Deafness is the most common disability in the United States. Cochlear implants are an amazing technology that can restore a sense of hearing to many people affected by hearing loss, enabling them to learn to listen, speak, enjoy music, learn a foreign language, talk on the phone, succeed in mainstream education classes without the use of a sign language interpreter, and overall live happy, successful, productive lives just like anyone else! My friend, Rachel Chaikof, was one of the first children in the United States to receive a cochlear implant as part of the FDA clinical trials in 1989. With the help of committed parents and teachers, Rachel listens and speaks just as well as I do, and I have normal hearing! Because of Rachel, and many other deaf people like her who listen and speak with the help of cochlear implants, I am determined to become a Speech-Language Pathologist and specialize as a Certified Auditory-Verbal Therapist. Currently, I work as a teacher's aide in an oral deaf preschool while working toward my degree and SLP certification. Rachel and I collaborate on a website, www.cochlearimplantonline.com. Every day, Rachel and I write articles intended to provide guidance, support, and hope to parents of children newly identified as deaf or hard of hearing. Thus far, our site has reached parents across the United States, as well as people in Australia, Italy, and many other foreign countries. Rachel, a talented graphic artist, has also designed a line of cochlear implant awareness apparel, which is sold through the website. Proceeds from the sale of the cochlear implant awareness clothing fund scholarships to provide Auditory-Verbal Therapy for all children with hearing loss, regardless of their ability to pay. Rachel and I are also active volunteers with the Cochlear Awareness Network, a group of advocates dedicated to providing counseling, support, and information to people with hearing loss considering cochlear implant surgery. In anticipation of this year's Better Speech and Hearing Month, an event recognized every May by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA), Rachel and I have felt motivated to take our advocacy of listening and spoken language for deaf children one step further. Together, Rachel and I have produced two books that include characters with hearing loss. The books describe the ways in which people with cochlear implants are able to live normal lives just like any other children. I am the author, and Rachel is the illustrator. These books will provide a much needed source of information to the public, who generally are ill-informed of the facts about cochlear implants, and unaware of the fact that yes, even the most profoundly deaf children can learn to listen and speak. Additionally, the books' characters will provide positive, self-esteem building role models for deaf and hard of hearing children, who rarely see characters who resemble themselves in children's literature. We are seeking grant funding to help obtain an ISBN number for our book, and to fund the distribution of this book to all of the Cochlear Implant Center hospitals across the United States, as well as many public libraries and oral schools for the deaf. Our hope is that, once these books reach the intended audience across the US, readers will be inspired to purchase more personal copies for themselves or those they love with hearing loss. Once the books are opened to the public for purchase, all proceeds from the sales will be donated to the Let Them Hear Foundation. Let Them Hear provides funding and legal advocacy to people in need of hearing aids, cochlear implants, or specialized rehabilitation/education, as well as conducts medical missions to benefit people with hearing loss around the world. Deafness is a very common problem, yet public knowledge about the potential of each and every deaf person to learn to listen and speak is sorely lacking. Rachel and I know that deaf children CAN do anything they set their minds to, and we intended to show that to the world!