Testimonials

I wanted to take a moment and thank you for the difference you have made in my daughter’s life this past school year. Today, her school hosted an event where students shared memoirs they have written. My daughter stood in front of a room of parents, teachers, and her peers and confidently shared what it is like to live with CAPD and the lessons she has learned from the struggle. She explained how she has learned to work hard, advocate for herself, and let go of hurtful teasing so she can focus on being herself and the special things that make her shine. She explained how her filter helps make things easier and how parents and teachers can support her better now that we understand what causes her struggles. It was a beautiful moment that never would have happened without Able Kids Foundation. Thank you.

Jenny is doing great with her filter and is wearing it all the time. She has experienced far fewer seizures. I cried with tears of joy when I picked her up from school this week. She was standing in the middle of friends enjoying a conversation. Prior to her ear filter she would gave been standing off to the side by herself wearing her noise canceling head phones. She participated in three show band competitions, jazz band competition, and regular band competition all last week wearing her filter. She even personally got selected for an individual award for distinguished planning on her sax. So glad she can now actively engage in life versus just watching it from afar. Thank you all so very much!!!!

My son is absolutely thriving with his filter. He finds school a much more comfortable experience with a filter. He has noticed a big improvement in his foreign language comprehension in particular. He also says he can now have actual conversations in the lunch hall, instead of just being lost amongst all the things his friends are saying and spending his whole time trying to keep up. At school he hasn’t had a single person tease him or be anything other than supportive. His friends think it’s really cool in fact! He’s completely used to wearing it at school now and it’s completely part of his day to day. It’s no exaggeration to say that Able Kids and the ear filter has transformed my son’s life. It was a big expense for us coming all the way from London but it has been exponentially worth it. It has honestly been the best investment I could possibly have made in his well-being.

We are in receipt of the ear filter and it could not be more life-altering. My son wore it all day on the first day and hasn’t had to be reminded once since. His anxiety and seemingly manic behavior have almost entirely disappeared. He says, ‘Only all the positive words in every language on Earth could describe how life-changing my filter is!’ Thank you for all you do!

The filter has been “life-changing” for Matthew! Matthew received the filter and wore it for a day before we went to a very loud restaurant/bar (a place where Matthew was booked to play) to check it out. Louder than normal clanking of dishes, conversation, guitar player, and general hustle and bustle to my ears. Matthew had his filter in, we were talking in the corner, and Matthew looked at me with tears in his eyes and told me that he could understand me (and gave me a hug). It was an incredible moment. It took us 15 years to find our way to Able Kids Foundation. The road has been long – full of many well-meaning programs and people which led (mostly) to disappointments…but the filter has worked beautifully for Matthew. It doesn’t fix everything as you know, but all the incoming sounds are now more properly sorted and “heard”! The filter has also made a difference to Matthew’s overall energy level! This is huge! He NEVER has to take a nap anymore. In the past, Matthew would be so exhausted by mid-day, he’d have to take a nap in order to re-charge for the rest of the day. I cannot THANK YOU enough!

The filter has been amazing for our son! My husband and I instantly noticed that we weren’t having to repeat ourselves over and over (and over), and we hardly hear our son say “what” or “huh” anymore. We didn’t quite realize how huge of a difference it has made until recently though. We had to go to a big family dinner last week and we forgot to put his filter in. He was a completely different child at the restaurant than what we’ve been used to seeing the past several weeks. It was very noisy and my son was having a hard time hearing people talk to him. Thank you all for everything! We are so grateful!

Before we came to Able Kids, my daughter’s world was shrinking. We found ourselves continually choosing only activities where the environment would be suitable for her. She has a vibrant, outgoing personality and so she struggled to balance the noisy activities she wanted to be doing with her undeniable need for calm and quiet. She had frequent misunderstandings with peers and found it difficult to develop meaningful friendships. In the classroom, she missed most information presented and tried to teach herself despite being obviously bright with a sincere desire to learn. But now, her world is opening up. From the first day, she remarked how much her focus and ability to work in small groups improved. Her dance coaches noticed a remarkable improvement in her demeanor and ability to follow instructions in a very challenging acoustic environment (music, counts, 25 tween girls). She is becoming a much more positive person. Family members who didn’t realize she was wearing the filter asked why she suddenly seemed calmer and more able to deal with small frustrations. Now that she is calm and happier, friendships are starting to blossom naturally. It has been an amazing transformation over the past few months. We can’t thank you enough for how you have helped give her the tools necessary to reach her dreams!

My son received his ear filter and it has been nothing short of life changing. For years, he has suffered in silence although he knew something was wrong. Receiving the proper APD diagnosis alone was a huge relief and incredibly validating for him. Then to receive the ear filter a couple of weeks later and have it make such a huge difference in school, in the cafeteria, on the bus, and in regular family activities, like eating in a loud restaurant, is nothing short of miraculous. Thank you, Dr. Locke and the Able Kids Foundation. The Able Kids Foundation has transformed his life and for that, we are eternally grateful.

I don’t know how to thank you for everything. My daughter received her filter – and it fits perfectly. She doesn’t even feel it. She noticed a difference immediately. It was so significant she started crying. She said she could hear us talking and that it was clear – very very clear. She wears it from the time she gets up to the time she goes to sleep. She is taking very good care of it because she says it has changed everything. I can see a difference as well. She is more confident and able to participate in conversations. Her GPA went from a 2.0 to a 3.749 – enough to make it on honor roll. She still has some difficulty if it is a large crowded area with a ton of people – but even then there is a significant improvement. I can’t thank Able Kids enough for what they have done for our daughter and our family. Thank you!

Dad lost ear filter. Mom cried for two days. Dad felt so bad he agreed to adopt a guinea pig. Daughter checked mailbox daily for new filter. Filter arrived. Mom cried again. Thank you Able Kids Team for all you have added to our lives!

I just wanted to give you a report on how my son is doing with his ear filter. He really loves it! He wears the filter all day long, but the biggest changes we’ve seen have been at school. His teacher says he has a new confidence that she had never seen in him before. Only a couple days after we got the ear filter, he was teaching lessons on volcanoes to the preschoolers! My son used to be very socially isolated and set apart by his woodshop-style earmuffs. It was the only way he would tolerate school though. He would come home every day and I’d ask him how his day was. And every day, he’d say, “so and so pushed me…hit me…spat at me…threw my work on the floor…tripped me…threw a rock at me on the playground…” And so on, every single day. After the first day with his ear filter, I asked how his day was. You can’t imagine my relief when he said, “Good!” And it has been good ever since. My son also eats his lunch now. He used to come home with a full lunch box every day. He must have been too overwhelmed from the noise to eat at school. But now he eats his entire lunch every day! His teacher says she is really excited for him and he is so much more confident in school now that he has an ear filter. Thank you so much for your help! And thank you to the Colorado Masons for making this financially possible for us. We are so grateful!

Finding the Able Kids Foundation and receiving the filter has greatly impacted me. Before I received the filter, school was constantly a struggle. I would often complain I could not focus at all, making it incredibly more stressful to sit through lectures as well as just having regular conversations with people who were only merely a few feet away from me. Zoning in and out of conversations and missing things being said to me had just been something I had been accustomed to before receiving my filter. I had never even considered these problems much of an issue during my life, mostly because it was just something that happened to me multiple times a day and was just something I dealt with. But after I received my filter and wore it all day long, I see how much it has helped me. These symptoms of auditory processing no longer affect me like they used to and the filter has honestly enhanced my life now that I am not constantly slightly fatigued. I wear my filter religiously now and won’t go anywhere without it now. Thanks so much Able Kids Foundation for helping me out!

Finding the Able Kids Foundation, was not easy, especially coming from Florida. But once we found it and went, all of our lives were transformed. Especially that of our son, and as his life changed all of our lives changed as well. What I most remember of that first time, was a few weeks later when my son came out of school the second week of first grade (the first day he wore his filter), I asked him my usual question “How was your day, did you have fun?” and for the first time he came out with a huge smile and gave me two thumbs up and said “Mami, I can hear, I knew what was going on in school, it was fun.” Since that first time at Able Kids, we’ve gone back several times, and as our son has grown we’ve been able to see the changes in his processing, and have learned about the neurological development of hearing. Most importantly, as he has moved up in school, Able Kids Foundation has always been there with us. Able Kids has written recommended accommodations for school which have helped our son get what he needs to succeed in his gifted program. The Foundation goes far beyond the screening of the child, it becomes an active participant in that child’s life. Currently, our son is in 8th grade where he is taking high school classes. Seeing his sense of accomplishment in school, his confidence in social environments, and his overall happiness is directly related to the help and support we’ve gotten from Able Kids through the years. As he has grown he has become a more confident person, he has developed friendships, and he excels in school.

We noticed differences in our son from the first day he had his ear filter in. Most notably, his overall stress level and anxiety have decreased which has been an indicator to me of how taxed his little body was from the constancy of sounds in his world. He is now calm, happy, enjoys conversation, can play or read in quiet, readily tries new things, and doesn’t seem like he might just burst. We are seeing improvements in other sensory systems as well. He is much more tolerant of tactile input, likes to be hugged and even initiates hugging his sister (which he never did before). It is hard to quantify how exactly this filter has impacted our family life . . . . it is all the small things that are really the big things and add up to what life is about. As a family, we can play together, laugh together, discover and explore much more freely than I once thought would be possible. This brings more joy and love into each day as everything just works more smoothly and with ease. Thank you to Able Kids for your professionalism, expertise and kindness towards our family.

Thank you. Our visit last week with our daughter surpassed expectations. We now have such a clear picture of what life is like for her and are filled with hope. Dr. Hardy was fantastic! The way she explained everything to our daughter, with so much compassion, was so appreciated.

The ear filter is working extremely well. We have heard from our daughter’s teacher and principal that she is a lot more calm and less on edge than she had been. We have noticed the same at home. She also has more energy at the end of each school day. She used to immediately fall asleep in the car on the ride home and now she energetically tells us about her day. Thank you!

We cannot thank you enough for making such an enormous difference in our daughter’s life. In her young life, she suffered terribly from what we now know was CAPD. Despite the fact that she clearly had all of the symptoms (I know this now-after diagnoses), the CAPD was not diagnosed by 2 neurologists, 3 audiologists, a developmental pediatrician and a Psychiatrist. It was not until we found Able Kids that CAPD was diagnosed and managed with the filter. The filter has changed her life (and ours) in many ways. She was failing school and had no close friends (she wouldn’t join in conversations). She’d often cry, saying everyone was mean to her (including us). She was exhausted all of the time, sleeping for hours after school. She was a shell of a girl, just barely making it through the day. The day the filter went into her ear, she didn’t take a nap (and she hasn’t taken a nap in 1 year)! She is now only slightly behind grade level (as opposed to being more than 1 year behind). She is making friends and even went to a sleep away camp for the first time this summer and did FANTASTIC!! She now answers questions immediately and accurately. Although children’s museums are still difficult (acoustics are awful), she happily goes to movies, parties, parks, sports games and other loud functions. She joins into conversations and shows great interest in those around her. The filter has not solved every problem that she has, but it has made her life a thousand times better. She is now a joyful, fun-filled child who loves to learn and have books read to her. She is an amazing little girl, who is able to succeed each day thanks to her filter.

“Our son’s filter has made a huge difference in his ability to enjoy school this year. Before Able Kids, he was really struggling in school and would come home absolutely exhausted with the blank look of a “zombie” in his eyes. Now that he’s using the filter, he comes home from school with a smile and he’s got energy to play with the kids in the neighborhood and go to his karate classes instead of hiding out in his room. The change is nothing short of miraculous!”

“From start to finish, our experience with Able Kids was efficient, professional and enjoyable. The assessment process in their office was very thorough, and both the initial findings and final report were extremely helpful in understanding central auditory processing issues. Dr. Locke and the staff made the experience entirely non-threatening to, and in fact fun for, our child. They helped us understand the issues and formulate an effective approach for addressing them. Able Kids Foundation comes highly recommended. Thank you.”

“Our children have had their filters for a week and I’ve noticed a high improvement. Our son hasn’t had any meltdowns and he is much more calm, especially in stores. On Sunday, he was able to sit the entire time our family ate at a fast-food restaurant. That has never happened before! Usually, he is loud and running around, rarely finishing his meal. But this time, he sat still, ate all of his meal, then engaged in a conversation. WOW! Both of our children are significantly more focused on their school work. I haven’t had to redirect them back to their tasks once! Thank you for bringing some calm into our lives!”

“A sincere thank you to everyone at the Able Kids Foundation. Before I received my filter school life was hard for me. I would always come home tired and grumpy. This frustrated me because I was different than my peers. After receiving my filter, my life was turned completely around. At first I was scared about wearing my filter because of the what other students would think. Then I learned that it is nothing to be ashamed of, and the positive effects of wearing my filter outweighed what my fellow students thought about me.”

“On behalf of my wife and myself, I wanted to sincerely thank you for having the ability to diagnose and treat our son’s CAPD. Your very caring and immensely sensitive staff welcomed us into the Able Kids Foundation office and the rest is comforting history. Your sensitive way to comfort our concerns was paramount in our decision to travel from Arizona to Fort Collins for your testing process. Once we arrived, we felt as though you were testing a member of your own family. As you know, we were looking for your answers to our questions regarding whether (or not) our son had CAPD. Based on your clinically proven methods, you found out that he had CAPD and was well on his way to being able to participate and understand his teachers better. We look forward to better grades and greater academic knowledge with your valuable assistance. Best wishes for the future of all children and families who are touched by your efforts.”

“I just wanted to share with everyone at the Able Kids Foundation the astounding difference we have noticed in our son in just the first couple of weeks with his filter. His attention has improved immensely and he just does not stare off into space nearly as much (creative people have to daydream sometimes!). Our two oldest children came home from college last weekend and said that they could not believe the difference in him. I want to thank all of you for making a difference in his life. We look forward to seeing you again in a couple of years.”

“There is no way you could remember me or my daughter, but I want you to know how profoundly your words and insight touched our lives. My little red-headed daughter was only three when first tested and you provided us with hope and understanding about how she learns differently. Because her auditory processing difficulties were identified early, she received special education assistance K-12, AND she learned coping strategies you taught us to deal with her challenges. She has always been a resilient, eager learner; only rarely did she lose self-confidence. She, because of you, never lost hope that she could be anything she wanted, if she was willing to try. Well, she achieved her goal last summer. After six years of college, four at community colleges, and working part-time throughout, she graduated from Western Washington University with a degree in education. She is now a special education teacher south of Seattle. We don’t often get the chance to tell people how important and far-reaching their work is. I want to thank you for touching our lives, and the lives of those to come.”

“I want to thank the Able Kids Foundation for the filter. It is creating a new world for my daughter. She still has to work at it but she’s taking speech this semester and I can’t believe she’s speaking in front of people. Even though she’s only had it for a short time, it’s been so helpful. It’s helped her but also it has helped us as a family.”

“I wanted to give you an update on our son. He received his filter on the 19th. On Sunday we went to the Denver Art Museum and when we came home, our other children were too tired to even have lunch. I was able to get three hours alone with our son. We colored a Chinese mask and played with a Montessori game where you put shapes in a bag and then put them into place. Then I suggested we get out this little magnetic alphabet board that I have that has all sorts of games. We had tried it the week before and he just couldn’t focus (he’s struggling learning his letters). So this time, I suggested we try it with his filter. He agreed. He concentrated the entire time and assembled the entire alphabet! We then sang the alphabet song together. I realized that in the first section of the alphabet he was struggling with D, F, and G. So I decided with some sticky letters that I have to put A-G on the wall until he’s comfortable with those and we really worked on the letters. After we were done, we spoke about his acoust;ic device and he told me that it made a huge difference and I could see it. Now he wants to keep it in all of the time and he says he can’t even feel it. He likes that it’s clear and invisible like a super hero’s. It is so wonderful not to have to repeat ourselves and for him to hear and respond. It is nothing short of AMAZING. I cannot wait to see what having this wonderful filter will do for him in school. THANK YOU!!!!!!!”

“My sincere thanks for everything everyone has done for me. While not a child, and that seems to be the mainstream of your work, the auto accident left me with some unique challenges. Not the least of which is to remember what everything is called! Dr. Locke addressed the sensory part of my difficulties with a professionalism and tenderness that both helped me understand what was happening and be more patient with myself about it all. My resulting filter is amazing. Still it seems to be like a little piece of magic in my ear. What happens from my filter is simple. I am able to participate in and enjoy life to an immensely greater degree than I can without it. I am able to be in the world, and even more, interact with others! Conversations understood. Fewer headaches. Like I said, MAGIC! Please extend a heartfelt outreaching of appreciation to those who contributed to make this possible for me. Without their help, my life would be significantly restricted to my room, very short times out in public, and fewer and fewer connections with others. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“I want to thank you for the compassionate care that you have given to my son. He has autism and has very little functional communication. We have known for a long time that he has auditory difficulties but thought that, due to his inability to communicate, testing and treatment would be very difficult. A friend referred me to Able Kids and Dr. Locke was very patient and creative in finding ways to get usable test results from him, allowing us to get a diagnosis of CAPD and also to fit him with a filter for his ear. Since fitting his filter, his behavior has improved tremendously. Prior to our visit to Able Kids, he wore noise-cancelling earphones most of the time and constantly covered his ears. He was sensitive to even everyday sounds, leading us to disconnect our doorbell and run our dishwasher and washing machine only when he was asleep. Since receiving his filter (which he loves and even requests verbally), his use of his earphones has decreased by about 75%. Last weekend we took him to a crowded restaurant for brunch – without earphones! To my surprise, there was even a live music performance in the restaurant that day; however, he handled it all without any tears, tantrums, or requests to leave. Six months ago such an outing would have been impossible. His communication is improving as well. He is requiring fewer verbal prompts to comply with requests and is somewhat less distractible. He is becoming a child with whom we can actually connect and we are so appreciative of these new opportunities that you have given to our family. Thank you!”

“I wish all of you the best as I can’t say how much you have done for my family! When I first called, I was in tears. That day they were dried and I was given hope. I know that I will get help with anything that I need. And I can’t say how relieved I am every time I hear Dr. Locke! She just makes everything all right! Our daughter continues to improve to the point that she has only had five falls since August and the only major one was when she was pushed down on the playground. You may remember that the year before she was seen, she had 27 falls with 4 of them being major, 2 severe in a 6 week period. She has again made the Principal’s Honor Roll and her teacher cannot imagine how she ever could get D’s or F’s. I truly believe that her filter is allowing normal development of her central auditory nervous system to the point that she is catching up with the rest of the world. Our son, simply put, is not the same person that you met last December! You may remember that he is a very highly functioning, but definitely autistic adult. His autism mostly expressed itself in his ability to interact with people. He has had multiple different evaluations throughout out his life; but being evaluated at the Able Kids Foundation has allowed him to have a life. Since last year, he has been able to go in the dining hall [at college], eat with friends (and yes he has gotten several since last year), he was invited into and joined a start-up business venture, joined a collegiate sports team, joined an academic team, and even pledged a professional fraternity before deciding it wasn’t for him. And all of this from a person who had to force himself to look at people’s faces. Please accept our gratitude!”

“I can’t begin to tell you how much my filter has already impacted my life! My last two days have been filled with lengthy meetings, business lunches in noisy environments, conversations in distracting areas and just my usual work area with constant employee traffic, ringing phones and conversations that I am not even a part of going on around me. With my filter I have been able to remain focused, attentive, engaged and patient. I no longer feel like I am going to lose my mind or that my head is going to explode. I also feel like I am retaining a majority of the information that I am supposed to without the distraction of so many other things going on. Thank you Able Kids Foundation for your many years of dedication to this technology and thank you Dr. Locke for your patient and kind way of working with me. You guys are very special!”

“My daughter put her filter in and we ate dinner as a family (we have four kids so dinner is lively at our house!). Afterwards, I was talking to my husband and his comment was, “for the first time, it’s like she was a part of the conversation and not just watching it.” Thanks so much for everything!”