The diagnosis meant his mom had been on target when she raised the issue of his seeming inattentiveness. It won't get worse until he's a lot older. And she also has insight into some things she had noted about her son, as when he confused similar-sounding words. His diminished hearing caused him to mispronounce words. Marquis now has times set aside to work with a speech and hearing specialist in the schools as part of special education services.
City schools check for improvement in hearing when a child gets hearing aids.
With his speech and hearing teachers, he has learned how to use the aids in class and is working on pronunciation. Changing those patterns is a slower process than Williams expected. She works with her son on spelling. Now that he can hear the way the word is pronounced, spelling makes more sense because he can hear all the syllables, she said. In 1999, according to the Department of Education, about seven students in city elementary schools were known to have hearing loss.