St. Louis woman gets doctorate in audiology to help deaf son

ST. LOUIS -- Carmen Valero-Aracama already had one advanced degree. She got another one for the simple reason she wants a better understanding of her child.

Valero-Aracama earned a doctorate in horticulture years ago. Last week, she was among 3,000 students who graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, earning a doctorate in audiology. It has special meaning because her 10-year-old son, Luca Bostick-Valero, is deaf.

"Everything I do is for him," she told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Valero-Aracama, a native of Spain, was living in Florida with her husband and then 9-month-old son when tragedy struck: Her husband was struck by a car and killed while riding his bicycle. Soon after, she noticed things about her son.

"He wasn't responding to his name," she said. "He didn't startle at loud sounds. He wouldn't look at me when I called him."

As an infant, Luca had failed his initial hearing test. But when he fared better on later tests, Valero-Aracama was relieved.

"But very suddenly, his hearing got worse, very quickly," Valero-Aracama said.

Luca was 18 months old when doctors diagnosed him as profoundly deaf, a late diagnosis that hurt the progress he could have been making. His speech was stunted, and despite being outfitted with cochlear implants in both ears, he was well behind in learning vocabulary.

"He had not been exposed to all of these things like a hearing child," Valero- Aracama said. "It was very hard for me to watch him struggle."

Implants aren't perfect. Deaf people and those who are hearing-impaired hear only imperfect and distorted sounds. Children must hear a word many times before they pick it up.

When Luca was 4, Valero-Aracama moved to St. Louis to take advantage of the resources the area offers for deaf and hearing-impaired children. It worked. Luca worked with audiologists and began to catch up with his peers.

Valero-Aracama, though, knew her son likely would always need some sort of medical assistance, so she decided to pursue a degree in audiology, which allows her to work with adults and children. She can help with balance problems, fit them for hearing equipment, consult with them on whether cochlear implants are right for them and help make hearing equipment achieve the most effective results.

"When he started doing well, I thought it was my turn to do something," she said.

As for Luca, Valero-Aracama said he is thriving, participating in a mainstream classroom and learning to play the violin.