Caleb Best was born with profound hearing impairment in both ears but thanks to The Shepherd Centre, he'll be starting kindergarten with speech and language skills on par with his peers.
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The five-year-old Lake Illawarra boy is so excited about his first day at big school next week that he's been wearing his uniform for two weeks straight.
Thanks to an early intervention program he'll be able to join big sisters Matilda, 8, and Ebony, 10, at a mainstream school - Lake Illawarra South Public.
That's something parents Melindie and Duncan would never have thought possible after Caleb was diagnosed with profound hearing impairment at just six weeks old.
"His diagnosis was a shock - we have since found out it's genetic and both my husband and I are carriers so there was a one-in-four chance our children would be deaf but we didn't know until Caleb, our third child," Mrs Best said.
"He had his first cochlear implant at 18 months, and his second at 2½ years, and his hearing and speech are now really good.
"However he still struggles with background noise so his teacher will be set up with a microphone that will have a direct connection to the implant, which will cut out the noise of the classroom.
"He will also have an itinerant teacher six hours a week to give him some one-on-one attention in areas where he most needs it."
The Bests praised The Shepherd Centre's program for getting Caleb to this point.
The organisation has helped him with regular speech and language therapy, along with the hearing devices, since he was a few months old.
"They've been a fantastic support and will still help Caleb with audiology and mapping as well as reprogramming of the cochlear implants every six months or as required," Mr Best said.
"Five years ago we wouldn't have thought it would be possible for him to go to the same school as his sisters but thanks to The Shepherd Centre's support - and Caleb's efforts - it's finally happening."
Caleb, who was happy to model his new uniform and backpack for the Mercury on Friday, said he was "excited" and was looking forward to "playing" once he got to school.
He is one of 29 deaf and hearing impaired children who will start kindergarten at mainstream schools across the state next week.
"Many of these children were diagnosed with hearing loss shortly after they were born," The Shepherd Centre CEO Jim Hungerford said.
"This is a huge milestone for these families, who have been preparing for their first day of school for almost their entire lives."
