This year’s going to be a big one for our client Sienna, who’s just started her final year of primary school as school captain at St Aloysius Catholic Primary School in NSW’s Hunter region.

Already a champion athlete, swimmer and gymnast, and a keen artist and writer, the Year 6 student, who’s deaf, has been smashing goals in the classroom, on the sports field and in the pool.

Her mother Renee and her father Ryan were unsurprised when Sienna passed her newborn hearing test, as neither had family histories of hearing loss. But as she reached toddler age, they noticed that she wasn’t meeting her language development milestones. After a series of tests, they learned that Sienna had severe-profound sensorineural hearing loss, caused by a recessive gene. Sensorineural hearing loss affects the inner ear or auditory nerve.

Following the initial shock at the diagnosis, they began exploring their options. After finding hearing aids weren’t enough to help Sienna access sound, they decided to proceed with cochlear implants in both ears when Sienna was close to three years old. From there, Renee says, the family were ‘on a pathway.’

Sienna has been receiving early support for her hearing loss from NextSense since she was two years old. She sees her Teacher of the Deaf, Yasmin, fortnightly and attends six-monthly appointments with her audiologist Maree to map her cochlear implants.

Renee and Ryan continue to work closely with Sienna’s teachers and her speech pathologist on areas where she would benefit from extra assistance, helping to reinforce new concepts and vocabulary at home and in her sessions with Teacher of the Deaf Yasmin. Renee says the dedicated time each fortnight with Yasmin—who has supported her since she was a toddler—has allowed Sienna time to focus on improving her learning, reading and understanding.

In the years following her surgery, Sienna has made significant progress and is on par with her hearing peers in terms of speaking and language development.

‘It’s not just myself and Ryan—it’s the whole team that have worked continuously with her for the last nine years and really brought her to where she is today,’ says Renee.

When Sienna first started at school, they made sure that the students knew about hearing loss, what it means to be deaf, and how Sienna’s cochlear implants help her to hear. Renee says this really helped to ‘take away the unknown.’

Sienna was very nervous about making her school captain candidate’s speech to the more than 600 students at her school. But her mum gave her lots of tips like looking at the back of the room, and they practiced together to help Sienna feel more confident.

In her winning speech, which you can read below, Sienna spoke about challenges she’s faced, the importance of embracing what makes us unique and special, and how she plans to lead by example.

As captain, she will help run school assemblies and speak at community days like Anzac Day, as well as mentor a younger student.

Outside of the classroom, she is looking forward to competing in the Australian Swimming Championships this April. Ultimately, though, Sienna has her sights set on representing Australia in the Deaflympics, where deaf athletes compete at an elite level.

We asked Renee what would be one piece of advice she would share with parents who have recently discovered their child’s hearing loss? ‘If you've got a child that's deaf, whether you've got a family history or not, there is support out there. And once you've got really good support, if the child, parents and the therapists are willing to put in the work, you can achieve amazing things,’ she says.

Sienna was featured in the Maitland Mercury on 10 February. Read her story (paywall).

Read a copy of Sienna’s school captain speech to her peers and teachers below.

“Good morning everyone,

My name is Sienna and I would love to be your School or Vice Captain for 2025.

Firstly, a little bit about me. Some of you may have seen these things I wear behind my ears - well, most of you will know I am Deaf, and these are my cochlear implants that help me to hear. Without them, I cannot hear a thing. Not even a jet plane going right over my head would wake me up when I’m asleep! I have been at St Aloysius since Kindergarten and have made some wonderful friends. I also play lots of sports - Swimming, Gymnastics, Cross Country and Athletics! It keeps me very busy.

I believe a good leader is someone who can represent our school with pride. Through my sports I have represented St Aloysius at a regional, diocesan, Polding and State level since Year 2, and a National level in Year 4 & 5 for Swimming, Cross Country and Athletics. I march every year with our school in Morpeth on ANZAC Day. I’ve watched the Year 6 students run our school assembles and I hope next year I might be able to do the same.

I believe a good leader is someone who will lookout for others. If you need a friend or are feeling sad or hurt, or even excluded I will be there to play with or talk to.

I believe a good leader doesn’t have to be the loudest person in the room. They can lead by example and inspire others with their actions. Life is not always easy for me, and I’ve had to work very hard at school to be the best I can be, with lots of support from my teachers. I hope to be a good example to all the students at St Aloysius, and show them that if you are determined, you can achieve anything you wish. I also want them to know that it is ok to be different, as this is what makes us unique and special. We can all have wonderful friendships if we are kind, caring and respectful.

In conclusion I would love to be school or vice captain for 2025 and to help make our school a better place to be. Thank you.”