{"id":58272,"date":"2016-04-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/commencement-2016-uri-student-writes-childrens-book-about-hearing-loss\/"},"modified":"2016-04-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-04-12T00:00:00","slug":"commencement-2016-uri-student-writes-childrens-book-about-hearing-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2016\/04\/commencement-2016-uri-student-writes-childrens-book-about-hearing-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Commencement 2016: URI student writes children\u2019s book about hearing loss"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tKINGSTON, R.I., April 12, 2016\u2014As a 21-year-old college senior, Gabriela Cardona has done something most people never accomplish: She\u2019s the author of a children\u2019s book\u2014and one about hearing loss, no less.<\/p>\n


\nCardona, of Portland, Maine, will graduate from the University of Rhode Island this spring with a bachelor\u2019s degree in communicative disorders. Her minor is even more impressive: thanatology, or the study of death, loss and grieving.<\/p>\n


\nShe initially wrote \u201cAva\u2019s Last Day of Summer,\u201d which is available on Amazon.com for $9.50, for her honor\u2019s project, but decided to offer it to the public when she realized it could help children who are deaf\u2014and their parents.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI\u2019ve always wanted to help people and this book made that possible,\u201d says Cardona. \u201cFor a child, being deaf can pose challenges, and the book guides the child through his or her journey.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nGrowing up in North Deering, a suburb of Portland, Cardona knew in high school that she wanted to study speech pathology. Her father\u2014who performs diagnostic ultrasounds as a sonographer\u2014also encouraged her to explore a career in health care.<\/p>\n


\n \u201cHe wanted me to graduate from college with a skill that could lead to a job,\u201d she says. \u201cI also got some good experience observing autistic children in high school to find out if this was something I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nURI was her first choice. She fell in love with the woody campus during a visit and was also impressed with the University\u2019s communicative disorders program. Plus, she jumped at the opportunity to play field hockey on the URI club team.<\/p>\n


\nShe managed to graduate in three years thanks to a strong work ethic instilled by her parents, Robert and Stacey Cardona, and excellent study habits. She took extra courses most semesters and classes during the summer, in addition to holding down a part-time job at URI\u2019s Anna Fascitelli Fitness and Wellness Center.<\/p>\n


\nIn one of her more fulfilling academic experiences at URI she visited a nonprofit organization in Warwick that helps children and adults cope with the loss of a loved one. She sat in on a session with children.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cThey were very mature and courageous,\u201d says Cardona. \u201cYou could tell this was a perfect place to help them move through their feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nHer book\u2014illustrated by her cousin, Marcus Cardona\u2014chronicles the experience of 6-year-old Ava as she prepares for her first day of kindergarten. Ava is deaf and wears hearing aids that are \u201clight blue\u201d\u2014her favorite color.<\/p>\n


\nAva\u2019s mother and father, along with speech therapists, taught her how to talk, but she also uses American Sign Language, or \u201cASL.\u201d Her best friend is Vanessa, who doesn\u2019t use hearing aids and only communicates with her hands.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cMom and Dad are really nervous for me to start school tomorrow,\u201d Ava says. \u201cThey met with the principal and teachers a lot this summer. I wonder if I will be the only one in my class with hearing aids.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nThe day before kindergarten, the girls bake cookies and when they’re finished \u201cthe timer light flashed to let us know the cookies were done.\u201d Eating on a blanket outside, the girls watch ants grab their crumbs.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI ask Vanessa if she wants hearing aids, but she says no,\u201d says Ava. \u201cShe likes being Deaf and doesn\u2019t want to change. I don\u2019t think she has to change either. I like her how she is, and I like my hearing friends too. They’re all just friends to me.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nAva reflects on her young life: \u201cSometimes, I wonder what it would be like if I only used sign language like Vanessa, or if I could hear without my aids. It doesn\u2019t matter to me though. There is no one else like me, and I like to do the same things with all of my friends.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nShe is scared and nervous to start school, as most kids are, but is comforted knowing she\u2019ll get a special seat next to the teacher. On the book\u2019s last page, she goes to sleep, eager for her next adventure: \u201cWish me luck tomorrow!\u201d<\/p>\n


\nAfter graduation, Cardona is expected to pursue her master\u2019s degree at URI in speech language pathology. If what she did in the past is any indication, she\u2019ll probably graduate sooner than later.<\/p>\n


\n\u201cI\u2019m proud of my work,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd I\u2019m excited to see what the next years will bring.\u201d<\/p>\n


\nURI photo by Nora Lewis<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I., April 12, 2016\u2014As a 21-year-old college senior, Gabriela Cardona has done something most people never accomplish: She\u2019s the author of a children\u2019s book\u2014and one about hearing loss, no less. Cardona, of Portland, Maine, will graduate from the University of Rhode Island this spring with a bachelor\u2019s degree in communicative disorders. Her minor […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58274,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58272\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}