Rogers commented, "Jay Price is an excellent ambassador to our field
of speech and hearing. The progress he has made provides an example of
why many of us choose this profession." Hear Jay's story at
http://breeze.sc.edu/jaysworld2008.
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