References and Letters of Advocacy

 Sad and confused because I just entered the world of the unknown, they told me my baby was born deaf in one ear. They said the other ear was perfectly normal. They said he was developmentally delayed. 

When Cortez was just a few months old, while he was fast asleep I would get two cooking pots and bang them together. He wouldn't flinch. I would turn the television to a static channel with the volume on full blast. He wouldn't flinch. I told the Doctors, but they assured me he could hear and was simply developmentally delayed. I wanted to believe them so badly that I think I convinced myself, all along knowing the truth. 

Cortez was 2 years and 5 months of age when we were told that he was profoundly deaf in both ears. At 2 year and 9 months of age, he received a cochlear implant in his right ear. Desperate for my son to learn spoken language, and with zero oral schools in Louisiana we left Dad behind to keep the finances and medical insurance active, me and the kids moved to Sacramento, CA to enroll Cortez into an Oral school called Children's Choice for Hearing and Talking Center (CCHAT). 

After 6 months, the CCHAT Center recommended a different education setting called total communication, which combined oral with sign language education. CCHAT also expressed some concern about Autism and other developmental differences. I took 

Cortez to a specialist where their findings for Autism were negative. I went to Oakland's children's hospital in Oakland, CA to seek a cochlear implant for his left ear, where I was denied and told to focus on sign language. I then returned to Louisiana to seek a second opinion regarding implantation of his left ear. Cortez was nearly 4 years old by the time he was approved, healed, and activated. Upon completion of this process, I traveled to several different states desperately seeking the appropriate education setting for him. 

In September, 2010 I returned to Concord, California and enrolled him in a public school setting that offered total communication. This school insisted Cortez had some cognitive issues and recommended that he be placed in a class with other children with the identical diagnoses and Autism. As a mom who spent many days and nights with Cortez, I knew that he did NOT have the aforementioned issues. I conducted some research and located a school called the Hearing and Speech Center of Northern California. After being evaluated, Cortez was accepted into their program. This special program taught deaf children spoken language. Cortez was 5 years old with no language at all. This school did not teach sign, so at that point I decided to choose one language to remain dedicated to. 

I hired an attorney to represent my interest for 3 years, so he could remain keep in an oral education setting. Upon completion of the program, Cortez was 7 years and 3 months old. Once again we were searching for a program to continue his oral education. At this time, being nearly eight, and having the language of a 2 year old, it was challenging to convince educators and therapists that he could communicate effectively without implementing sign language. 

When Cortez was 9, the public school system was not equipped to handle his situation. Instead of realizing his communication barrier, he was being labeled as disrespectful with behavior problems. The oral teacher for the deaf warned me that this could be a possibility. Once again we were searching for an environment that would understand what we were up against. At this time Cortez was over 9 with the language range of a 4 to 6 year old. After repeatedly traveling to several different states, I discovered Sunshine Cottage School for Deaf children in San Antonio, TX. 

Sunshine Cottage performed intense evaluations on Cortez and upon completion, he was accepted into their program in March, 2016. Cortez was 9 years and 10 months old when he started their program, with the language range of a 4 to 6 year old and could not read. Sunshine Cottage has an excellent and professional team of educators. They allowed him to prove that he was indeed a bright young man who simply needed language and the appropriate environment to succeed. In June of 2018, Cortez graduated from Sunshine cottage with a 4th grade reading level and performing very well academically. Today Cortez is a happy 13 year old thriving and working hard every day to build his language. He loves basketball, music, dancing, and telling jokes. 

Cortez was born into an oral family whose native language is spoken language. I am very grateful to all who have contributed to Cortez's journey. Subsequently, he now enjoys the benefits of an intimate relationship with his immediate family, relatives and friends. I feel that living in an oral world increases the opportunities to have a fulfilling life. When Cortez was a little guy, I lay awake for countless nights praying to God to allow my son to hear and speak. I promised to help others who were in my shoes, if he would allow this one prayer to become reality. This nonprofit is my promise to GOD.