Meet the biggest, littlest stars of Telethon 2020!
Telethon Speech & Hearing is proud to share that our Year 2 Outpost student, Eamon Doak, is one of two Little Telethon Stars for 2020!
Eamon, as well as his brother Kaelan, was born profoundly deaf. This was traumatic and heartbreaking for his parents, but cochlear implants helped both boys discover a world of sound. Then, in 2018 (when the boys were 5 and 3 respectively), they had genetic testing done and were told that the little boys have Usher Syndrome type 1D. This means that they are born deaf and will gradually lose their eyesight due to Retinitis Pigmentosa.
As an infant, Eamon had delayed developmental milestones and balance issues which we know now are linked to Ushers Syndrome. He only sat at around nine months old and walked unaided at 18 months. He still battles with his balance and this is made worse by his deteriorating eyesight. In a normal classroom environment, he tires faster than his peers because he really must concentrate to hear in a noisy environment. He does, however, always put 110% into whatever he does, he never gives up, and has a quirky personality that makes everyone fond of him.
As a family, the Doak’s prefer to concentrate on Eamon’s abilities instead of his disabilities. Eamon really wants to be a pilot, so they supported this by taking him to flight simulator sessions. Eamon himself does not consider himself any different to other kids in his class and lives his life to the full.
About Telethon 2020
The Telethon Live show this year will be held at Crown Theatre over two nights on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th October, and broadcast live on Channel 7.
The show will be an exciting new format, and the focus will be on, as always, raising money for the kids of WA.
Tickets will be sold in accordance with Stage 4 regulations and will be available from Ticketmaster from Thursday September 24. Find out more from the Telethon7 website.
