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Bella Grace Brady was born February 22, 2012.  While at the hospital, Bella’s newborn hearing screens were normal.  At the age of two, I requested a speech evaluation Bella only because her older brother needed speech therapy and I wanted to make sure that if she needed it, we could get started as soon as possible.  Upon completion of the speech evaluation, the speech therapist suggested a hearing test for Bella.  I really didn’t think much about it and actually almost cancelled the hearing test because I had just had a new baby who had special needs and was about to have neurosurgery.  Never once did I even suspect there was a hearing issue with Bella until the Audiologist told me she has high frequency hearing loss.  At first, this news completely took me by surprise; however, thinking about it , I look back and can now see the hearing loss.  What I thought was just a 2 year old girl being stubborn and not responding to me, was actually a 2 year old girl who couldn’t hear me.  Following the hearing test, Bella started speech therapy with a therapist specialized in working with children who have hearing loss.  The speech therapist connected us with the Alabama School for Hearing , now known as WISE.  After visiting the school, I knew this was the right place for Bella to build a strong foundation with her speech and language development.  Bella started the school in August of 2015.  From day one, Bella loved her experience at the school.  She adored her teachers/speech therapists who invested so much of their time and knowledge to help Bella and her fellow classmates be their very best.  They made learning so much fun through crafts, books, music, and so much more.  I always thought of it as helping Bella fine tune her speech and language skills.  During her time at the school, Bella went through a series of genetic testing and completed a MRI to help determine the cause of her hearing loss.  All of the genetic testing came back normal.  The MRI did show that Bella has enlarged vestibular aqueducts.  Bella’s experience in the school has helped with both the development of her spoken language and her auditory skills.  Bella graduated the school in July 2017.  Upon graduation, she started Tabernacle Christian School where she has thrived.  She has maintained straight A’s and has an incredible desire for learning.  Bella also enjoys extracurricular activities such as dance, cheerleading, and softball.  Bella is active in church and sings in the kids choir.  I feel that Bella’s success is contributed to her determination and the strong foundation she received at the Alabama School for Hearing/WISE.  I am so thankful to everyone who makes that program possible.