CCHAT Alumni Spotlight: Turiya

"Complete disbelief." 

Shubha Narayan remembers the shock of learning that her 2-year-old daughter, Turiya, was losing her hearing. To that point, Turiya's development was "normal," but this stunning diagnosis threw everything into question for her family.

What Did Turiya's Future Hold?

Unsettled but determined to provide Turiya with the services she needed to continue developing listening and spoken language, Shubha and her husband, Amit, tried multiple programs for children who are deaf and hard of hearing. None were the right fit for their family. 

After extensive research and a recommendation from their audiologist, Turiya's family found CCHAT, and it only took one visit to the school to convince them to leave their East Bay home for one closer to the program that would change all of their lives.

“We did the diagnostic program (at CCHAT), and we were hooked,” Amit says. “CCHAT was everything we hoped for, but a lot more than we had even thought about.”

Fitted with cochlear implants, Turiya joined CCHAT's preschool class, and Shubha and Amit watched her communication skills take off. Thanks to Turiya's hard work, family support and the unrivaled staff of experts at CCHAT, Turiya learned how to listen with her implants and develop speech and language skills that would help her maintain pace with hearing peers.

Finding Success in the Mainstream

Turiya transitioned to her neighborhood school in the 2nd grade. Despite this coming during the uncertainty of the pandemic, Turiya was able to thrive thanks to a foundation of skills and self-advocacy she built at CCHAT.

Now 9 years old and in the 4th grade, Turiya's confidence and proficiency with oral communication are through the roof. She is one of the top readers in her class, has a large social circle, and takes hip-hop and Indian dance classes -- accomplishments Shubha doesn't take for granted and attributes heavily to the guidance her family received at CCHAT.

"Turiya has met all of her speech goals and is testing at grade level for academics," Shubha says. "We are always thankful for all that the CCHAT team has done for Turiya and our family."

Thinking back to the difficulties of Turiya’s initial diagnosis, Amit is overjoyed to see his daughter thriving, and he is filled with gratitude for the life-changing services Turiya received at CCHAT.

“As parents, we are always second guessing the decisions we make for our kids,” Amit says. “But in the case of CCHAT, we know for a fact that we made the right call.”

Learn more about the academic programs available to children with hearing loss at CCHAT by clicking here.