NOW I CAN HEAR & SING!
The wee girl’ s implant is a game-changer
New schoolgirl Peyton SlatteryHoltz Semau races through the pages of her book, proudly snapping the cover shut when she’s finished and reaching for another title.
Surprisingly, the little word whiz, five, is reading at the level of a seven-year-old. Most impressive, though, is that the Auckland youngster was diagnosed as profoundly deaf when she was born.
With the help of cochlear implants, the avid reader is flying through her schooling and when she’s not busy soaking up stories, she’s singing at the top of her lungs at home.
“She’s a special kid and has
blown me away!” beams her mother Rochae Slattery-Holtz, 26, who was a young first-time mum when she was told her baby couldn’t even hear the roar of an aeroplane.
Peyton was 11 days overdue when she was born via an emergency Caesarean, with nurses asking three days later if Rochae wanted her daughter tested through New Zealand’s newborn hearing screening programme.
“I’d had enough of the hospital by then, but thankfully I said yes,” she admits.
When Rochae found out Peyton was deaf, she worried her precious girl might not thrive or would lack confidence among her peers. As the caring
older sister of Chanel, 24, who is severely disabled, Rochae was familiar with the social stigmas of disability.
“The hospital left me with a pile of information so I could decide whether to go down the sign-language or hearing route. I chose to get her hearing aids.”
At five months, Peyton received the devices, but it was determined they weren’t producing enough sound. In November 2013, she had cochlear implants and now has 70% hearing.
Rochae credits The Hearing House, an organisation that helps deaf children to hear and speak, for supporting Peyton with her learning and development.
“I had no idea about deafness when I approached them, but they made it seem like Peyton had the whole world at her feet,” she smiles. “They told me they’d get her hearing, speaking and singing, and now she’s not only advanced in reading, but in speaking too!”
Peyton’s grandfather Walton – Rochae’s father – passed on his love of reading to his energetic granddaughter, but he sadly died from pancreatic cancer a year ago.
“Peyton said her goal is to become a scientist because she wants to get rid of cancer and help her auntie Chanel walk,” says her proud mum. “She won’t let anyone deter her from what she wants!”