NORTH CANTON, Ohio — If you had a child in the last two decades in Ohio, you are familiar with the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening. It’s mandated by state law, thanks to legislation passed in 2002 and implemented in 2004, requiring babies born in hospitals and birthing facilities to be tested for hearing loss.
What you may not be familiar with is the family who helped inspire the law.
Linda Peshek, a Massillon native who now lives in Carroll County, is one of the individuals responsible for the legislation. She’s a passionate advocate whose kids ignited her calling.
“My two children … are both profoundly deaf and I felt that it was wrong for me to not know that,” Peshek explains.
Two of Peshek’s three children were diagnosed with genetic sensory neural hearing loss before their first birthday. This is something Peshek, who left her legal career to be a champion for her children, says was out of the ordinary in the late 1980s and early 1990s because most children weren’t identified until much later.
“You need to know the day you leave the hospital because there are steps you most take in order to choose what your child is going to be able to do in life and in order to choose their language and communication for life,” says Peshek, who also has a genetic hearing loss in one ear. “Early intervention is key.”
Peshek became one of the authors of House Bill 150, the legislation that became the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening. She, along with other women from Quota International of Massillon, an organization dedicated to serving those with hearing and speech problems as well as disadvantaged women and children, served on the newborn hearing screening committee. The group worked with Ohio legislator Kirk Schuring (R-Jackson Township) to successfully get the initiative passed into law.
“The reason why I'm an attorney is so that I can advocate and fight for my children,” Peshek shares. “But not only my children.”
According to the CDC, out of every 1,000 babies screened, between one and two have hearing loss (1.7 per 1,000 babies screened). In 2019, close to 5,000 babies in Ohio did not pass their hearing screening before one month of age.
“I recognize that had I not been caught … I may not be at the level of where I am today,” says Peshek’s oldest son Chris.
The younger Peshek is now 33 years old and has a family and career of his own. With the help of cochlear implants, an electronic device surgically implanted to improve hearing, and hours of auditory therapy as children, both Chris and his younger sister Laura can communicate and hear well.
Linda Peshek proudly shares that the two are both successful in their respective professions despite their hearing loss.
“My children are the best advocates for themselves,” Peshek says. “They use technology and they’re very savvy.”
Chris and his wife Natasha are expecting their second child in February. Their firstborn Isabella passed her newborn hearing screening before leaving the hospital. The couple now anxiously awaits the results of their newest baby’s test. It’s information they will now know shortly after birth thanks in part to the advocacy work of the baby’s grandmother who says it’s been a fabulous journey.