About Bolesta
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For those unfamiliar with our mission, it is easy to sum up in one simple sentence: we teach children who are deaf and hard of hearing to use spoken language to communicate. And that usually means beautiful spoken language- clear, fluid, and intelligible.
Almost 50 years ago, our founder, Mrs. Denney Bolesta, had a vision. She began teaching children who were deaf and hard of hearing to speak instead of using sign language or lip reading to communicate.
She would be so proud of our kids today. Because of her pioneering belief that all deaf children can learn to use spoken language, coupled with the advent of technology like the cochlear implants and digital hearing aids we are seeing today, our kids are achieving unparalleled success.
But why is this important?
Because approximately 95% of children born deaf are born to hearing and speaking parents with no history of deafness in their families. It’s a disability that strikes with no warning and no reason. These parents won’t know how to communicate with their child if their child doesn’t learn their own native language.
Our kids go to school with their hearing peers, get accepted into the colleges of their choice, play sports, listen to music, read at advanced levels, and do all the same things as their hearing peers.
But we must approach this with a sense of urgency. The earlier we can identify these kids and start them on an aggressive path of habilitation, the more likely we’ll see incredible outcomes. Every single day matters.
We need to reach into our community, find these kids, and get them started before it’s too late. We need to work with school districts to help make sure these kids pass the same state educational standards as their hearing peers. We need to train like professionals so we can touch even more children. And we need to support parents, by helping them to grieve . . . then by giving them hope.
These are all the things we are proud to do at Bolesta.
And, we turn no family away based on their ability to pay. We don’t believe that a child’s opportunity to learn language should rest on something as tenuous as ability to pay. We are grateful to our wonderfully generous community partners for believing that also.
