ﾠﾠﾠﾠﾠ For years, we've known that children pass through very specific developmental stages as they acquire a variety of cognitive, speech, and language milestones. Research shows that a child's brain is programmed to acquire language in early childhood. Most children are well on their way to communicating in full sentences by the time they are three years of age. For children who are born with sensorineural hearing loss, they are at a disadvantage.ﾠ For example, we know typical hearing newborns have received auditory input for approximately 20 weeks while in the womb. The auditory centers in their brains have been stimulated and important neurological connections necessary for the auditory processing of spoken language are already in place.

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Recently, on a long flight back from the East Coast to Salt Lake City, I had the opportunity to read the article, "The Social Cure," in the September/October 2009 issue of Scientific American Mind.ﾠ The article postulates that membership in social groups and social networking --ﾠat home, work, and even at the gymﾠ-- can have positive effects on our mental and physical health.ﾠ Previous studies seemed to indicate that membership in a large number of groups was detrimental due to increased stress and other social pressures. However, the authors of the current article offer a different perspective.ﾠThey analyzed several groups of people who experienced significant life changes and detailed how social group membership positively supported their ongoing adjustment and adaptation. The authors found that belonging to a social group or network actually increased the individual's resilience and enabled them to better cope with the sometimes difficult life changes they were facing.

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This December, my daughter, Kaitlyn, will celebrate her sweet sixteen birthday. As I look at this vibrant teenager with the beautiful blond hair and blue eyes, I find myself thinking back to her birth. More than a decade and a half ago, she was born at just 26 weeks gestation. Her birth weight was only 1 lb., 12 oz., and a few days later her weight was as low as 1 lb., 6 oz. The neonatologists were cautious and their prognosis guarded. Frankly, they didn't know if she would survive.

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