|
The Wisconsin Infant & Children's Statewide Hearing Aid Exchange Service (WISHES) program loans hearing instruments (hearing aids and/or FM systems) for a six month period to newly identified deaf and hard of hearing children who are not Medicaid eligible or do not have hearing aid insurance coverage (children ages 0-3 will be given priority).
The purpose of the program is to assure that all children identified with a hearing loss have access to auditory development of the brain through high quality hearing instruments soon after identification.
This temporary assistance is intended to bridge the gap between identification of a hearing loss and obtaining the financial means to purchase personal amplification or for children awaiting cochlear implant surgery.
Families can access the program through their clinical audiologist.
HIGHLIGHTS:
-
No financial criteria other than not having access to personal insurance or state funded medical assistance that covers hearing instruments.
-
Minimal paperwork, audiologist submits a Hearing Aid Request Form indicating the device/s they are requesting and families must sign a Parent Use Agreement indicating that they may be held financially responsible for loss or damage to the hearing instrument/s.
-
Additional supports include one package of batteries per hearing instrument and one Parent Care Kit.
-
Personal FM Systems from Phonak and Oticon are available on a limited basis.
-
More than 60 children have benefited from the WISHES program since its inception in 2009.
Click here to download the WISHES Program brochure.
For additional Information, please contact:
Stacie Heckendorf
Educational Audiology Consultant
WISHES Program Coordinator
WI Educational Services Program for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing (WESP-DHH) Outreach
124 2nd Street #11
Baraboo, WI 53913
Office: 608-355-2023
FAX: 608-355-2042
Cell: 262-749-6763
Email: anastasia.heckendorf@wesp-dhh.wi.gov
The WISHES program is a collaborative effort between the multiple agencies and programs listed below:
-
Wisconsin Educational Services Program for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (WESP-DHH) - Outreach
-
Wisconsin Sound Beginnings Program
-
WisTech
-
University of Wisconsin-Stout – Assistive Technology Resource Center
| 
