Editor's note: Feel free to contact us at hello@sbdeafcommunity.com to help connect with Nicole and Josh in Santa Barbara.
Hi everyone!
We are Nicole and Josh McNamara. My husband Josh is a PhD student at
UCSB and I work as a behavior analyst for kids with disabilities. Our daughter, Aliyah,
was born in February 2025 and came 7 weeks early, so she spent 4 weeks in the NICU
before finally coming home with us. During her time in the NICU, she had multiple
routine newborn hearing evaluations completed. The results were never “passing”, but
the doctors told us there may just be extra fluid in her middle ear that needs more time
to drain. We were still referred to see a specialist after Aliyah was discharged from the
NICU. After another newborn hearing screening done in Ventura with similar results, we
were referred to a doctor in LA to have an Auditory Brainstem Response completed for
Aliyah. The ABR was conclusive, the results from the previous newborn hearing
screenings weren’t just due to excess fluid, Aliyah was profoundly deaf in both ears.
After an initial flood of emotions, we began researching our options as a family and
processing all of the information we were just given. We had numerous appointments
scheduled back-to-back to confirm the results of the ABR and begin the decision-
making process for our next steps. Aliyah’s Audiologist and ENT agreed that if we want
her to have Cochlear Implants (and if she is eligible), the earlier we start the process the
better. Regardless of whether she is eligible for cochlear implants or not, we decided
that Aliyah’s first and primary language will be ASL.
Something that is really important to Josh and I is that our daughter grows up being a
part of the deaf community. To ensure this, we are learning to sign ASL and trying to
meet other members of the deaf community. We have enrolled in the local SBCC
classes and are joining the local community events to meet other families. We are
looking to meet other families with deaf or hard-of-hearing children. We would love to
connect and build a support system and community for our daughter.