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Success Story
Meet Dean Schiltz, a shining star!
Dean Schiltz is currently an active fourth grader at Cossitt School in LaGrange.
Dean Schiltz was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss at the age of 2 and a half in 1999. He received a Clarion cochlear implant 6 months later. Dean started at Child's Voice in June of 1999 in Rollen's class. Over the next four years, he was in Elsa's class, Heather Droz's class, Carrie's class and Heather's class again. He remembers his time at Child's Voice as fun and he fondly recalls going bowling with classmates on a field trip. Dean enjoys coming back to Child's Voice to visit the teachers. He also likes going to the Carnival each Spring.
In 2003,Dean mainstreamed into 1st grade at Cossitt School in LaGrange. Now in his fourth year in the mainstream, Dean is in 4th grade and he has become very involved in activities at school. He participates in the school's Math Club.Dean enjoys reading and he took part in the Battle of the Books this year.
Battle of the Books is a competition where teams of students read Caldecott Books and meet as teams to answer questions about the books. This activity was also a great way for Dean to practice his reading comprehension skills.
Dean is also very active in sports.He participates on a swim team and he also played basketball this winter. Dean plays baseball on a team that his Dad, Peter, coaches. Dean is looking forward to going to a weeklong sports camp in Dubuque, Iowa this summer. Dean and his parents are thankful for the individualized attention he received at Child's Voice, and how thoroughly he was prepared for mainstreaming. He feels especially confident in his reading and writing abilities, which help him be more successful in his classroom.
Congratulations to Dean for his successful transition to the mainstream!
2006
Meet Caitlin Kamradt ... a Shining Star!
Caitlin Kamradt, 10, is doing well in the fourth grade at Manor Hill Elementary in Lombard, Illinois – which is "right up the hill" from her house, according to her mother, Cindy. The family moved there this past year, and Cindy reports that Caitlin has had to work hard this year to keep up with the higher-level curriculum. Caitlin loves reading and math, and excels at spelling.
At home, Caitlin enjoys her sister Haley, 8, and her brother Connor, 6. All three children attend Manor Hill together. In her spare time, Caitlin rides her bike, roller skates, swims and plays with the neighborhood kids. Now that her grades are up, Cindy says she will again be on a basketball team.
At age 9 months, Cindy and husband Mike started to have doubts about Caitlin's hearing. At age one, they had her tested. Caitlin wore hearing aids up to age 2 and a half, when she received her implant at Children's Memorial. The family was referred to Child's Voice, where Caitlin began attending in 1999 until her graduation in May of 2003. Caitlin loves coming back for visits to see former teachers Mr.Rollen, Mrs.Wendy, Mrs.Elsa, Ms.Carrie and Mrs.Jeanette.
When asked how Child's Voice has influenced Caitlin, Cindy says, "Child's Voice not only gave her the auditory and verbal skills she needed to excel in the mainstream, but the confidence in herself to succeed in anything she puts her mind to. For our family, Child's Voice was the light at the end of the tunnel. When you find out your child is deaf, you feel very alone because a lot of people don’t know what you’re going through. Child's Voice made everything OK, they understood. They gave us the support we needed at a very difficult time in our lives. To us, they were, and continue to be, family."
Congratulations to Caitlin for successfully making the adjustment to a new school this year, and for setting a great example as one of our shining stars!
2005
Meet Emma Salvino ... a Shining Star!
Emma Salvino is beginning her fifth grade year fully mainstreamed at Roosevelt Middle School in River Forest, where her favorite subject is Math. At home, she and her younger brother Peter have a dog named Ginger, as well as a hamster. Emma takes third year private piano lessons, plays soccer, and enjoys quilting, knitting and crocheting.
According to her parents, Mary and Martin Salvino, Emma keeps busy not only with her home activities and academics, but with the Cross Country team every day after school. She also plays the cello in Roosevelt's intermediate orchestra. Mary says that since the cello is a vibratory instrument, Emma has learned to "feel" for perfect pitch, and her sense of rhythm has earned a "great job" from her music instructor. This achievement was an emotional moment for Mary, one that dispelled some concerns about seeing her daughter participate in a music program.
Emma was diagnosed with hearing loss at the age of 8 months, and she was fitted with hearing aids. In January 2000, at age 5, Emma joined Ms. Wendy's class at Child's Voice. That February, she received her cochlear implant, and Child's Voice staff worked closely with the family to ensure a good adjustment until her graduation in June 2002. When asked how Child's Voice has affected her family, Mary replied that the school "gave us hope that Emma can do anything", and "instilled the confidence in her to advocate for herself, to go out and succeed".
Congratulations to Emma for accomplishing so much since graduating from Child's Voice – it's clear that she's off to a great start in middle school!
2004
Meet Paige Ashworth ... a Shining Star!
Tim and Jenny Ashworth suspected that their daughter, Paige, had a hearing loss when she was just nine months old. Paige had been hospitalized when she was three months old with a severe immune deficiency and may have suffered auditory nerve damage from administered medication. Within a few months after Jenny and Tim's initial suspicion, Paige's hearing loss was confirmed. Paige received a cochlear implant when she was just two years old and began to receive speech and language therapy.
Paige was three years old when her parents enrolled her at Child's Voice. While at Child's Voice, Paige excelled and the teachers truly enjoyed watching her succeed. Paige recalls her favorite Child's Voice memory is Ms. Jan helping her make delicious chocolate brownies. Paige attended for four years and graduated in May 2001; she mainstreamed into first grade at her local neighborhood school in Joliet. Paige's family recently moved to Morris, Illinois and she now is in third grade at White Oak Elementary. Paige reports her favorite school subjects are English and Art. She is a very creative writer and participates in gymnastics and Girl Scouts.
Jenny states, "Without a doubt Child's Voice has set the foundation for how well Paige succeeds academically and socially…. Needless to say, Paige's speech is awesome and continues to impress teachers and adults who meet her." Jenny fondly remembers her first visit to Child's Voice and how impressed she was with the children's language and the dedication of the staff. "We will be forever grateful to the staff at Child's Voice."
Congratulations to Paige and her family for the great example she's setting as one of our Child's Voice alumni!
2003
Meet Mitch Olsen ... a Shining Star!
Mitch Olsen is one of our very first children to attend Child's Voice in 1996. Mitch was identified with a hearing loss very young, only three months old. After a few weeks of extreme heartache, his parents, Mary and Dean Olsen took action. Mitch was immediately fitted with hearing aids and his parents began to explore various communication options. At the age of two, Mitch received a cochlear implant and began to receive more intensive speech therapy. Today, at age nine, Mitch enjoys baseball, teasing his little brother and playing video games.
Mitch attended Child's Voice from the age three until he graduated at age six in 1999. Mitch mainstreamed into his local elementary school in kindergarten. He attends Rockland School in Libertyville and will go into fourth grade in the fall. Mitch's favorite school subject is English, because he loves to read! His parents feel that Child's Voice instilled in him the joy of reading and that he was the only kindergartner who was a fluent reader when he started at Rockland.
Mary Olsen shares, "When I saw Child's Voice for the first time, I knew instantly this is what I was looking for and could not believe it existed. I had struggled for three years to find the right environment for Mitch." Mitch's favorite memory is of his friends in Miss Carrie's classroom: Lindsay, Kevin, David and Daniel. He also says he loved all of his teachers, even the ones who made him work so hard!
Mitch holds the honor of being published in a new book, Bridge to Sound with a Bionic Ear, by Cynthia Farley. Congratulations to Mitch and his family for the great example you’re setting as one of our Child's Voice alumni!