Lauren is a sassy, spunky, and fearless 5 year old girl, who is entering into her fourth year of dance at Diana Evans School of Dance. She is like any other 5 year old girl except that at birth, Lauren was identified with hearing loss through the universal newborn hearing screening, and at 10 days old she was diagnosed with severe Sensorineural Hearing Loss. She was fitted with her first set of little pink hearing aids at four months old and began weekly speech therapy at five months old. By seven months old, her hearing loss had progressed to profound hearing loss and she was identified as a candidate for cochlear implants. She was implanted on the left side at nine months old and on the right side at 15 months old. Through genetic testing, the cause of Lauren’s deafness was diagnosed as Pendred Syndrome with Enlarged Vestibular Aqueduct and a Mondini malformation. In addition to hearing loss, individuals with this syndrome can also have a goiter and balance issues due to the missing portion of the cochlea. Lauren started speech therapy as a baby and continued to do speech therapy three times a week until she was 4.5. Happily, she is now at and above her hearing peers in speech milestones. She is an active kindergartener and dance student and her teachers, both at school and at dance, attest to the fact that she is a friend to everyone. Lauren loves to dance, listen to music, play outside and ride her bike. She is very confident in everything she does and has never let being deaf define what she can and cannot do. She is proud of her “special ears” and that they are a part of her. Dance has been an integral part of Lauren’s journey and has helped her in so many ways. Most importantly, it has given her confidence to perform in front of others, allowing her to hear the beat of the music instead of focusing on the words. When the decision was made to do the cochlear implant, our hope was that she would have access to sound like most people experience it. The added benefit is that when she dances, she is just like any other little girl on that stage, just with unique access to hearing the music. Lauren takes Ballet, Jazz, and Tap classes, and is also in the “Broadway Babies” class, which is her favorite because she gets to sing, act, AND dance in that class. Her favorite recital dance has been Spoonful of Sugar from this year's recital, where she got to show her “Triple Threat” talent and perform with Mary Poppins! Lauren’s charity of choice would be "Hands & Voices". Hands & Voices is a non-profit, parent-driven organization dedicated to supporting families of children who are deafor hard of hearing. They are non-biased about communication methodologiesand believe that families can make the best choices for their child if they have access to good information and support.