Help Lauren raise money

I'm here today to tell you MY story and why I'm running the Falmouth Road race for the second time on behalf of Clarke Schools for Hearing and Speech.

I was diagnosed with a bilateral moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss at two and a half and fitted with hearing aids at 3. Things were VERY different 30 something years ago.  Before my parents got connected with Clarke, we were told by doctors my outlook wasn’t good, and I already had severe developmental delays.  The social worker was preparing my parents that I wouldn’t develop much speech or reading skills, and that I’d be lucky to meaningfully contribute to society.  It was implied I wouldn’t be successful in life, unlikely to attend college.  But my parents were one of the few lucky ones and they got connected with Clarke Schools very early on, shortly after I was diagnosed. And because of that, Clarke and my parents worked together with the same approaches done today to identify what resources I needed as a child to develop speech, determine my potential academically which ultimately led to the many accomplishments I have done despite all the challenges I had to overcome over the years.

Fast forward many many years. I begun my journey to have a family. My first born daughter, Hannah - born on August 14, 2013...I'll never forget that day. She failed that dreaded newborn hearing test. And at 6 weeks old, she was officially diagnosed with the same exact hearing loss as me. 

We immediately got connected with Clarke and Hannah was off to the races.

Today, Hannah is this smart, funny, althletic, and beautiful 8 year old 3rd grader. 

To say we could have done this without the support of Clarke is an understatement. Clarke has been a huge backbone of support, education and instrumental in helping Hannah be who she is today and who she will grow and become in the future.

Please reflect on my story and help me give back and support Clarke Schools to continue to help impact all the families who go through what I have and give their children the opportunity of a lifetime as they have been doing now since they were founded in 1857.

To learn more about Clarkes mission and how they help children who are deaf and hard of hearing - please visit www.clarkeschools.org