The Sweet Sound of success

By John Dixon Columbia Star

The success of one six-year-old boy who has triumphed over all odds was celebrated last month.

The South Carolina Speech and Hearing Association celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a luncheon and gala at the Charleston Convention Center February 21 and 22. William James Price, known to all who love him as Jay, was named SCSHA Ambassador for 2008. Jay is the son of Scott and Robin Price of Northeast Columbia. Jay and his family accepted the award in front of a packed house of speech and hearing professionals.

Dr. Cheryl Rogers, director of the Auditory Verbal Therapy Program at the University of South Carolina Speech and Hearing Research Center proudly introduced her protégé and his family and told her story.

Jay was first diagnosed shortly after birth through the First Sounds Neonatal Hearing Screening Program and fit with bilateral hearing aids. Rogers' voice broke slightly with emotion as she told the crowd of first meeting Jay at the age of eight months when he began therapy using hearing aids. She told of his hard work and slow progress, which prompted a second hearing evaluation.

Sadly, Jay's hearing had continued to decline, and he was receiving little to no benefit from his hearing aids. He had become a prime cochlear implant candidate.

Jay received his implant shortly before his third birthday and resumed therapy immediately after the initial stimulation. A few months later, he became a student in the auditory learning partnership program at Windsor Elementary in Northeast Columbia.

Jay continued in his church preschool program in the morning and attended Windsor in the afternoon for the next two-and-a-half years. Along with his parents and older sister Anna, he continued with auditory verbal therapy sessions at the University of South Carolina.

Before long, all the hard work and team effort paid off. In the fall of 2007, Jay entered mainstream kindergarten at Forest Lake Elementary with his neighborhood peers. He receives minimal support from a teacher of the hearing impaired and a speech language pathologist. His language, cognitive skills, auditory development, and speech production are on par with typically developing kindergartners.

Jay is typical in other ways, too. He loves music, creates awesome artwork, plays baseball, and hunts pirate swag. As Jay charmed the crowd Thursday afternoon with his smile and a few brief words, his father Scott thanked the SCSHA board for the honor of representing them for 2008. He recognized the therapists, teachers, and audiologists who contributed to Jay's success.

Rogers commented, "Jay Price is an excellent ambassador to our fi eld of speech and hearing. The progress he has made provides an example of why many of us choose this profession." Hear Jay's story at http://breeze.sc.edu/jaysworld2008.