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Former Outpost student Bridget is comfortable both behind and in front of the camera.
Twenty-six-year-old Bridget Gilmour is another wonderful success story to emerge from Telethon Speech & Hearing’s (TSH) Outpost program, which supports children with hearing loss to attend mainstream schools.
Although she was born with a sensory neuro hearing loss, regular inner ear infections from an early age prevented Bridget’s permanent hearing loss from being diagnosed until the age of three. By four she was sporting her first pair of hearing aids.
Bridget’s parents enrolled her in TSH’s Talkabout program for her Kindy year, addressing the speech and language delay acquired from the early hearing loss.
After Kindy, Bridget attended St Stephen’s School, one of 17 Perth schools that are part of TSH’s Outpost program. The Outpost program encourages children with hearing loss to attend mainstream schools by providing Teachers of the Deaf, Note Takers, Education Assistants, and access to further supports such as psychologists, occupational therapists and speech therapists.
Bridget received a cochlear implant in her left ear when she was 12.
“There were some challenges along the way,” she explains. “Technology back then wasn’t as good as it is now, so it was difficult to hear friends, teachers and classmates. Socially, it was exhausting trying to keep up with everyone, and that made it a bit isolating at times.”
Fortunately, Bridget had a big team at TSH to lean on, including Monica Reader, Josie Hawkins, Amber McDonald and Geoff Reader.
“TSH helped me improve my speech and public speaking, advocate for myself and learn tactics and techniques to survive school,” she said. “Having a note taker during high school helped hugely for keeping up with the class work.”
After graduating high school, Bridget achieved qualifications in business and animal care, before pursuing one of her passions – photography. After two years of studying at TAFE, she completed her Bachelor of Arts in Photography and Illustration Design at Curtin University. She now works full time as a Production Assistant at a large photography company, and has a second job as a freelance photo editor/re-toucher for several photography businesses.
Interestingly, Bridget is also a part-time model.
“A couple of years ago, I was approached and signed by Zebedee Inclusive Talent Agency, a company based in Australia and worldwide that promotes disability, visible difference, and gender identity models in the media,” she explains. “This isn’t something I had imagined myself doing but it’s really pushed me out of my comfort zone.”
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If it sounds like Bridget is a busy person, that’s because she is.
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“I work so much that I have very little time to do things but when I get the chance I enjoy learning Japanese,” she says. “I’d like to travel more and I’m saving up to buy my own house.”
Bridget has some sage advice for children and families embarking upon their own hearing loss journey.
“Life is always going to knock you down,” she says. “Always get back up and keep moving forward. Having resilience is probably the biggest skill I have achieved. It is important to challenge yourself with your fears but it’s just as important to enjoy life.”