Speech pathologist Dimity Dornan has been made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her work teaching deaf children to listen and speak.
She started a free clinic in the early 1990s and her not-for-profit Hear and Say centres now help more than 600 children – many of them profoundly deaf – using cochlear implants and the latest technology.
“I say to parents, it’s when the child’s life has turned from black and white, into rainbow,” Dr Dornan told the ABC.
“If they’ve had no hearing, everything is a wonder and then as they develop it’s absolutely magic for the parents when they start to say things back like ‘I love you’ or ‘Mummy’ or ‘Daddy’.
“It’s an awesome thing to do, and it’s my pleasure.”
Dr Dornan hopes being appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia will help her change the lives of more children around the world.
“My dream goes much further then Australia. My dream goes worldwide,” she said.
We take special pleasure in announcing these news because Dr. Dornan is a PORA speaker with a profile in our blog. She made a number of successful and well-attended presentations in the webinars on March 8th 2012, March 22nd 2o12, then May 10th 2012 and, most recently, on November 11th 2012.