Meghan was born deaf. Her four brothers and two sisters, as well as her parents, are all hearing. When she was two and a half years old, her parents realized that she could not hear and, sought help. Today, Meghan is 32 years old, an independent computer expert, and the mother of two hearing children.

One out of every thousand people is born with a congenital hearing loss. The degree of the hearing loss is not always the same. Some people have some residual hearing, which allows them to hear loud sounds. Others have poor auditory acuity. The first will have a better chance for learning to speak with the help of the hearing aids, the intensive auditory training, and speech therapy. The second group will be more at risk to because they cannot hear sounds even with the help of hearing aids.

Early screening of deaf and hearing impaired children is of critical importance. It is absolutely essential to provide them the means to communicate with the world around them as soon as possible: it is essential for them to learn language. The majority the hearing children depend on hearing and speech to communicate with their peers. Certain deaf and hearing impaired children can learn their language, through signing so that they too can develop this ability to learn about the world around them and to communicate.

Whether the parents decide to choose sign language, speech signed English, or any other means of communication, it is crucial to expose the child to it as early as possible. In order for, the child have maximum exposure to language during the optimal language learning period (0-3 years). Following an early screening and choice of communication mode, a long process of rehabilitation is undertaken with the child, the family and those around him/her. Talk to an audiologist, the professional that deals with hearing disorders.