Child's Voice teacher helps empower kids with hearing loss

Last Thanksgiving, 4-year-old Aryan Patel stood up at his family's dinner table and told everyone he was thankful for his food and family.

While not an unusual scenario for many families, it was at that moment that Angela Chaudhari and her husband, Alpesh Patel, realized they would be forever grateful to Child's Voice School teacher Cheryl Borden.

"Aryan was born deaf and has had difficulty with his cochlear implants. When he began pre-K last year, he knew his alphabet and had begun to read, but much of his speech was unintelligible," said Chaudahari, of River Forest. "(Borden) told us to give her three months and she would have Aryan speaking. And she did. He blew us all away at Thanksgiving and we'll never forget that moment. By the end of last year he was a completely different child and we have no one to thank but Mrs. Cheryl."

Child's Voice provides services each year to more than 150 children with hearing loss from birth through age 8 and their families. The mission of Child's Voice is to empower children who have hearing loss to be successful in all educational and social settings by optimizing their listening,

Borden, of Glenview, has taught at the Wood Dale school for nine years but has focused on helping children with hearing loss for more than 43 years. Originally trained as an elementary teacher, Borden said she "fell into" spoken-language teaching after meeting a friend in college who worked with children with hearing loss.

"I absolutely fell in love with the ability to help children learn to communicate, speak and listen," Borden said. "That opens the doors to their world and education. It excites them about the world in which they live and it's an exciting process to witness."

Borden said she has kept a class photo of every single class she has taught, remembers nearly everyone's name and has kept up with most of her students.

"Every student is so unique, They've all worked so hard at such a young age to grab that brass ring and they've all grabbed it," she said. "Watching them graduating from high school and college and becoming very accomplished young adults is the most exciting thing in the world."

Child's Voice Executive Director Michele Wilkins said she too is thankful to have Borden on her staff, calling her way with her students "just magical."

"There are so many facets to Cheryl's magic, but her spirt and optimism that the glass is always full is most important because she builds that confidence into her students as well," Wilkins said. "And she's got 43 years of experience and expertise that she applies to any situation that comes her way. All of our children are very lucky to have her."

Chaudahari went so far as to call Borden her family's superhero, someone they will continue to be thankful for every Thanksgiving.

Borden also has some people close to her heart, who she'll be saying thanks to.

"I'm thankful for my parents. my husband and my son," she said. "I'm thankful for all the people in my life, especially the children who make such great teams with their parents."