Past Graduates

Lewis aged 12

By Lewis's mum Angela

Lewis and his Headmaster - Ray Ogilvie

When he was six months old, Lewis was diagnosed with severe/profound hearing loss. After the initial shock and time spent researching our options, we decided to enrol him at The Shepherd Centre. Lewis was soon fitted with two hearing aids and began to make excellent progress straight away.

When he was two years old The Shepherd Centre recommended that Lewis would benefit from a Cochlear Implant. After a number of assessments; Lewis was fitted with a Cochlear Implant. Once the implant was 'switched-on' he began to make remarkable progress. We continued to visit The Shepherd Centre twice a week for Auditory Verbal Therapy (AVT) and teaching sessions and once a week to join other children and families at playgroup.

By the age of four, Lewis’s spoken language skills had developed tremendously, so we began to reduce our sessions at The Shepherd Centre to one per week. Meanwhile we continued to use every opportunity in our day-to-day lives to help Lewis continue to learn to listen and speak.

When Lewis was five he was ready to leave The Shepherd Centre and start at his local school - Seaforth Public School, the very same school that his Dad went to! It was an emotional time but Lewis couldn't wait to get started at school and began to grasp every opportunity he was given. By the time Lewis moved to the primary school he had earned a place in the Extension Class for Gifted and Talented Students.

Last year when Lewis was twelve we hit a stumbling block when Lewis rejected his remaining hearing-aid. After consultation with The Shepherd Centre it was decided that he should have Bilateral Cochlear Implants (two implants) and Lewis was enrolled on The Shepherd Centre’s First Sounds Cochlear Implant Program.

Three months later, Lewis's hearing had almost reached the level of his original Cochlear Implant. He started to notice new sounds such as being able to hear his soccer coach from the sideline for the first time. Lewis's level of hearing further improved and his confidence soared.  We were so proud when Lewis was made a Vice-Captain of his school. As part of his role as Vice-Captain, Lewis spoke at the school's Presentation Night in December. School staff and other parents commented on how confidently and eloquently Lewis had spoken. We were thrilled when during Presentation Night, Seaforth Principal; Mr. Ray Ogilvie, presented Lewis with The Social Justice Award. This was awarded to Lewis for being a great scholar, sportsman and social contributor. We were proud to hear the Principal's words about Lewis when he presented the award.

"I am presenting this award to an amazing young gentleman who is in year 6… [Lewis] goes out of his way always to assist other people, to encourage other people, to make other people feel good and part of our school."

At the end of the year Lewis also received an award for Academic Excellence and at Presentation Night he was the recipient of the school's 2008 Cricket Award.

As Lewis moves on to High School this year, we are looking forward to seeing what Lewis achieves next. I hope that families at The Shepherd Centre today feel encouraged and motivated by our story and that supporters of The Shepherd Centre feel inspired by the difference they are making.