Growing up, Rosie Williams dealt with hurtful comments about her hearing impairment.
Some kids refused to sit next to her because they said her hearing loss was contagious. Other kids avoided speaking to her because they thought she would not be able to talk back.
“I used to be very, very ashamed of my hearing loss when I was younger,” Williams said. “I went through a lot of bullying, and I had some nasty things said about my hearing impairment, which kind of brought fuel to the fire of how ashamed I was of it.”
It took time, but the sophomore at Trinity Episcopal School is now speaking up for herself and is encouraging others with similar challenges to advocate for themselves.
“I know it’s really, really difficult to express yourself and express that you need help,” Williams said. “But it makes life so much easier when you’re hearing impaired or deaf, because people do want to help you, and they will understand if you give them a chance.”
Williams, 16, was diagnosed with bilateral hearing impairment when she was three months old. While she does wear hearing aids, her condition will progressively worsen over time. Williams began speech therapy at 16 months and continued for 11 years.
While Williams has been able to play sports like soccer and tennis and pursue other interests such as fashion, she still runs into some obstacles. During rainy games, she has to take her hearing aids out. As recently as last year, a referee who was skeptical of Williams’ hearing issues gave her a hard time during a match.
For the most part, however, Williams has had the backing of many people in her life, including her parents Mary and Kurt Williams.
“I genuinely don’t think I could ask for better parents,” she said. “They took so much time to learn about this; whenever I had a question or I needed support, I could go to them and tell them what was going on without any judgment.”
Williams’ brother Grady, a senior at Trinity, has a more moderate hearing impairment, but still related to his sister’s struggles more than most.
Even though they were not always close, the elder Williams — who is heading to William & Mary to play golf — provided support to his younger sister when she encountered difficult situations.
“He came to my side when I needed it most,” Williams said. “Even though we weren’t always buddy-buddy, there was always this silent thing like ‘you come and help me, I’ll come and help you.’ Since then, we’ve gotten so much closer.”
Williams said Trinity has been a great environment for her. Teachers and coaches have been willing and able to accommodate her needs while she takes classes and plays sports.
She singled out Laura Weiler, head of community engagement and special projects at Trinity, for helping boost her confidence.
“I remember I was talking to Ms. Weiler one day and she was like ‘this is the coolest thing ever, this is not something you should be ashamed of,’” Williams said. “I had a whole conversation with her, and I just realized this is a big part of me.”
A big part of Williams’ development when she was younger was attending Camp CHAT (Children Hearing and Talking), a week-long summer program through the Children’s Hospital of Richmond.
The camp serves children who are deaf, hard of hearing or have a speech impediment, with the kids taking part in activities that complement their conditions.
“That was the first place that I really felt seen,” Williams said. “I felt like I could finally connect with someone; these kids were going through the exact same experiences as me.”
For the past few years, Williams has served as a counselor at Camp CHAT as a way of giving back.
“I can help so many other kids have the same feeling I did when I went to Camp CHAT,” she said. “I started advocating about what happened to me and then advocating for it to be more normalized.”
Williams is also reaching out to help those with other conditions. Currently, she is co-leading a campaign to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Williams drew inspiration from her best friend Lauren, a two-time cancer survivor.
“The feeling of somebody helping you when you’re most vulnerable, it’s overwhelmingly awesome,” Williams said. “So every time that I can help, I’m going to help because I know that feeling.”
Throughout her journey, Williams went from shying away from discussions about her hearing impairment, to embracing herself and using different platforms to speak out about hearing loss.
“It’s been incredibly rewarding to watch Rosie grow in her time here,” Weiler said. “Her passion for helping people is evident in everything she does, and it’s just so rewarding because she has great enthusiasm and zest for life.”
Williams’ future plans include attending college; she is considering pursuing a career as an audiologist or speech therapist.
“I’m very excited for college,” Williams said. “It’s going to be a whole other chance for me to grow as a person; I feel like I’m going to be able to find my people.”
Rosie Williams laughs with her brother Grady on March 7 at Trinity Episcopal School in Richmond. Williams was diagnosed with bilateral hearing impairment when she was 3 months old, but has been able to participate in sports and other school activities. Now, through her volunteer work, she is helping other youth who have hearing impairments.
“I used to be very, very ashamed of my hearing loss when I was younger,” Rosie Williams said. “I went through a lot of bullying, and I had some nasty things said about my hearing impairment, which kind of brought fuel to the fire of how ashamed I was of it.”