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$8.39The Story
In the United States, late-identified hearing loss continues to be an underdiscussed, inconsistently researched, and underfunded medical issue that is leading children into developmental crises. Parents often face an avalanche of emotions and are confronted with the harsh truth that their child's delays, poor academic performance, or social-emotional challenges could have been prevented with earlier diagnosis and timely access to language, technology, and services.
Late to the Party: Extraordinary Stories of Hope After Late-Identified Hearing Loss shares the experiences of sixteen families. Through intimate interviews, parent advocate and author Valerie James Abbott reveals the grueling paths that led each family up to the moment their child's hearing loss was confirmed. Abbott guides readers through the difficult decisions that followed, the unexpected barriers the families encountered while navigating complex systems alone, and the lessons they unearthed along the way.
These are not just stories of resilience-they are urgent calls for change. This one-of-a-kind collection bridges the gap between data, research, and lived experience. Each family's journey illustrates what happens when screening safeguards fail, risk factors are overlooked, parent concerns are dismissed, and doctors pass the ball. This book is a call to improve the frequency, quality, and accessibility of early childhood hearing testing so that all children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, regardless of the age of onset, are identified early and can thrive alongside their hearing peers.
Author: Valerie Abbott
Publisher: Valerie James Abbott
Published: 05/05/2026
Pages: 316
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.78lbs
Size: 8.25h x 5.50w x 0.66d
ISBN: 9798985597929
About the Author
Abbott, Valerie: - Valerie James Abbott is an author and pediatric hearing loss parent advocate. Her award-winning children's book, Padapillo, was published in 2021 and launched what became the Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness Campaign. Drawing from research and lived experience, Valerie speaks at conferences nationwide, calling attention to the risk factors and warning signs of pediatric hearing loss, the critical importance of proactive hearing health monitoring, and the impact of late identification on language, literacy, and social-emotional development.
Description
In the United States, late-identified hearing loss continues to be an underdiscussed, inconsistently researched, and underfunded medical issue that is leading children into developmental crises. Parents often face an avalanche of emotions and are confronted with the harsh truth that their child's delays, poor academic performance, or social-emotional challenges could have been prevented with earlier diagnosis and timely access to language, technology, and services.
Late to the Party: Extraordinary Stories of Hope After Late-Identified Hearing Loss shares the experiences of sixteen families. Through intimate interviews, parent advocate and author Valerie James Abbott reveals the grueling paths that led each family up to the moment their child's hearing loss was confirmed. Abbott guides readers through the difficult decisions that followed, the unexpected barriers the families encountered while navigating complex systems alone, and the lessons they unearthed along the way.
These are not just stories of resilience-they are urgent calls for change. This one-of-a-kind collection bridges the gap between data, research, and lived experience. Each family's journey illustrates what happens when screening safeguards fail, risk factors are overlooked, parent concerns are dismissed, and doctors pass the ball. This book is a call to improve the frequency, quality, and accessibility of early childhood hearing testing so that all children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, regardless of the age of onset, are identified early and can thrive alongside their hearing peers.
Author: Valerie Abbott
Publisher: Valerie James Abbott
Published: 05/05/2026
Pages: 316
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.78lbs
Size: 8.25h x 5.50w x 0.66d
ISBN: 9798985597929
About the Author
Abbott, Valerie: - Valerie James Abbott is an author and pediatric hearing loss parent advocate. Her award-winning children's book, Padapillo, was published in 2021 and launched what became the Late Onset Hearing Loss Awareness Campaign. Drawing from research and lived experience, Valerie speaks at conferences nationwide, calling attention to the risk factors and warning signs of pediatric hearing loss, the critical importance of proactive hearing health monitoring, and the impact of late identification on language, literacy, and social-emotional development.
