Listen Families’ Stories

When I was six years old, I lost my hearing after being hit in the head with a baseball bat while playing at recess.  The experience shaped much of my childhood and the Listen Foundation provided invaluable resources helping me and my family adjust to new realities.  Without the Listen Foundation, my family would not have been able to provide me with the auditory and verbal foundations that I have today. 

Twenty years ago, to give back, my family and I attempted to swim 21 miles across the English Channel to raise money for the Listen Foundation.  We battled the cold, 10-foot waves, and seasickness for over 7 hours, and we raised more than $150,000 for the Listen Foundation.

Now, twenty years later, I am chairing the 26^th annual Non-Event and “social distancing” fundraiser to raise money to provide therapy to children with hearing loss. The Listen Foundation provides auditory and verbal therapy teaching deaf and hard of hearing children how to listen and talk. We also provide family support services, school visits, professional development, and parent education.  

The Listen Foundation has been extremely fortunate during these past couple of months to be able to continue providing therapy services. Through tele-health, our capacity to deliver therapy through online video technology has been unchanged. In fact, the Listen Foundation has taken on more clients as local families were moved to a tele-health platform from the clinic setting due to social distancing guidelines. This ability to carry on, however, means that the Listen Foundation’s fundraising must be maintained to continue providing critical therapy services at the current level. To accomplish this, we need your help. 

This event has been successful in the past thanks to the generosity of our friends and community. This Non-Event does not require a tuxedo, a new dress, or a babysitter.  There are no long speeches.  

Just show your support by sending a check or donate online at www.listenfoundation.org.

Thank you in advance – again – any amount, big or small, makes a difference

Very truly yours,

   Spencer

Spencer J. Kontnik
Listen Foundation Board Member

Our son Henry is now a year old, and he was diagnosed with hearing loss as a newborn. When Henry was two months old, he was outfitted with hearing aids and started early intervention services. Earlier this year (2022), Henry received bilateral cochlear implants earlier when he was nine months old – the same age his mom Ashley was first diagnosed with hearing loss as a baby (his dad Ian has normal hearing). As Henry enters toddlerhood, he is responding beautifully to his wide world of sound and language, lighting up when his devices are turned on, learning to talk, and developing on track with his peers.

This year (2022) also marks the 30th anniversary of Ashley herself receiving a cochlear implant at age three. Ashley was one of the first young children in the country at that point to receive a cochlear implant (the old-school internal Nucleus 22 implant, for those familiar – which she still has today!), and her world opened even more with increased access to sound. She thrived with the help of auditory-verbal therapy, sign language, speech therapy, and family/community support.Her family lived overseas in Africa and Europe for over a decade, and she learned how to be independent while navigating different languages, accents, and cultures before returning stateside for her undergraduate and master’s degrees. Ashley has been able to build a fulfilling career as a healthcare technology marketing executive, lead teams, work remotely, and provide strategic consulting services without relying on significant accommodations.

Although Henry’s hearing loss took us by surprise because our family does not have a history of hearing loss prior to Ashley’s diagnosis, we have found ourselves in a unique position to support Henry and advocate for hearing loss and listening and spoken language worldwide because of our deep familiarity with hearing loss. Ashley’s parents (Henry’s grandparents, who have normal hearing) are able to tap into their own experience raising a child with hearing loss and navigating the very early days of cochlear implants. We are fortunate that our extended family has an understanding of what goes into helping little ones with hearing loss learn to listen, and you can find our multi-generational insights, stories, and advocacy on social media and a website dedicated to Henry via his nickname, Hankster (Instagram @HanksterHears and hanksterhears.com).

We are very grateful to the critical early intervention therapy support and resources provided by the Listen Foundation and for Henry to have the opportunity to receive cochlear implants at such a young age.
We invite you to show your support by sending a check or donating online at listenfoundation.org. Thank you in advance – any amount, big or small, makes a difference.

With gratitude,
Ashley, Ian, and Henry Roberts