When Daniel Steed was 11 months old, his parents knew something was wrong when he didn't respond to a loud clatter in the kitchen where he had been playing.

The next morning, Daniel's father, Joe Steed, who is a referee, crept into his son's room and blew his referee whistle as hard as he could, but the infant didn't even so much as flinch.

Eventually, Daniel - now 17 and an incoming senior at Righetti High School - was diagnosed with a 95-decibel, or profound, hearing loss in both ears.

Despite his disability, he has managed to perform well academically, and has earned a scholarship to a summer program for talented deaf and hard-of-hearing students run through the University of Washington.

During the program, which began Thursday and ends Aug. 23, Daniel will take computer-animation and other computer-related courses.

“I'm really, really excited about that,” Daniel said through an interpreter.

Known as the Summer Academy for Advancing Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing in Computing, the highly-selective program is designed to help deaf and hard-of-hearing teens “who, as a group are underutilized in computer fields such as computer engineering, computer science, information science, information systems, and information technology,” advance in computer technology-related fields, according to the University of Washington Web site.

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The nine-week program includes a college-level computer-programming course taken for college credit, a course in computer animation and visits to successful Seattle-based computer companies, such as Google and Adobe, where program participants will meet deaf and hard-of-hearing people working in the computer industry.

Daniel was among 10 deaf teens chosen to participate in this summer's program, after his mother urged him to apply because he “had nothing to do for the summer.”

At school and at home, Daniel communicates mostly through sign language, and he is even teaching his hearing friends American Sign Language.

Though he can hear at conversational levels with the use of hearing aids, Daniel - who was also diagnosed with a mild case of Tourette Syndrome - chooses not to use the aids because the added noise stimulus aggravates the symptoms associated with Tourette.

However, signing, especially with friends, has its advantages.

“It's like home signing, actually, where (people are) comfortable with each other - sometimes it's private, sometimes it's secret and silly,” Daniel said.

When he is not studying or hanging out with friends, you can often find Daniel hiking.

“I enjoy the view, I enjoy looking around and I enjoy expressing myself, too ... I feel like I'm really proud and that I've reached the height of success. I love that feeling,” Daniel said of his passion for the outdoors.

Lori Steed said she is extremely proud of her son, whose hearing loss may have resulted from a series of ear infections he experienced as an infant, although it's also possible he was born with some degree of hearing loss.

“I'm really, really grateful for the programs that are developed that people with disabilities can take advantage of that help them catch up with everybody else,” Steed said. “Programs like (the University of Washington's) have made all the difference for him.”

Steed said her son is extremely independent and will do well this summer.

“I asked him if he would miss me, and he just rolled his eyes,” she said with a laugh. “I said, ‘Well, will you at least miss my cooking?' and he said he'd miss my grilled cheese sandwiches.”

Natalie Ragus can be reached at 347-4580 or nragus@santamariatimes.com.

June 24, 2008