Hearing is believing: Helping children with complex communication needs
Every child deserves the chance to communicate. For children with complex communication needs, our Children’s Therapy Service plays a vital role in helping them do so. Two families supported by specialist speech and language therapy share the difference it has made to their lives.
Stanley Laughton-Zimmerman, two, from Coxheath, was born prematurely and has profound hearing loss, he received his cochlear implants in August last year.
Stanley’s arrival was unexpected and traumatic, explains mum Kelly, 43: “I was 27 weeks, but didn’t know I was pregnant. Being rushed to A&E with stomach pains, I discovered I was in labour. Stanley had to be resuscitated and taken to neonatal care.
“He weighed the same as a bag of sugar and spent three months in hospital. While my other four children had skin-to-skin, Stanley’s early days were about survival. He caught a nasty infection and there were tests, referrals and long waits."
Eventually, specialists confirmed Stanley had profound hearing loss, linked to the infection. "Of course, we were devastated,” Kelly, a stay-at-home-mum, said. “But from the word go, the NHS wrapped care around him.”
Ahead of Stanley’s cochlear implant surgery, Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Jo Levett and Specialist Teacher for Hearing Impairment Clare Taylor, worked closely with the family, focusing on early listening skills, signing and play.
“Stanley had been through so much,” Jo said. “Our aim was to build his confidence so he was ready for new sounds.”
Stanley’s implants were switched on last summer. “The audiologist beat a drum and Stanley turned and smiled,” Kelly said. “The whole room was crying.” Since then, Stanley has progressed quickly through listening programmes.
“When a child first hears through cochlear implants, even everyday noises are completely new,” Jo explained. “A dog barking, a zip opening – they must learn what those sounds are. Stanley’s first sound was a neighbour’s dog. He turned straight around to look.”
Kelly said the changes have been astonishing. “Stanley even said ‘dad’ when he saw my husband Rory recently. A light has switched on in his brain.” Jo added: “Stanley is confident and curious and ready to face the world hearing sounds.”
Finley's story
Finley Magee, now three, from East Malling, was born with profound hearing loss and received bilateral cochlear implants at 15 months.
“When specialists told us Finley had profound hearing loss, we felt lost,” said mum Natalie, 37, a veterinary nurse. “As first-time parents, we didn’t know what it would mean for his future. I wish I could go back and show myself what life looks like now, because there was never anything to be afraid of. Today, we are a hopeful, happy family and a huge part of that is down to the support we’ve had.”
Not long after the diagnosis, Natalie, and Finley’s dad, Sean, began learning British Sign Language, supported by Specialist Speech and Language Therapist Jo Levett and Specialist Teacher for Hearing Impairment Clare Taylor, who works for Kent County Council. “They reassured us every step of the way,” Natalie said. “Finley could sign so well from a young age.”
Jo explained that early communication is crucial: “Before cochlear implants, we focus on building strong communication foundations through signing and play. That gives children confidence and helps families feel connected with their child right from the start.” When the time came to plan Finley’s cochlear implant surgery, Jo supported the family through their worries and helped prepare Finley for a world with sound.
“With cochlear implants, children don’t suddenly hear,” Jo said. “The normal hearing mechanism is bypassed, so the brain must be taught how to interpret sound. We start quietly, through play, helping the child simply detect sound at first. It’s all about making that sensation feel safe.”
Finley has made remarkable progress since his cochlear implant surgery. “Every week he’s doing something new,” Natalie said. “He’s using sentences, has learnt his alphabet and attends mainstream preschool.”
Jo visits the family at home regularly, using play-based activities to build Finley’s listening and spoken language skills. She said “We work where children are
comfortable, using toys and everyday sounds. Parents don’t need specialist equipment, just confidence.”
“She turns everything into a game,” Natalie added. “Finley just thinks he’s playing, but he’s learning all the time. She also reassures us as parents, you don’t always know you’re doing a good job when you’re in the moment.”
Small moments have become milestones. “Their cat Pablo has a bell on his collar,” Jo said. “If Finley hears it, we show him where the sound is coming from so his brain starts to link sound with meaning.”
“The first time he said, ‘I love you’ was so special,” said Natalie. “All of us were just welling up with tears.” Today, Finley is a happy, confident three year-old. Natalie reflected: “When people learn about his hearing, they often say ‘I’m sorry’, but there’s nothing to be sorry about. My son is happy, healthy and with all the support around him, nothing can stop him.”
"Finley just thinks he’s playing, but he’s learning all the time. She also reassures us as parents, you don’t always know you’re doing a good job when you’re in the moment."
Speech and language therapy provides treatment, support and care for children and young people who have difficulties with communication, or with eating, drinking and swallowing.
"Our young patients have never heard sound before," Jo Levett, Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, explains what makes her role so unique.
“Hearing through a cochlear implant is different from natural hearing. The wearer must train their brain to recognise entirely new sensations as sound. “What makes us so specialist is that we are working with children who have never heard sound before and have no spoken language at all. “Because this process cannot be explained to them, therapy must be gentle, gradual and playful. It can be overwhelming for families, so supporting parents is vital.”
