By Lee Hurley
On Sunday November 2, at the Back Forty Beer Company, the Woolley Institute for Spoken- Language Education (WISE) is hosting an event to raise money and awareness for the incredible work being done to help hearing impaired youth become the best versions of themselves (see details at the end of the article).
For many families navigating the world of hearing loss, the journey can feel overwhelming. When challenges affect our children, just learning enough to make clear decisions can be daunting. Thankfully there is hel —WISE has been a beacon of hope, offering comprehensive support and empowering children to thrive and live completely normal lives. In 2025, WISE continues to help children with hearing differences learn to listen, speak and integrate fully into their communities.
A Family’s Journey: Two Paths, One Mission
The Weekley family (Kelly, Matt, Katherine, Billy, Michael and Libby) is gratefully connected to WISE. Their experience highlights the complexities and triumphs of raising two of their four children with hearing loss. Their oldest daughter, Katherine developed progressive, profound hearing loss around age two. “It was a shock,” says mom Kelly Weekley, who is also a Spanish teacher at Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic School. “She had language, she was singing, we didn’t think anything was wrong. Looking back, it was progressing quickly, but how could we have known?”
Katherine received cochlear implants right before her fourth birthday and has thrived at WISE’s preschool. “She was in therapy and preschool there, and she caught up so quickly,” Kelly says. “She’s now in first grade, she’s reading—she hasn’t skipped a beat.”
Their younger daughter, Libby, failed her newborn hearing screen, and with the same genetic condition as Katherine, her journey to improve her hearing started much earlier. Libby currently wears hearing aids to amplify, and therapy is provided to make her aware of sounds around her. “With Libby, it’s been night and day because we already have a team in place,” Kelly says. “Same audiologist, same speech therapist and same doctor—less stress. We’ve already done it.” Libby will receive her own cochlear implants in the near future.
WISE provides more than just speech therapy. “They gave us an immediate community,” Kelly explains. “They’ve walked us through every step, whether it was prepping Katherine for surgeries, helping us choose between cochlear implant brands or sitting down with her teachers and helping with her private school plan. They just make navigating the unknown a little less scary.” WISE’s approach is highly individualized. As Kelly and her husband acknowledge, therapists “design their activities around what our kids enjoy and their personalities. They’re so good at pivoting with Katherine and letting her think she’s in control, but they’re really turning everything into a language activity.”
WISE’s lead speech therapist Kelly Ellis and her partnering speech therapist Sarah Kate Crispel collaborate and provide helpful tips for parents, like integrating language into car rides or at the dinner table to achieve speech goals. The organization also fosters a strong parent network. “WISE Executive Director Nancy Gregg connects families, and there’s reassuring peer support. We’ve done things together as a group like the pumpkin patch, park and playdates—it’s a wonderful little community,” Kelly says.
Technology and Innovation
Technology continues to improve the lives of those with hearing loss. Katherine’s cochlear implants have Bluetooth connectivity, allowing her to connect to a cell phone, an iPad or a teacher-worn microphone. This technology helps improve signal-to-noise and her hearing and language abilities, in turn helping her get closer to her classmates.
Decision Points and Counseling
Another WISE function is to provide comprehensive pre-implant counseling if needed. Professionals provide information, support and guidance on the pros and cons of cochlear implants to help families decide what is best for their children. If children are eligible to receive cochlear implants, insurance and audiometric criteria are carefully checked.
SIPS for SOUND
Every year the WISE Board sponsors a family friendly afternoon with live music and delicious food and beverages. Guests bid on silent auction items and hear powerful stories from graduates of the program who are thriving thanks to the early intervention they received. All proceeds benefit the Woolley Institute for Spoken-Language Education and help provide critical early intervention, audiology and education services to children who are deaf or hard of hearing and their families.
Date: Sunday, November 2, 2025
Time: 2-5 p.m.
Location: Back Forty Beer Company
Tickets are $50 each or 2 for $90
Children 5 and under attend free, and children ages 6–12 are $10
For more information on the event, visit wise4al.org.
