Nethra Narayanan is a caring, empathetic girl who loves reading and social studies. The OVV alumni, who is now a 5th grader at E.H. Greene Intermediate School, dreams of becoming either a police officer or author when she grows up. But, as her mother Anjali attests, Nethra’s path wasn’t easy.
Born premature at 25 weeks of gestation, Nethra spent 6 months in the NICU. She underwent heart and bowel obstruction surgeries and at 11 months old was diagnosed profoundly deaf. “We were devastated,” Anjali remembers. “We had no experience within our family of someone who was born deaf. She had other medical challenges at that time, so we felt a bit lost when we found out about the deafness as well.”
Immediately following her diagnosis, Nethra received at-home speech therapy offered through Hamilton County and attended private speech therapy at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. When she failed to make progress, the county health worker mentioned Ohio Valley Voices. Anjali admits that she and her husband, Venkat, had reservations:
“We were extremely apprehensive as we knew it was a full-day program and Nethra had only been at home all this while. However, once we visited OVV all our fears melted away. Everyone was so warm, welcoming and understanding. We toured the school and saw happy kids making amazing progress. Once we saw that, there was no doubt in our minds OVV was the right place for her.”
Nethra loved her time at OVV and all the teachers and friends she met there, especially “Boss Carey,” Maria, Ms. Janice, and her first teacher, Meredith. OVV gave the entire Narayanan family the support they needed for Nethra to flourish and learn to communicate. “OVV is a special place because every single person there is so dedicated to improving the lives of these kids,” Anjali explains. “They advocate for these kids and provide much-needed emotional support to the families.
Nethra graduated from OVV in 2016 and entered the Sycamore School District as a second grader. Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, she has seamlessly transitioned to virtual learning. Her many interests include reading, traveling, learning foreign languages, and hanging out with her twin brother, Nikhil. She wrote her first short story this past summer and, inspired by the hit Broadway musical Hamilton, has become an engaged citizen. She even closely followed this year’s presidential election!
Reflecting on their experience at OVV, Nethra and Anjali are grateful for everything the program gave them and look forward to staying involved—Nethra by attending summer camp, Anjali by bringing her wealth of skills and professional expertise to the Marketing Committee. For them, OVV is a family, one they continue to be a part of even after graduation.
“Every once in a while we will run into a classmate, friend or a teacher from OVV while out and about and it’s always a wonderful feeling! It’s like our own special community.”