<p>To me this answers the question. If she doesn’t care that much about it, then it probably should not be an essay topic. In addition, it seems as if the “overcoming adversity” is really more yours (OP) than hers. She was five and back in school by ten. You obviously did a great job homeschooling her, but that doesn’t appear to be her story. Lastly, you say that she is only mildly impaired now as a result of the surgeries. It seems like it was too far in the distant past (seven to eight years ago) to have much impact on an admissions reader today.</p>
<p>My daughter has significant hearing loss and uses cochlear implants to hear. (For those who may not know, once you have a cochlear implant you typically become completely deaf.) She overcame significant speech and language delays as a young child to become a successful student in a very competitive HS. We are planning to mention it in one of her essays, but to show all that she has achieved despite the difficulty. She has become an advocate for hearing loss awareness and participated in several projects that have reached thousands of people. In her case, it is an important part of who she is, but it has not gotten in her way and her essay will not have a “poor me” component. Any thoughts on this?</p>
<p>NY- I think that’s very appropriate because it’s obviously fueled her passion to be an advocate. Very relevant. That’s much different than just overcoming an obstacle and good for your D :)</p>
<p>Thanks for your input romani. She follows in her mother’s footsteps as I have cochlear implants too and have been an advocate since she was born. Very proud of her as she was late diagnosed and really did have a lot more to overcome than I ever did and she managed to make it look easy, though it was far from it.</p>
<p>If anyone has experiences with disability resource center’s they’d like to share, I am all ears! (Pun wholly intended.) ;)</p>
<p>Agree with Romani. She is passionate about it and wants to write about it. Her advocacy to this cause makes her unique. It’s more about what she is doing with all of this and how her involvement helps the college (kinda), more than merely her deafness. Did she go to a deaf school?</p>
<p>That’s terrific! I am very familiar with issues of hearing loss as I am a former teacher of the deaf. Interesting that I should read your post tonight. My middle son has a mild to moderate hearing loss in one ear and has now developed a mild loss in the other ear. We’re seeing a specialist in April. </p>
<p>Said son, a cellist, decided to pull out of the symphony this semester because he’s having a hard time hearing himself. He still might want to be a music major, but we’ll see what’s going on (hopefully) in April.</p>
<p>He’s faced probably a half dozen pretty severe obstacles to learning. If he makes it to college, that will be a great success story. He’s very smart but disabilities can be daunting when they are piled on top of each other. Still, he’s doing better now than he’s ever done before in terms of life, and that’s the best news of all for him.</p>
<p>My son’s hearing loss was diagnosed at 9 and the recent new hearing loss was just diagnosed. (He’s 15)</p>
<p>I agree that a condition that a student is living with through high school is an acceptable topic. Something that was corrected at age 5, not so much. </p>
<p>I think the one thing that people don’t understand about more severe hearing loss is how much you miss–word recognition, the sounds of birds chirping, someone blasting a horn behind you, etc. I just had to drop off my hearing aids to get them repaired–my old ones just are just not strong enough for my level of loss. It’s going to be a LONG, LONG 2 weeks.</p>
<p>sbjdorlo - She attended an oral deaf school for 2 preschool years and 1 kindergarten year. That is a huge story in itself as I relocated from NY to St. Louis with her and S1 when they were small. Hubby commuted on weekends for 3 years. She had a rapidly progressive hearing loss and getting her to learn expressive and receptive language was a race against the clock. She had her first cochlear implant at age 6 and her second a few years later. Best thing we could ever have done for her as she mainstreamed back in NY public school in 1st grade, able to speak on grade level and was ahead in both reading and math skills at that time. Very unusual for late diagnosed kids with progressive hearing loss as I’m sure you know as a former TOD.</p>
<p>Very sorry to hear about your son. Does he have hearing tests annually? Do you know if he has Enlarged Vestibular Acqueduct Syndrome (EVAS)? If you have any questions or need help, feel free to PM me. I have a lot of resources.</p>
<p>SteveMA- What is your level of hearing loss? Are you able to do well on the phone with your hearing aids? If you have any questions at all about cochlear implants, be sure to PM me. DD and I are both bilateral and DH just got one this past fall. That’s a lot of cochlear implants in one family! LOL Luckily, S1 and S2 both have normal hearing. Go figure.</p>
<p>I have about 70% loss with about 28% speech recognition in both ears. If it gets any worse they are talking Cochlear Implants. No known cause to my hearing loss–started when I was pregnant with our twins at age 29. I can’t use the phone. My home phone held up to my ear with the speaker phone on so I can hear it with both ears sort of works, sometimes. I hate the phone. My hearing aids are useless on the phone. They are supposed to be “compatible” but the problem no one seems to be able to figure out is that the microphones for the hearing aids aren’t were the sound comes out of the phone :D.</p>
<p>I rarely go out to dinner, etc. because it’s just not fun sitting there and nodding all night having no idea what anyone is saying…:D.</p>
<p>SteveMA - PLEASE PM me, you are definitely in the cochlear implant candidate range. At this point, you have everything to gain and nothing to lose. I know, I was in the exact same boat and I can offer you a wealth of info, resources, insight, even more than the average person with a cochlear implant! LOL You don’t need to wait for it to get worse, speech recognition is one of the tests they use. My hubby only had about 45% recognition (was considered borderline for candidacy) and he got one in October. Doing fabulously. I wish I had videotaped his expression when we were on a plane in Dec. and his eyes were incredulous as he looked at me and said, “I have never heard a captain on the speaker like that in my life.” Social situations are very tough when you can’t hear. It is hard to fake it - been there too! Hope to “hear” from you soon. :)</p>
<p>This is part of what makes her unique and I think it is very valid to share how she came to overcome it…persistence, hard work, overcoming what faculty said could not be done.
I would say if she can craft an essay about what she learned about herself, and how that has prepared her to face other challenges, and how she understands to support others who face challenges…
It could be a very poignant essay.</p>