A deaf boy from Welwyn Garden City is encouraging people to wear their jazziest shirts to raise money for the charity that taught him to speak.
Nine-year-old Eisa Ishaque is making it loud and clear that he wants people to join him to take part in Loud Shirt Day on June 8.
His school is taking part by wearing their loudest shirts and donating to Auditory Verbal UK, the charity that helped Eisa to can strong speaking skills.
He stars in a Youtube video persuading others to get on board with the challenge.
Eisa was fitted with a hearing aid after he was diagnosed as severely deaf at three months old, and got a cochlear implant later when his deafness became profound at the age of four.
A cochlear implant allows the child to hear, but immense amounts of learning is needed to help them use it effectively.
Eisa’s mum, Azra, said: “I remember in one of the assessment appointments the consultant said, ‘We can implant your child, but the success of the implants depends on what you do with it.’
“Auditory Verbal therapy has given us the skills to help Eisa get the most out of his cochlear implant.”
Aisa worked hard at three years of support sessions with the charity, giving him the spoken language skills close to that of a hearing child.
“Eisa can now have a conversation with unfamiliar people, without looking to me for clarification. He can run into the playground and ask his friends what game they are playing and what the rules are.
“He can stand up in front of parents and say his lines loud and clear in class assemblies.
“I have the usual worries any parent has, but I also have the same hopes and dreams.
“I now know his deafness will not hold him back.”
When Azra first took Eisa to pre-school, it was a different story, as other children weren’t able to sign with him.
“He was so quiet and held back much more compared to when the two of us were at home, in our quiet, acoustically adjusted home, with only me chatting and signing away.
“I just felt so helpless.”
Over 1,000 children have been helped b y the charity since it was founded in Oxfordshire in 2003.
Eisa and his school will be supporting Loud Shirt Day to help give more deaf children all over the UK the opportunity to learn to listen and speak.
Loud Shirt Day officially takes place on June 8, but can be organized at any time.
To sign up, head to www.avuk.org/loud-shirt-day-uk and join in the conversation on social media using the tag #loudshirtday
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