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Bailey Vincent Clark, 23, a mother of two, recently discovered she is hearing impaired. While pregnant, she and her husband of almost 5 years, had to refinance their home just to pay for the hearing aids she needs in both ears.
So when her now-5-month-old daughter, Follin Marie Clark, began to show signs of being hard of hearing, she and her family were concerned.
Follin wasn't responding when her sister made loud noises. She didn't make even basic baby sounds for more than 5 minutes a day, said her mother as the teething infant sat in her lap chewing on her own fingers.
"Now, when she laughs she will sort of mime, 'Ahhaha,' but no sound comes out. She does what she sees but doesn't realize she is supposed to make a sound," Clark said, tossing her head back while imitating her daughter. "We just thought she was the most chill baby ever. She still is. I think it is also part of her personality."
Clark didn't know where to turn. Information on help is hard to come by and everything related to her almost-deaf child is going to be costly. Her mother suggested she call the Virginia School for the Deaf and the Blind. What she found was the program she needed to help walk through the process of helping her daughter existed — five years ago.
But because of a loss of state money and mix up in which VSDB was funding the program for infants when they are technically only allowed to serve 2-year-olds to age 21, led to the closure of the Parent/Infant Outreach Program.
Now, the school is trying to obtain funding to allow them to create an even better program, modeled after one in Maryland which sends both a deaf and hearing person to the family's homes to help teach them about coping with the myriad of issues they will face, including having to learn sign language, paying for hearing aids, which will have to be continuously replaced, and schooling.
Much to her surprise, Casey Morehouse, a VSDB employee who used to be the sole person responsible for the outreach program, decided to meet with Bailey Vincent Clark on her own time. Armed with books, videos, lists of Web sites and a deep knowledge of the subject, Morehouse answered every question Bailey Vincent Clark had.
"She acted like she had all the time in the world when I knew she didn't," said Bailey Vincent Clark said. "I can only imagine what the actual program would be like." Bailey Vincent Clark now understands the work she has ahead of her. She knows where to go to find funding help. Her daughter will most likely get hearing aids within the next few weeks instead of delaying her ability to learn to hear, speak or process information by months, if not years, Bailey Vincent Clark said. Starting out as a new family, having a husband who is in the process of changing careers and the economy have made the financial aspect of dealing with the situation daunting, she said.
"So much happens each month with their development at this age," said Bailey Vincent Clark. There is so much help out there that I just didn't know about."
Bailey Vincent Clark is so passionate about the issue now that she said she will attend hearings if and when local politicians begin to petition for funding.
Nancy Armstrong, superintendent of VSDB, said it would take about $75,000 annually to get the program up and running. Services were previously provided for residents from Winchester to Rockbridge.
"She's just one example of a family who doesn't know where to go for help for a very young child," Armstrong said. (by newsleader.com)
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