When Shivaay was born, like his older sister, the labour was very quick and when he was referred for further tests after his newborn hearing screening, we were told it was likely to be fluid built up in his ears. However extensive tests two weeks later diagnosed him with a moderate hearing loss in one ear and severe loss in the other.

I just burst into tears – I have no experience of deafness. I felt like I was grieving ‘what should have been’; while Chandresh, my husband was full of questions about what would happen next.

We were living and working in Kenya and had only returned to the UK to have Shivaay, but we immediately knew that the support would be limited in Kenya, so we took the life-changing decision to relocate to England.

We know that the level of support for families with deaf babies is very dependent on where you live, and we have been very lucky with our audiologist and the healthcare team including our Teacher of the Deaf who was in contact just a week after Shivaay was diagnosed.

At just seven weeks old, on my birthday, Shivaay received his first set of hearing aids. A day I will never forget!

We began to learn basic sign language but with an entirely oral family, we wanted Shivaay to learn to speak. He was lucky enough to have a very chatty elder sister too! Kianna has to date been his biggest support and language role model.

When he was three-months old, during an appointment at Great Ormond Street Hospital, Auditory Verbal therapy was suggested as an option and when we looked into it, it seemed like something which would suit us.

Shivaay was only six months old when we joined the family programme at charity Auditory Verbal UK. We went to AVUK because there were no professionals trained in AV therapy locally, which was a real shame. We were lucky to receive a bursary from AVUK which was a major helping hand as we were essentially starting again having moved back to the UK.

The Auditory Verbal therapy programme is amazing – it’s astonishing what can be done to support a baby so young. It quickly made sense and for us it was perfect. We wanted to do something engaging, something hands on to develop Shivaay’s spoken language and listening.

We began our sessions online which were great but as Shivaay became more of a lively toddler and difficult to sit down in front of a screen, we switched to in person sessions, which worked really well for us.

AVUK provided us with so much more than therapy. Our therapist was our mentor and guidance counsellor and there was, and still is, always someone to answer our questions or address our concerns.

We don’t want to think much about what life would be like without Auditory Verbal therapy. We feel like it would have been a far harder and lonelier road. The team at AVUK has been our guiding hand on this journey.

And the last four years have certainly been a journey especially with tantrums around wearing hearing aids. But Shivaay now loves his “super ears” and asks to wear them so he can hear. He proudly tells his school mates about his superpowers! He is getting much more independent too and understanding about his hearing equipment. He is very attached to them and refuses to take them off until he goes to bed. His elder sister is also very protective over him and his super ears – she really wanted some of her own and was delighted when the audiologist gave her some for her toys.

In December (2025) Shivaay graduated from the AV therapy programme at AVUK aged four years and four months with spoken language equivalent to a child aged five years and three months. It was an emotional and wonderful celebration of everything Shivaay and us as a family have achieved. It was also a full-circle moment involving our therapist and another member of the AVUK team who was the very first person we spoke to before signing up.

Shivaay is now in reception at school and is meeting all his targets/milestones. He is one of the top readers in his class and also loves numbers and writing.

He enjoys role play and singing – he has just joined a singing class which is amazing. When he was diagnosed, I didn’t even know if he would be able to hear music. He has also started Tai Kwando and is a lively, happy, intelligent four-year-old just like his hearing classmates.

We know the journey is not over. Once you join the AVUK programme you are become part of the family. AV therapy has made such an enormous difference to our lives which is why we wanted to share the knowledge we have gained and our experiences and I am proud to say I am now an AVUK Ambassador.

When Shivaay was diagnosed, I was given this advice and it was one of the best things we were told: Enjoy your baby – you can get so lost in the hearing loss – but always go with your gut and just enjoy the newborn stage. Don’t let it pass you by because your baby is perfect and they will amaze you in ways you could never imagine! Shivaay is truly our inspiration and he doesn’t even know it!

Simi and Chandresh - Shivaay’s Mum and Dad