Hi, my name is Niki and I’m Peyton’s mom, and Peyton’s Magical Hearing Aid started with a very simple question:
Why isn’t there a book about this?
When Peyton was in kindergarten, she was learning how to navigate life with hearing loss and a hearing aid. At first, I thought the hardest part would be helping her adjust to wearing it. I quickly realized that the harder part was helping the people around her understand it.
Her classmates didn’t know what a hearing aid was.
They had questions. They were curious. They didn’t understand why Peyton wore something on her ear or what it did. And as a young child, Peyton didn’t always know how to explain it herself.
Eventually, I started noticing that she was becoming sad and frustrated with always getting asked questions.
That broke my heart.
I kept thinking about how much easier it could have been if her classmates had simply been introduced to hearing aids in a way that made sense to them. If a kindergarten teacher had pulled out a children’s book and said, “Today we’re going to learn about hearing aids because someone in our class has one.”
Why wasn’t that happening?
Why weren’t there more books that made hearing differences feel normal?
Why wasn’t there a simple story that could help a child understand, “This is Peyton’s hearing aid. This is why she wears it. And it doesn’t make her any different from you.”
So I decided to write one.
I wrote Peyton’s Magical Hearing Aid because I wanted Peyton to see herself in a story. I wanted her classmates to have a way to understand her. And I wanted teachers and parents to have a simple tool to start a conversation about hearing differences and inclusion.
I didn’t want to write a book that made children feel sorry for someone with a hearing aid.
I wanted to write a book that made them curious, comfortable, and accepting.
I wanted Peyton to feel proud.
Peyton is so much more than her hearing loss. She is creative, energetic, determined, and full of personality. She loves drawing, tumbling, running track, and playing guitar. Her hearing aid is just one small part of her story.
But when you’re five years old and you’re the only child in your classroom wearing one, that one small difference can feel very big.
That’s what I wanted to change.
Peyton’s Magical Hearing Aid was born from a mother’s frustration, but even more so, from a mother’s love. I didn’t want another child to sit in a classroom feeling different simply because the other children didn’t understand.
Sometimes inclusion starts with something as simple as a story.
A story that teaches a child what a hearing aid is.
A story that gives classmates permission to ask questions.
A story that helps a teacher open a conversation.
And a story that reminds a little girl that there is absolutely nothing wrong with her.
Peyton didn’t need to become less different. The people around her simply needed to understand her difference.
And when I couldn’t find the book I was looking for, I decided to write it myself.
That book became Peyton’s Magical Hearing Aid.
And I hope that one day, it will be sitting in kindergarten classrooms everywhere so that the next little girl who walks into a classroom wearing a hearing aid doesn’t have to wonder if she belongs.
She’ll already know she does.
Click here if you’re interested in a copy of the book.