I am a senior in the Communication Disorders department at Marshall University in Huntington, WV. I will graduate in May 2003 with a bachelor's degree. I hope to continue on to graduate school here in Huntington, and eventually work in early intervention or in the school system. I have three children and a husband who have been very patient and understanding about the amount of time involved in classwork and projects this semester.

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Amy Williams, M.A. CCC-A
Marshall University Speech and Hearing Center
Huntington, WV 25701

June 12, 2002

John and Andrea Fields
1492 Hummingbird Lane
Huntington, WV 25702

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Fields,

I would like to begin this letter by introducing myself to you. I am a certified Audiologist. I received undergraduate and graduate degrees in Audiology from the University of Arizona located in Tucson, Arizona in 1998. One of my final assigments in graduate school included a poem entitled Hearing.
I relocated to Huntington in 2000 to accept a position at the Marshall University Speech and Hearing Center. If you would like more information about me, feel free to visit my webliography.

The purpose of this letter is to inform you of your daughter's diagnosis and treatment options. As I told you June 7, 2002 when you brought your daughter in for evaluation, your daughter has a severe hearing loss binaurally, which means in both ears. A severe hearing loss is defined as a loss between 60 and 90 deciBels (Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, n.d.). Your daughter has a loss of 65 dB in her right ear and 70 dB in her left ear. Thank you for bringing a copy of the information you received after attending a Powerpoint Presentation given by a counselor in the area. I am glad this presentation gave you useful information regarding hearing loss, testing measures, and intervention (Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, n.d).

I strongly recommend that you have your daughter fitted for hearing aids as soon as you are able to. It is very important for her speech, language, and even cognitive development that she receive amplification as soon as possible. Studies have been performed that show that the earlier children receive amplification (hearing aids), the better their chances are for developing age appropriate speech and language skills (Schow & Nerbonne, 2002; Alpiner & McCarthy, 1987; Rosenthal, 2002).

I also recommend that you take advantage of early intervention services available in Huntington. These services will help maximize Lacey's abillity to learn speech and language skills and will monitor her progress (Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, n.d.). I am including a listing of early intervention service providers in this area for you to read through. I would be happy to recommend a qualified speech-language pathologist working from my office. Since you will be working closely with the Speech-Language Pathologist you choose, I encourage you to come into the office to meet with the four qualified practitioners affiliated with Marshall informally before you make any therapy decisions.

I appreciate the fact that you brought a copy of your journal entries related to the discovery that your child was unable to hear. As we discussed last week, one of the components of my job is to counsel parents (Schow & Nerbonne, 2002). I am better able to accomplish this if I am aware of the parent's feelings. I know you are very concerned with how your child will be able to communicate. I am enclosing a copy of a poem written in the voice of a small child with a hearing loss. I think this will help to give you an understanding of your child's loss.

I believe in a having a very open relationship with my clients and their families. I think the only way you can make informed decisions regarding your daughter's treatment is by knowing about and having access to all the information available. This is why I am enclosing a copy of the referral letter your pediatrician sent me.

I appreciate you choosing me to treat your child and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

Amy Williams, M.A. CCC-A

enc/BM

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Alpiner, J.G., & McCarthy, P.A. (1987). Rehabilitative Audiology: Children and Adults. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins.

Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. (n.d.). So your child has a hearing loss: Next steps for parents. Retrieved October 12, 2002, from http://www.agbell.org/information/brochures_parent_so.cfm

Gordon-Langbein, A. (n.d.). Facts about hearing loss in children. Retrieved October 12, 2002, from http:www.agbell.org/information/brochures_faq.cfm

Martin, F.N., & Clark, J.G. (2000). Introduction to Audiology. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Rosenthal, P. (2002). My child has a hearing loss...what next? Retrieved October 12, 2002, from http://www.hearingexchange.com/articles/mychild.htm

Schow, R.L., & Nerbonne, M.A. (2002). Introduction to Audiologic Rehabilitation. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

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