This is Sebastian, one of our favorite stories from the whole trip. His grandmother brought him to see us on the 1^st or 2^nd day of therapy and we almost didn’t see him because we already had so many kids lined up outside. Sebastian doesn’t have a cleft, but he is deaf. His family was concerned that he was not talking, and at about 9 years old he still wasn’t in school. Theresa and I began teaching him some signs we knew when we realized he was probably profoundly deaf. His eyes lit up and he quickly learned everything we showed him. His excitement brought tears to my eyes as I thought that this might have been the first time that was able to communicate with others in a way that made sense to him. He had never been exposed to sign language and he was so eager to learn more. At the end of the session his family asked about an operation for his tongue (a tongue clip), thinking that would solve his problem and allow him to talk. We had to explain that his tongue was fine, and that without the ability to hear, he would never speak like they did. It seemed like hard news for them to hear, and the grandmother told me the next day that her family cried over the realization. We were so concerned about what would become of Sebastian, because he had already gone so long with no language input. The only option was for him and his family to learn sign language. As luck would have it, Jose, our regional government guide, said he knew a local woman who knew sign language and had connections at the local special education schools who might be able to help. The next day she arrived and was able to explain again to the family (in much better Spanish than me!) that Sebastian needed sign language instruction in school and they offered adult classes as well for the family. We told his family that they should take him right away to be enrolled in this school, and that they could teach him more sign than we ever could. As far as we know, he is now in school and hopefully learning tons. Theresa and I would love to return in the future to visit the special education schools, and hopefully find that Sebastian is able to communicate with his friends and family.

Entered by Jocelyn Noble