Brennden's Story

Brennden's parents enrolled him at CID when he was just 5 months old, immediately after his hospital audiologist diagnosed a moderate to severe hearing impairment. Once a week, they drove almost an hour and a half from their rural Missouri home town to the CID Joanne Parrish Knight Family Center. There, a teacher/parent counselor coached them on helping their son develop speech and language skills.

When Brennden turned 2, with a lot of help from grandma, his parents managed to get him to CID every day for his nursery class. When he turned 3, he enrolled in the pre-k. Two years later, in May of 2008, Brennden became one of CID's youngest graduates at age 5. He did well in regular kindergarten with his age mates, and now he is a thriving first grader in his neighborhood elementary school.

Brennden is an excellent student and eager to learn. At his school, he works successfully in reading classes a grade level above most of his fellow classmates. His mom, Stephanie, calls him "a confident, smart little man."

"CID has a lot to do with the person he has become," she said.

Brennden loves playing soccer. He has a strong interest in spiders and recently added planets to his list of favorite things. He  said he wants to be an astronomer when he grows up.

"CID saved us," Stephanie said. "We didn't know what to do when we first found out Bren couldn't hear. They helped give him the tools he needs to be totally successful. My family could never thank the teachers, audiologists and staff at CID enough for all of their hard work. ...

"The thing that always amazed me about CID is the vested interest each employee takes in each child. Every child is Number One. I've never been anywhere else like that."