Sanemi was born with bilateral profound hearing loss.

When she did not pass her newborn hearing test  we all assumed that there was a glitch in the software but after more tests we were referred to Addenbrookes Hospital for a more detailed hearing test.

I still remember the day when the test took place, Deepak and I were with Sanemi who lay in our arms with headphones on playing loud sounds. She was in deep sleep and didn’t seem to be affected at all - we knew straight away she had hearing loss.

With a very heavy heart and being totally overwhelmed with the news that she was profoundly deaf, we left the hospital and returned home. My family were visiting and we all just burst into tears. We had so many questions about how our daughter would manage in the years ahead because we had no experience of deafness.

As the first year of Sanemi’s life progressed, we were so proud that our little princess was always full of expressions and communication even when before she received her cochlear implants. She loved playing games with all of us and making sounds.

Because of her profound sensorineural hearing loss, hearing aids gave her no access to sound and after visiting Great Ormond Street Hospital we were referred to the Emmeline Centre for cochlear implants at Addenbrookes in  Cambridge.

We had a huge amount of support - from the medical team at Addenbrookes , family, friends, community deaf support workers, Advanced Bionics, our teacher of the deaf, nursery, school and last, but not the least, Auditory Verbal UK.

Sanemi was implanted at 15 months and switched on a month later. From that moment both her listening and speaking journey took a steep upward curve.

Unfortunately, due to a skin reaction Sanemi needed her implant to be replaced and this was delayed but she continued with her rehab activities and speech and language therapy.

I had heard about Auditory Verbal therapy from other mums with deaf children as well as from the teacher of the deaf in Cambridge. We really wanted our daughter to be able to speak and have all the opportunities that hearing children have. Unfortunately, there were no Auditory Verbal Therapists locally, so we had to find another way to access the support.

Just after Sanemi turned three, we began our monthly visits to see Frances Clark our AV Therapist at AVUK.

Because of travelling time, work and hospital appointments we choose to have monthly appointments but all the sessions were recorded and shared with us and Sanemi’s nursery so we could all practice the games and activities to continue to support Sanemi’s hearing and speaking journey.

Frances also spotted an issue with Sanemi’s speech production due to her adenoids and there was a huge improvement once these were removed. Her vocabulary increased each week and soon she was a super confident speaker and still is! She has no hesitation giving speeches and actively takes part in drama and is also a year-rep at her school.

Frances was always so encouraging and Sanemi loved the visits to see her and found all the sessions fun rather than a task to do! Frances also visited Sanemi’s school in Cambridge when Sanemi started reception and had valuable input into the Education Health Care Plan (EHCP) to support Sanemi’s progress.

The family is central to Auditory Verbal therapy – we were all coached to support Sanemi through everyday activities and we were also encouraged us to bring Sanemi’s older brother Syon along to sessions in the school holidays. Syon is hearing and being nine years older than Sanemi his input into the sessions made them really fun for his sister!

Auditory Verbal therapy has made a great and powerful impact in Sanemi’s life, helping her bridge the gap and attain age-appropriate language before she was seven. It has also given her the opportunity to take part in almost anything she wants and empowering her with great speech and language.

We are so grateful that we got support from AVUK and the Bursary scheme because I was made redundant from my job around the time we were thinking of starting AV Therapy for Sanemi. Travelling to the London centre meant a whole day off work with the addition of travel costs and we wouldn’t have managed without the financial support.

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Sanemi: 

I love to speak and take part in social activities at school. I love music and dance and am currently preparing for my Grade 3 Classical Indian dance exam and going to be performing in London next month with the dance lesson group in a grand theatre! I take part in drama club, swimming, tennis, dancing and I can all the things my hearing friends can!  At school I am learning two foreign languages and doing well in most subjects except PE!

I love to bake and we try to do fundraiser bake sales for various charities to help deaf children who don’t have the same opportunities like the ones I have had with the support of my family and all those involved in my hearing journey. I also met Chef Jamie Oliver last year at a cooking activity at school and had a great conversation with him!!

Last but not least,  I am the proud winner of the Claire Campbell Children and Young Person Outstanding Achievement Award which I received in November 2024! Thank you AVUK and Claire’s family for this wonderful encouragement!

I am very grateful to that I has access to Auditory Verbal therapy as so many deaf children don’t have this opportunity. I don’t feel that being deaf holds me back in anyway. We sometimes watch the videos from the past and cannot believe how unclear my speech used to be and how great it is now. My parents tell me how emotional all of this has been for them and all of us and we are all very thankful to AVUK and the bursary scheme that helped me to get the perfect support at the time it was most needed.

Manjiri and Deepak, Sanemi's parents and Sanemi.