Heuser Hearing & Language Academy has grown from serving three students during our first year in 1948 to supporting more than 150 children and their families every year. Our success is only measured by the achievements of the children we serve. We know there is no better reward than seeing a child graduate from our program and continue to accomplish new things. We work hard to build relationships with the children and families who turn to Heuser for help with a hearing, speech or processing delay or disorder to foster a lifetime of achievement, acceptance and courage.
Please take the time to get to know some of our students featured on this page to gain a firsthand look at how Heuser Hearing & Language Academy impacts lives throughout the communities we serve.
Eliza’s Story
When people ask about HHLA, I usually tell them that it’s magical. If they want the elevator version, I tell them that my child started with a speech delay and now no longer has one. That alone is incredible. But there isn’t sufficient language to describe a place that began as our last hope and became our daughter’s happy place. Many children with ADHD and speech delays dread school, but our daughter adores HHLA. Once we took her out of school for spring break a day early, she was so upset with us. “They’re doing school without me!” she lamented. There are not enough words to describe the gift it is to have a child who loves school and to be so loved by those teachers in return.
The teachers at HHLA are amazing. They loved our daughter on her most difficult days. Days that other schools would’ve said, “I’m sorry your child is not a good fit.” But HHLA said, “How can we be a better fit for your daughter?” That first year, Ms. Laura pivoted and pivoted and pivoted. She and the other teachers kept us updated and responded to hard days with humor and grace. They see our sweet girl, truly see her, and they love her. They figured out what made her tick and rewarded her with extra music time, which she adored. She came home telling us about making music with the Louisville orchestra and dancing with the Louisville ballet. She got to experience being a Girl Scout and using her speech skills to sell cookies. By her second year, Ms. Brittany knew how to challenge and encourage her, and she fell in love with writing.
As a parent, I cannot express the gift it is to not feel worried about dropping my daughter off at school. We happily drive an hour round trip twice a day for the peace that is knowing she is learning, making good friends and in the best possible hands. Before HHLA, other children frequently called her a baby due to her small stature and speech delay. Now, she looks them in the face and says, “I am not a baby. I am Eliza!” HHLA gave her the words for social interactions that she didn’t have before, and the practice among sweet friends and highly engaged teachers.
So, yes, HHLA is magical. I never imagined a school where the teachers would be fighting for the best for my child as hard as I was. A school that set up our daughter for future academic success because she believes that school is amazing and that she can learn whatever she puts her mind to. There truly are no words for the gift that is HHLA. I don’t want to imagine where we would be had we not found them. We will forever be grateful for the love, advocacy and knowledge the teachers and administrators of HHLA gave to our daughter. So, maybe by magical I mean life-changing.
– Katie, Eliza’s mom
Addie’s Story
Our sweet Adaline (Addie) Ruth Blair was born on July 30, 2019. Around four months old, we noticed that she was not meeting milestones as she should have been. When she was about ten months old, she started First Steps for global developmental delay and speech language impairment; with them, she received speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy. We thought she might have hearing loss because she would not always respond to sounds and her name, as well as delayed speech, but her hearing was normal.
One of my (Chelsea) close friends’ sons attended Heuser Hearing and Language Academy and told me about the preschool program.
I remember taking her to Heuser for an evaluation with Debbie and Sydney. They were so amazing, and I knew that this was the place for her if she were accepted. By the end of that week, Sydney called to let me know that Addie was accepted and would be in her class. It worked out perfectly because her big brother also started preschool at a new school that year.
Addie started at Heuser, speaking only a few words and using very limited sign language. Every teacher and staff member has greatly impacted Addie’s life and education. Heuser has been Addie’s (and our!) second home for the last three years. They have helped her become the best version of herself and the best big sister! They were a huge support when Addie’s baby sister was born!
Addie Ruth has blossomed at Heuser through the way speech and language have been a huge part of the curriculum. The teachers and staff use speech, sign language and of course, the art of dancing and music, which have especially helped Addie gain her voice.
Addie is a smart, strong-willed and independent five-year-old who started at Heuser with only about ten words, and she is graduating to speaking four-word sentences!
Thanks to Heuser, Addie has made so much progress and is thriving. We are forever grateful to them for all they have done to transform Addie’s (and our) life into what it is today. I do not doubt that Heuser has had a great impact on her life.
Thank you,
Chelsea, Jason, Asher, Addie and Abigail Blair
Legacy’s Story
My beautiful daughter, Legacy, was born on December 15, 2018. Because I had hearing loss, I knew this was something Legacy might share. Our journey with Heuser began at the Heuser Hearing Institute as an infant when she failed her first hearing test. She was diagnosed with bilateral hearing loss and referred to First Steps.
Although Legacy loved her hearing aids, her speech and language did not improve. This changed in January 2021, when she enrolled in Heuser Hearing & Language Academy. In her two years at Heuser, she has gone from one or two-syllable words to now being able to communicate in complete sentences.
Legacy thrives in music therapy. The loving way the teacher guides her makes me feel secure, knowing each day she spends at Heuser is meaningful and filled with joy. Legacy has also grown tremendously in her socialization with peers and teachers as she thrives in this environment. She is truly a social butterfly!
Not only does Legacy receive audiology care from Heuser, but so do I! I lost my hearing at age two and know how vital quality audiology care is! I am proud to say that WE ARE A HEUSER FAMILY!
Recently, Legacy has started speech therapy at Heuser as well. Audiology, preschool and speech are all a part of what she receives daily at the Academy. Thanks to Heuser, we can communicate as mother and daughter. This gift is priceless.
Tristosha, Legacy’s mom
Addison’s Story
Just over 5 years ago, I was holding a perfect newborn baby girl in my arms and being told that she had “failed” her newborn hearing screening. I was overcome with sadness and fear for our gorgeous baby who was born to a life with so many beautiful sounds to offer, yet she was living in her own silent world. This was going to be a new journey where life would be tough, and we would be alone… or so we thought.
As time would pass and we would find more resources and learn more about our child, the future slowly became brighter. Addison was immediately enrolled in a therapy program where she made a lot of progress, but at 3 she had aged out of the program and moved on to Heuser Hearing & Language Academy. We knew from the very first visit that this was home… it was where she was meant to be! She had the privilege of attending Heuser for 2 years, and it became her home away from home, our extended family. She immediately found her groove and fit right in.
The teachers were more like bonus moms who would nurture her and care for her as if she was their own, and I couldn’t be more thankful for each and every one of them. I gave them a baby girl wrapped tightly in her cocoon, who was barely 3 and wearing diapers (it’s not exactly easy potty training a deaf child). Her speaking mainly consisted of some basic signs, a very limited vocabulary and the ability to throw a fit like you could only imagine when she didn’t know how else to express her anger or disappointment.
At the end of this school year, they gave me back a butterfly with the biggest most beautiful wings, ready to fly away from all she has ever known and take on this world. They gave me a child who just last week asked us “can you hear the birds singing?” They gave me a child with a passion for music, who loves to sing and couldn’t be more confident in her ability to do so. These are things I thought were merely my dreams for her… things I didn’t realize would one day become her reality.
Addison was beyond ready, but I was not. Unfortunately, Heuser is only a preschool, and Addison is a big girl now. It’s time for her to move on to kindergarten as any other child her age would. We will embrace this change and see her through it, but Heuser will always be our home. It’s where teachers change lives and lifelong friends are made.
Pete’s Story
When Pete was three years old he had no verbal communication. The only word he could say was “uh.” His pediatrician felt he was not talking because he had two older sisters and they were doing all the talking for him. He had been with First Steps and they too had no information other than Pete was “severely speech delayed.” My husband and I knew there was much more.
In our quest to help our son, we stumbled upon Heuser. Although this was a school for the hearing impaired, we found that they could help us—and they did as soon as we stepped in the door. The staff knew that Pete was speech apraxic, and they knew that with intense therapy he could communicate and mainstream into society. Heuser held our hand and lead us.
Heuser’s program was intense and trying for Pete, but it was successful! With the help of the school, speech therapy, and occupational therapy, it was a winning team.
Pete left Heuser and went on to mainstream in a “normal” class. He is currently a second grade student at St. Francis of Assisi, where he excels in both academics and athletics. He even tells me that he wants to be a scientist! If you had told me that five years ago, I would have never believed you! Heuser is truly life changing!
Kaelyn’s Story
To describe HHLA in one word, I would use “family.” A family is what I considered HHLA during my daughter’s two-and-a-half years there. Merriam-Webster gives the meaning of family as: “a basic social unit consisting of parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not.” I consider everyone associated with HHLA as part of this family, and a big family it is. This family consists of parents, children, teachers, aids, therapists, audiologists, doctors, nurses, directors, secretaries, administrative staff, board members, donors, and janitors—and the list goes on.
All of these individuals make HHLA the success that it is. So how has this family changed my daughter’s life? Kaelyn was diagnosed with deafness at age two, and at age three she received her first cochlear implant.
When she started at HHLA, she was just about to turn four years old, so her speech was behind other kids her age. The family at HHLA worked so hard with her over the next two-and-a-half years on her speech. It seems so surreal to think that during that first year we were so excited on her saying a sentence with three words in it. After two-and-a-half years with HHLA, where is Kaelyn now? She is now in second grade at Simpsonville Elementary doing grad-level work. She still requires speech therapy, but it is now limited to one hour a week in a group setting. For the past two years, she has been in the choir at our church and loves to sing. She may not be the next American Idol, but her singing is a beautiful sound to me.
Thank you HHLA for helping my little girl sing.
RJ’s Story
My son, Rick (RJ) Upton Jr., was diagnosed with mild to moderate bilateral hearing loss at the age of two. RJ failed his hearing test at the hospital, but when we took him for a follow-up test, it came back fine. For two years we thought RJ could hear us, but when he didn’t start talking by the age of two, we knew something was wrong. We were told to contact Haley Godby, an audiologist at University Audiology Associates (UAA). Haley told us RJ would have to undergo an auditory brainstem response (ABR) test at Norton Children’s Hospital. Haley told us that we would know the results that same day; we were nervous but also eager to find out if something was wrong with his hearing. We went to have the ABR test completed and when it was finished, Haley came out and told us RJ could not hear. We were also told he would need hearing aids in both ears. Of course we were emotionally upset because we knew our lives would change, and RJ would have to get used to wearing hearing aids at such a young age.
We started to fear the worst about RJ getting made fun of at school. That was far away at that point, but worries started to flood our minds. Haley was already able to take molds for his hearing aids since he was sedated for the ABR test, so we scheduled an appointment to go pick them up. When we went and Haley put the hearing aids in, the look on his face was priceless. RJ had no idea what was going on, but we knew he could hear us. We went home that day nervous about replacing batteries and cleaning the hearing aids, but we knew that we could do it.
We were notified of the First Steps program and to be accepted into the program, we had to meet with Cheryl Donaldson, Speech-Language Pathologist. Cheryl came to our home and performed the Five Area Assessment/evaluation so that RJ could be accepted into the First Steps Program and we could utilize their services. After being accepted, we were set up with an appointment with Kathy Wood, Coordinator, to come over and talk to us. Kathy is such a wonderful person and helped us out tremendously! We met with her a couple of times to process paperwork and decided on a speech therapist to meet with RJ once a week at daycare and once a month at our home. Paula Carby, teacher for the hearing impaired, was such a blessing to us and helped RJ meet all the goals we had set forth. Paula worked at Heuser and told us after completing First Steps (because it only goes to age three), RJ would be a wonderful candidate to attend the Heuser Hearing & Language Academy. A meeting was set up, and RJ was accepted into the school. We were told of the Heuser Hearing Institute that is right next door to the school, and we could select an audiologist there, which would be very convenient for RJ. We met with Angie Buckingham at the Heuser Hearing Institute; she checked his hearing aids, and we gave her all the information regarding what has occurred since RJ was diagnosed. We were very excited for RJ to start at Heuser and be around so many individuals who were specialized to teach and interact with the hearing impaired.
RJ started in the three-year-old program and had Fran Moore as his teacher. We loved Fran! She worked with RJ and helped him develop his language skills. She is so sweet, kind and caring; she loved every student and did everything she could to help them. RJ was lucky enough to have her as his four-year-old teacher as well. By kindergarten, RJ’s progress was unbelievable! Nikki Sipe was RJ’s kindergarten teacher; she was strict but also very kind to all of her students and cared so much for each and every one of them. Nikki would communicate with me on a daily basis, and I knew if I had a question, she would respond that same day. I would recommend Heuser to anyone who has a deaf/hard of hearing child. All the staff at Heuser was so wonderful and was always willing to help any way they could. Heuser cared for every single kid, and they were our second family for three years. They opened their arms to RJ, and we are forever grateful for the opportunity for him to have attended the Heuser Hearing & Language Academy.
—Ricky & Stefanie Upton
William’s Story
When I was born in 1991, hospitals were not yet required to do hearing screens for newborns, so my parents didn’t discover I was deaf until I was about 18 months old. They were quick to find Louisville Deaf Oral School (now known as Heuser Hearing & Language Academy), and I was enrolled in early intervention services. It was during my time at LDOS that I received my first cochlear implant in 1995. This procedure and my development at LDOS went hand in hand, with the speech and language pathology (thank you, Cheryl Donaldson!) being crucial to my being prepared for kindergarten at a public school where I would be the only deaf student. I continued to receive audiology services after my time at LDOS (thank you, Dr. Mary Burton and Dr. Katie Austin). During my kindergarten year at LDOS in 1996 and 1997, I went to LDOS in the mornings and then to my elementary school in the afternoons. For me, it was a smooth transition to a mainstream public school.
I have very fond memories of my time at LDOS, from forming great friendships with kids going through a similar life experience as me to the many fun and educational programs the teachers prepared specifically for our needs. My favorite was the music programming, which my late grandmother helped with as a volunteer. My appreciation for music and hearing began at LDOS, and for that, I’m forever grateful.
After LDOS, I attended JCPS schools (Dunn, Meyzeek, duPont Manual), and I then went on to Centre College, where I studied History and Political Economics. I now live in Pewee Valley with my wife, Kacie, and our growing family. We have a two-year-old daughter, Hudson, and another baby girl on the way this May. I work at Farm Credit Mid-America in credit underwriting.
LDOS was a special time for me and established a solid foundation for my life. It was the biggest blessing my parents could’ve asked for when they realized I was deaf. They truly had no idea what life would be like for and with me. As a parent, I want the best for my children. For my parents, LDOS was that for me.
My best,
William Frentz
Class of 1997
Call Heuser Hearing Institute at (502) 636-2084 for more information about Heuser Hearing & Language Academy.