Malakai's Story

In May 2010, Malakai, a confident and social 7-year-old, graduated from CID ready to attend his neighborhood elementary school in the fall. 

Malakai was born 3-1/2 months premature to a young single mother. Prospects were bleak, but the little guy beat the odds and survived. Then, a year later, he was diagnosed with severe to profound deafness in both ears. He could hear only the very loudest sounds, like jet planes and jackhammers.

Malakai came to CID when he was 2 years old. Our audiologists fit him with hearing aids and our teachers began weekly home visits. Thanks to the commitment of his mom and grandmother, he never missed a day of preschool. He received a cochlear implant at age 3 and, with daily speech, language and auditory training, he began to show significant progress.

At CID, Malakai received intensive attention from a team of experts who make learning fun and engaging. He is one of hundreds of deaf children from all walks of life given the rare opportunity to learn to express themselves using speech and spoken language.