Tanya Saunders is a writer, artist and lover of wild places. The road that eventually led to her founding AVID Language and writing books for deaf children started unexpectedly back in 2016. Tanya and her husband Ian were living and working in a remote corner of the African wilderness (where Tanya had grown up with elephants literally on her doorstep) when their life was suddenly turned upside down overnight. One of their two year old twin daughters was diagnosed with profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss and auditory neuropathy spectrum disorder (ANSD). In other words, she was completely deaf in both ears and there was no chance of her natural hearing ever getting any better. Tanya and Ian were advised that there was only one way that their daughter might one day be able to learn to listen and speak: she would need to get cochlear implants and embark on an intensive programme of speech and language therapy. Without hesitation, Tanya and Ian made the decision to do whatever was necessary to give both their daughters the best chance possible for a happy and fulfilling future. This included uprooting their family from their beloved home, moving continents and changing careers. Tanya and her family are now happily settled in the UK, feeling fortunate to be surrounded by an incredible support network and with access to some of the best medical and scientific expertise the world has to offer. Motivated by her own family’s journey with hearing loss (which is a long road, and one on which they are still traveling), Tanya founded AVID Language to publish books for deaf children, as well as for their parents, carers, teachers and friends whose support is so critical to their success in learning to listen and speak. Tanya believes that deaf children are currently underrepresented in books, and this gap needs to be filled for the sake of all the children out there in the world today who are growing up with some degree of hearing loss. She believes that deaf children deserve the same opportunities in life as everyone else; it is not for us to set limits on what they can achieve but rather to give them the platform they need to learn, grow, and attain their goals as equals alongside their hearing peers. Tanya wants AVID Language books to inspire deaf children to dream big, while acknowledging the hard work it takes to learn to listen and speak. Tanya is a Parent Ambassador for Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK), an aspirational organisation that delivers listening and spoken language early intervention programmes for deaf children with cochlear implants and/or hearing aids. The auditory verbal strategies and techniques that Tanya learned while her daughter was on the AVUK programme guide Tanya’s writing today, alongside the wealth of knowledge she has gained from numerous other professionals, friends and family members who, as a team, continue to support her daughter and have made truly transformative contributions to her odyssey into the hearing and speaking world. Although not a professional therapist herself, as a ‘parent practitioner’ of auditory verbal therapy traveling this road alongside her daughter, Tanya’s personal experience and observations can provide helpful insights for other families on the same path. Her vibrantly illustrated stories encourage deaf children to reach for the stars and reassure them that, while it may not be easy, all the hard work involved in learning to listen and speak will be worth it in the end. Tanya discusses parenting a deaf child, writing and publishing in her HearSay blog on the AVID Language website.
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