photo by Helen R. Hammond

Shown from left, camper Patrick Snow, audiologist Meredith Edgerton, camper Joe Mae Swayngim, James B. Edwards oral teacher Page Warner, camper Max Jolly and cochlear implant coordinator Abby Connell take a break from camp activities. Camp Communication is geared for children wearing hearing implants.

photo by Helen R. Hammond

From left campers Kolby Flowers, Chase Orvin, Taylor Koozer and Thomas Skinner work together to compile what one would take to the beach at MUSC's camp Communication.

photo by Helen R. Hammond

MUSC speech and language pathologist Nevitte Morris chats with campers Sarah Kinard as she enjoys a snack at Camp Communication.

photo by Helen R. Hammond

From left, Sarah Sheldon, speech and language pathologist, camper Taylor Coozer and sign language interpreter Lisa Bevacqua present what one might find at the beach at MUSC's Camp Communication which was held this year at Second Presbyterian Church downtown.

For 9-year-old Taylor Koozer, speech therapy has been a part of life since she was a year old. She has been coming to MUSC's Camp Communication for the past six years. She received a cochlear implant when she was just 13 months old and has been having speech therapy since she was 6 months old.

Her father, Kevin, said that his daughter loves camp because she does not have to worry about being different as she is not the only one with hearing impairments.

Her mother, Tracy, said that Taylor used to attend Westview Primary School in Goose Creek and was a part of the hearing impaired class. Next year she will be a fourth-grader at Pinckney Elementary. Because Taylor has a twin sister Bailey, Taylor is used to participating in activities for the non-hearing impaired.

"But one time a year, Taylor is not the different one," Tracy said.

According to Mount Pleasant resident and audiologist Meredith Edgerton, one to three per 1000 live births experience hearing loss.

In South Carolina, about 100 children are born each year with hearing loss. Out of those, 10 percent need cochlear implants.

At MUSC, there are about 50-60 pediatric implants per year. Edgerton explained that children used to get only one cochlear implant in an ear but now they get them in both ears, sometimes sequentially. The goal, according to Edgerton, is to diagnose the hearing loss right after birth.They should get fitted with hearing aids by six months of age.

In Taylor's case, she received her second cochlear implant two years ago.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an estimated 15 percent of children and teenagers in the United States have a temporary or permanent hearing loss in one or both ears.

Page Warner, a teacher at the oral pre-school at James B. Edwards, said that she works primarily with kids with cochlear implants. James B. Edwards is the only oral pre-school in the area and several of the students were at camp.

"When looking at our speech / language outcomes for the implanted children, over half of our implanted children use spoken language as their means of communication," Edgerton said.

Nevitte Morris, who coordinates Camp Communication, is a speech/language pathologist who works with children with severe/ profound hearing loss. With intensive therapy, the children are able to use their voices as well as have the opportunity with advanced technologies, explained Morris.

"The goal for them is to learn to listen and develop spoken language, and as they develop, they can have fun in a learning environment at the same time," Morris said.

Morris also said, "We are so thankful for the Mount Pleasant Sertoma Club who fully funds Camp Communication through their Christmas tree sales. We couldn't do this camp without them."

Mount Pleasant Sertoma Club holds their Christmas Tree Sales on Coleman Blvd. each December.

"It is nice [for Taylor] to be surrounded with kids that have the same struggles that she has," Tracy said.

(Helen R. Hammond can be reached at helen@moultrienews.com.)