As part of our SP Cares charitable giving initiative, we are proud to support Sound Start Babies, a New Jersey–based nonprofit providing early intervention, family support, and nursery programming for babies with hearing loss. Founded in 1996, the organization has spent three decades helping families during the critical early years of life, during which speech, language, and communication skills develop. As the first program in New Jersey to offer total communication, and listening, and spoken language options, Sound Start Babies continues to incorporate research-backed practices and new technologies to help children acquire the essential skills they need for lifelong learning and success. We recently connected with Dr. Laura McKirdy, Speech-Language Pathologist and Founder of the Lake Drive Program; Dr. Patricia Filiaci, Program Advisor; and Dr. Lorraine Solimine, Pediatric Audiologist and Assistant Coordinator at the Sound Start Babies Early Intervention Program, to learn more about their mission and the meaningful impact of their work.
Solomon Page:
Can you share the mission of Sound Start Babies and the impact your programs have on the families you serve?
Sound Start Babies:
When a baby is born with hearing loss, and that hearing loss goes untreated, the child will have difficulty learning to speak, communicate, and develop the language skills that are the foundation of all literacy and learning, which can have life-changing consequences. These difficulties can be averted by provision of listening technology and highly specialized early intervention services during the first few critical years of a child’s life.
Sound Start Babies is committed to ensuring that infants and toddlers with hearing loss receive the highest quality, research-validated, educational services that are provided by individuals with expertise in meeting the varied needs of the children and families they serve. Our goal is to support babies in developing speaking, listening, and communication skills at levels comparable to their hearing peers. The program employs a staff of dedicated professionals from a variety of disciplines, all of whom have specialized, state of the art training in meeting the needs of infants and toddlers with hearing loss, and in providing families with strategies to use daily in the natural routine of their baby’s home life.
As a leader in the field of early intervention for deaf and hard of hearing children, Sound Start Babies continues to be the most inclusive, innovative, and comprehensive model in the state, serving infants and toddlers from every county in the state of New Jersey. Our award-winning program provides an optimal model of intense intervention during the critical period of brain development for babies with hearing loss, guided by a comprehensive team of professionals with experience in working with this population. Research has shown that only with this highly specialized intervention model can positive outcomes be realized. Upon transitioning from Sound Start Babies at three years of age, approximately 77% of the children attain listening and spoken communication skills, which forms the critical foundation upon which all future learning builds.
Solomon Page:
What inspired the founding of Sound Start Babies, and how has the organization grown since it began in 1996?
Sound Start Babies:
Sound Start Babies was founded because there was a need to obtain funding to offer comprehensive specialized early intervention services to babies with hearing loss. Newborn hearing screening identifies the babies in need of care, but funding to provide that care was limited and insufficient until a child reached age three, which is too late to take advantage of the time when a child’s brain is most ready to learn to listen, speak, and communicate. Parents and community members recognized the need, and a charity composed of all volunteers was established to meet the challenge. Since a third of babies with hearing loss have additional special needs, a team of experts across various disciplines was assembled (pediatric audiology, speech/language pathology, teachers of the deaf, physical and occupational therapy). The program became comprehensive in the care it offered, allowing families to have access to a team of specialists to address their concerns.
To maximize their utility, the program began to provide intervention services through telehealth years before COVID and made it a common practice. Sound Start Babies was the first program that the NJ Early Intervention System approved for providing care through a telehealth intervention model. Telehealth also provides families with access to parent information groups, enabling parents to meet other parents of children with hearing loss and share their concerns and resources. Families across the state now have access to the care their babies need. Sound Start Babies also provides the only inclusive nursery program in the state of New Jersey for deaf and hard hearing babies (18 months - 3 years of age), where toddlers with and without hearing loss learn together. The Sound Start Babies Nursery allows children that may have participated in a traditional daycare setting to attend a specialized program with skilled professionals in an environment that takes into consideration the multifaceted needs for this population, which cannot be replicated in traditional daycare and nursery school settings. Classrooms are acoustically treated and use FM technology so that the children have optimal access to hearing both the teacher and one another. This auditory access is essential for the child with hearing loss for them to be able to learn to listen, speak, and communicate. Additionally, the children’s personal listening devices are monitored regularly to be sure they are in working order throughout the day, under the guidance of a pediatric audiologist on staff, who monitors and assesses each child’s listening access, and to provide further support to practitioners and parents.
Solomon Page:
Over the past nearly three decades since Sound Start Babies was founded, how have technology and research changed the way you support children with hearing loss?
Sound Start Babies:
Hearing technology and research in this highly specialized area is constantly advancing and evolving. All Sound Start Babies practitioners remain current in relevant research findings and hearing technology advancements including those related to cochlear implants, hearing aids, and bone conduction hearing aids (BAHA). Dr. Carol Flexer, Audiologist, highlights in her research that the “ear is the doorway to the brain.” This means that the sounds we all hear as infants are critical for brain development and are the gateway to literacy, listening, and speech development. Without proper access to speech and environmental sounds, infants and toddlers will have significant difficulty developing spoken language. Each Sound Start Babies Early Intervention practitioner works collaboratively with our on staff pediatric audiologist as well as hospital-based audiologists to ensure that all the babies are utilizing hearing technology that provides appropriate access to speech and environmental sounds, without which spoken language cannot be acquired. Until the advent of these advanced technologies, invaluable information gained through amplifying sounds or providing stimulation to the auditory nerve, precluded access to the listening centers of the brain where listening and speaking are processed. Currently, the majority of babies with hearing loss receive appropriate amplification technology at a very young age, allowing speech sounds to reach the listening and language centers of the brain. However, unlike eyeglasses that can immediately correct vision, babies require intense intervention immediately following receiving amplification to learn to listen through their technology. This combination results in remarkable outcomes, allowing many children to develop speech, language, and listening skills commensurate with their hearing peers upon entering preschool.
Solomon Page:
How can individuals, organizations, or communities get involved in supporting the mission of Sound Start Babies?
Sound Start Babies:
Individuals, organizations, and communities can support Sound Start Babies in several meaningful ways. Supporters can make personal charitable donations or provide sponsorships for our annual Gala, a critical source of financial funding for the organization. This year’s Gala will take place on May 27 as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sound Start Babies and honor Dr. Laura McKirdy as the 2026 “HEAR-o” of the Year.
In addition, supporters can help identify individuals and organizations who may have a personal interest in advancing our mission through financial contributions and networking to share our life-changing work with others. Your SP Cares program can also help highlight and publicize the unique and positive benefits the Sound Start Babies Early Intervention Program provides for babies with hearing loss during their first three critical years of life. Through increased awareness and donor support, positive and life-changing outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing babies can be achieved.
We want to thank Sound Start Babies, Dr. Patricia Filiaci, Dr. Laura McKirdy, and Dr. Lorraine Solimine for their thoughtful responses and ongoing dedication to advancing outcomes for babies with hearing loss.
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