See and HEAR the proof...
How beautiful are the voices of those who value sound?
Since 1959, hundreds of children have graduated from MOSD and have become productive citizens in our community. Their journeys are the proof of investing in early intervention.
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Mitch
Mitch was born with profound hearing loss in both ears, and received bilateral cochlear implants just after his first birthday in 2010. He first attended speech therapy sessions at Memphis Oral School for the Deaf in May of that same year, where his hearing with the new implants was estimated to be that of someone with only mild hearing loss.
Mitch made great progress during his time in speech therapy, and one year later he moved on to MOSD preschool. Mitch continued to excel in class, meeting speech and hearing benchmarks appropriate for his age all throughout his three years at our school. He graduated in May of 2013, and successfully entered kindergarten alongside and on the same level as his hearing peers.
Now a Freshman at Christian Brothers High School, Mitch is able to speak and hear completely independently. He and his family remain very close to MOSD, and Mitch has recently spearheaded multiple fundraising initiatives for our organization. For last year’s SpeakEasy auction, Mitch personally visited local businesses in the Germantown area to collect dozens of gift cards, which he combined into a “gift card tree” to place in the auction. The tree was a huge success, and sold for over $3,000. The item is planned to be a yearly fixture at SpeakEasy from this point onward, and has been dubbed “Mitch’s Tree”.
Mitch also took it upon himself later in the year to organize an “out-of-uniform day” at his school. Students paid to wear casual clothing on a designated Friday, and all funds raised were donated to MOSD. In September, he presented MOSD with a check for $2,000 collected from the fundraiser at the MOSD's annual golf tournament. All told, Mitch was single-handedly responsible for raising over $5,000 for MOSD in 2022.
We are enormously grateful for the support of Mitch and his family, and the hard work they put forth to ensure children can continue to experience the world of sound through MOSD. We’re also extremely proud of him for his growth both in his hearing loss journey and in life, and can’t wait to see what his future has in store. From all of us at Memphis Oral School for the Deaf: thank you, Mitch!
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Aurice
Aurice was diagnosed at 8 weeks old with hearing loss and received hearing aids at 3 months old. Like many other students, Aurice had a progressive hearing loss, making her a candidate for cochlear implants. With the help of her audiologist, teachers and therapists at MOSD, she learned language and was able to mainstream into Immaculate Conception Cathedral School. Reading is her favorite subject. She plays piano, soccer, basketball, ballet, and she is working on her yellow belt in Taekwondo. She loves Star Wars and Pokémon. Aurice is able to talk just like her hearing peers, equipping her for an independent life.
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Abbey
Abbey was born profoundly deaf and received one cochlear implant at age 2. Early intervention, audiological services, and therapy at MOSD prepared Abbey to mainstream into her local kindergarten program. Abbey stopped receiving speech therapy by 2nd grade because her clarity of speech was parallel to that of her hearing peers. She graduated from high school in May 2016 and is now enrolled in the Shackhols Honors College at Mississippi State University. She has received a full scholarship from the Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program and is majoring in elementary education.
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Brantley
Brantley attended MOSD in the early 90s when audiological technology was beginning to advance and improve. Even with having just one cochlear implant, specialized teachers and therapists helped him learn language. He was able to mainstream into Bartlett Elementary with no need for sign language. He attended University of Memphis and was active in the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc and Alpha Kappa Psi business professional fraternity. He is a songwriter, comedian, and currently works at the Army Management Staff Colllege. "I found my way to be one of a kind."
ARE YOU AN ALUM?
We want to hear from you! The development team at MOSD is working on connecting with our alumni, so if you are an alum we would love for you reach out to us. Please complete this form and send it to info@mosdkids.org. Thank you!!