The O’Brien Family

A family of four smiles together in front of the Illinois School for the Deaf. The mom and dad are in the center of the photo. The mom holds her four-year-old son. He wears glasses and has hearing aids. The dad also has glasses. He puts his hand on the shoulder of his seven-year-old daughter.

“It's always been we don't know if he will walk. We don't know if he will talk. So, we just keep following up with all 17 specialists and we keep pushing him to be the best he can be.”

— Lauren O’Brien, Josiah’s mom

“I think it’s all about having as many advocates in your corner.”

We sat down for a conversation with the O’Brien family at the 2024 Institute for Parents of Preschool Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Jacksonville, Ill. The Institute is a free multi-day program for parents of children ages 6 and under who have hearing loss. It takes place annually in June at the Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD).

The Division of Specialized Care for Children (DSCC) helps sponsor this annual event.

Lauren, Jonathan, Alannah (7), and Josiah (4) drove to the Institute from their hometown of Aurora, Ill.

“We still talk about that weekend all the time. It was one of the best weekends of our lives,” Lauren said later about the experience.

Something for everyone

A mom hugs her four-year-old son outside of his classroom. He wears glasses and has hearing aids.

Lauren and Josiah smile together outside of Josiah’s classroom at the 2024 Institute.

The family of four each had a unique experience at the Institute, enjoying the different programming and activities.

Josiah has a genetic deletion on chromosome 15. He is globally delayed with a bilateral hearing loss.

He spent his time at the Institute playing and learning in a classroom with other children who are deaf or hard of hearing. He also received hearing, psychological, speech, language and educational evaluations.

Alannah participated in the sibling program, where she took American Sign Language (ASL) classes and enjoyed camp-like activities with other siblings of children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

While their kids were busy in class, Jonathan and Lauren attended daily lectures to learn more about raising a child with hearing loss.

“There are a lot of opportunities for us to be able to help him develop and grow,” said Jonathan.

Making great strides

A smiling four-year-old wears sunglasses and a baseball uniform. He holds a baseball bat. His older sister learns over him, holding onto the end of the bat.

Josiah holds the bat at tee ball. Alannah stands by, reaching out to offer him support.

Josiah continues to reach new milestones.

He started walking at 4 years old. Alannah, a proud big sister, told us about his first steps.

“He just took seven steps at his school and then at the mall, he took 118 steps,” shared Alannah.

“He pretty much let go of his walker and he’s been wanting to run ever since,” added his mom, Lauren.

Josiah is on the move. He started tee ball this year and went to his first mother/son dance.

“It’s always been we don’t know if he will walk. We don’t know if he will talk. So, we just keep following up with all 17 specialists and we keep pushing him to be the best he can be,” says Lauren.

“A resource that can give you all the resources.”

Part of Josiah’s support team includes DSCC Care Coordinator Kevin Winkfield.

Lauren says she appreciates Kevin’s care coordination and the value of his consistent communication.

“Having the Care Coordinator to at least bounce ideas off of and having him check in on our family and say, ‘How’s Josiah doing? Any great gains in therapy? What are you looking at? What are his short-term goals? What are his long-term goals?’ Just helping with any ideas of the special needs side that we don’t know – the resources that are out there for us that we wouldn’t know about without getting in contact with DSCC,” Lauren said.

A DSCC Care Coordinator smiles next to a DSCC participant family of four. They’re all standing in front of DSCC’s Mokena office. The four-year-old DSCC participant sits in his mom’s arms. He is next to his seven-year-old sister and grandma.

Care Coordinator Kevin Winkfield (left) poses with Lauren, Josiah, the children’s grandma, and Alannah at our Mokena Regional Office. The O’Briens enjoyed Mokena’s annual Summer Extravaganza in July 2024.

Jonathan echos Lauren’s appreciation.

“I think it’s all about having as many advocates in your corner, right? And I think DSCC will provide those and we’re super grateful for them,” added Jonathan.

When asked how she would describe DSCC to another family, Lauren said, “They’re a resource that can give you all the resources.”

Lauren continues to share information about DSCC and the Institute with other families in her community.

“We love spreading the word about DSCC and ISD,” she said.

For more details about the Institute and a full list of sponsors, visit https://dscc.uic.edu/events/2025-institute-for-parents-of-preschool-children-who-are-deaf-or-hard-of-hearing/.