LIMA — A 10-year-old boy who jokingly referred to himself as “The Chosen One” was introduced Tuesday as the Lima Noon Sertoma Club’s Poster Child for 2016.
Clayton Fischer will soon see his face plastered on posters across the Lima region as part of Better Hearing and Speech Month, a national campaign that seeks to raise awareness about communication disorders.
“I think it’s awesome,” said Clayton, who was introduced at the Sertoma Club’s monthly meeting.
Clayton has congenital hearing loss, a condition that has been helped through the use of a hearing aid. The Sertoma Club, whose primary mission is to help those with speech and hearing issues, raises money for people with these conditions. It holds fundraisers each year to help pay for hearing aids, scholarships, and camps for people with speech and hearing impairments.
“We’re trying to acknowledge that hearing impairments do affect people in our community, so we try to pick someone every year, usually a child, who has been affected by this,” said Patrick Wainscott, chairman of the Sertoma Hearing Aid Recipient Program.
For being named this year’s poster child, Clayton received a Star Wars Lego set and was treated to lunch along with his family, who spoke about his struggles and triumphs.
Clayton’s father, Pat Fischer, said the doctors initially told them their child would never be able to hear. They then said they could teach him sign language, but that “probably wouldn’t do much good.”
Now, Clayton is thriving through the use of his hearing aid, and the help from audiologists at Auglaize Audiology. His parents said their son attends normal classes, receives all A’s and B’s, and plays sports.
“So many times, people have said, ‘No, your child can’t do that,’” said Clayton’s mother, Donna Fischer. “Every time, Clayton has made sure to prove to them that he can and he will. Clay has been able to surpass a lot of expectations, and we’re incredibly proud of our son.”
Vanessa Lee, an audiologist who works with Clayton, described him as “the epitome of what a young man should be.”
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