A bear in there

By Jade Lawton
A TEDDY bear called Ted is helping Berwick’s Maryanne Harrison spread her message of tolerance and respect.
Ted, whose name stands for Treat Everyone Decently, is the subject of Maryanne’s recently published children’s book, titled Ted’s First Day Back at School.
Ted is in a wheelchair after an accident, and returns to school after some time off. His friends find that despite his new wheels, he is still the same Ted.
The story is close to Maryanne’s heart – she was left about 80 per cent deaf after a bout of mumps and measles when she was three years old.
“Children do generally not notice when someone has a disability. It is only when someone else, usually a grown-up, points it out to them,” she said.
“If my book can teach children and their parents that being different is OK, then I have achieved my goal.”
Maryanne, who has worked as an advocate for people with disabilities, achieved a huge improvement to her hearing when she had a cochlear implant last year.
After more than 40 years of poor hearing, Maryanne’s world changed.
“It’s been almost 12 months and I can now use the telephone, for the first time in my life. I can listen to talkback radio – I never knew it was so funny, it’s a hoot!
“I wish I got it done sooner rather than later.”
With National Hearing Awareness Week this week, Maryanne encouraged the estimated 185,000 Australians who would benefit from a cochlear implant to consider what it could do for them.
“Go to a proper audiologist and get your hearing checked. Don’t be scared to investigate the possibilities of a cochlear implant,” she said.
A mother of three, Maryanne said her disability did not hold her back.
“My husband, Lindsay, and I are parents of three well adjusted children. You can still get out there, you can still travel. Everyone is different, and that is the message of my book – to respect people. The world would be a boring place if everyone was the same,” she said.
Maryanne’s book is available at www.tedbooks.com