AEIOU News

Hear and Say Patrons Wally and Jamie Lee Lewis celebrate life changing moment for AEIOU Student Mitchell Myerson

Sun, 17 Jul 11

MEDIA RELEASE

July 2011

Hear and Say Patrons Wally and Jamie Lee Lewis celebrate life changing moment for AEIOU Student Mitchell Myerson  

Hear and Say Vice Patron Wally Lewis, his wife Jackie and daughter Jamie- Lee today made a special visit to AEIOU Foundation’s Nathan Centre to meet Mitchell Myerson who received a double cochlear implant in earlier in July.  

Mitchell, five, also has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and captured the attention of Jamie-Lee who graduated from the Centre in 1996, and also her father Wally who became Hear and Say’s Vice-Patron in 1997.

Mitchell has been attending AEIOU Foundation’s Nathan centre for around 18 months where he has been working hard to achieve many milestones that other children may take for granted. Access to sound will not only assist him with engaging with his environment and his education, it also means he can change the way he communicates with the most important people in his life – his parents and siblings.

AEIOU Foundation CEO Alan Smith said he was delighted with Mitchell’s progress at AEIOU and the Hear and Say Centre.  “We celebrate every milestone that the children in our centres achieve, and Mitchell’s story is absolutely incredible,” Mr Smith said.

“We were absolutely thrilled that the Lewis family could come to meet Mitchell and his family. This represents a genuine life changing moment, and it’s amazing for him to engage with Jamie Lee at the start of his journey, given her own experience with Hear and Say and the extraordinary things she has achieved in her life.”

Shelley Myerson, Mitchell’s mother says Mitchell is due to graduate from AEIOU at the end of the year, before he transitions to school.

“We did this so Mitchell could hear the sounds of life.  With his cochlear implants, now more than ever he understands that there is a world outside of his own world, which is huge for him. He’s more vocal and is better able to listen and pay attention to what’s going on around him.”

“When he was born, Mitch was profoundly deaf in one ear, and over time lost his hearing in his other ear.  AEIOU specialises in helping children with an ASD to develop new skills, but if you’re deaf it presents a new challenge because you can be totally disengaged from the people around you,” Mrs Myerson said.

“At AEIOU, his teachers went above and beyond with Mitch and learnt some sign language to better communicate with him, but being able to introduce sound to Mitch presents a whole new set of opportunities.”

When asked what the future holds for Mitch, Lynda Close, Mitch’s Auditory Therapist said, “Mitch is doing really well, and while we don’t yet know what to expect , his cochlear implants will provide him with the best hearing in both ears. With better access to sound,  Hear and Say and AEIOU can now work together to help him to reach his full potential.”

“Mitch will continue to have weekly lessons at Hear and Say and our immediate objective using targeted listening activities is to encourage him to learn to listen,” said Ms Close.

Mitchell will also continue to spend one day each week at AEIOU Foundation where he will maintain his early education and therapy program in conjunction with his activities at Hear and Say.

AEIOU Foundation is a Queensland-based charity that provides early intervention for children with autism who are aged two and a half to five years.  After opening its first centre in Brisbane in 2005, AEIOU now operates from nine locations across Queensland. 

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Media enquiries:

Laura Daley, Fundraising and Communications Coordinator, p: 3320 7555, e: laura.daley@aeiou.org.au

Deborah Hoey, Communications