Leslee is passionate about issues around hearing loss, particularly with helping individuals to cope regardless if the hearing loss was present at birth or acquired later in life. Nothing pleases her more than to see people understanding their hearing loss better and to be more effective in communicating their needs.
Leslee was born with a hearing loss as a result of Maternal Rubella; profound in one ear and moderate to severe in the other. She learned to speechread at a very young age, effectively fooling the professionals although her parents suspected a loss. Her mother, being a former teacher, took on the task of teaching Leslee to speak properly. She attended public school, again defying the professionals, as her parents refused to send her to Vancouver for residential education. Leslee Scott's father, a school superintendent, enlisted his teacher colleagues to work with his daughter. She did adequately although she mainly learned by rote.
In her early teens, a specialist tried to foist an FM system on her. Being an introvert and shy, she refused to wear it. In hindsight, she realized how much she really missed. She now advocates for the use of whatever resources work best for individual students.
She went to college and university and did use the disability resources available to her. She graduated from the University of BC with a BA in Sociology and a BSW. She later returned to university and graduated from the University of Alberta with a Masters in Special Education for the Deaf, specializing in Vocational Assessments.
She utilized those skills working for not-for-profit agencies, such as the Canadian Hearing Society (CHS) from London Ontario, and the Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (WIDHH) both in Vancouver and Kelowna. Leslee has also been self-employed for 10 years, doing contract work with the government in employment services, education and other organizations.
Leslee is a Registered Rehabilitation Practitioner (RRP) with the Vocational Rehabilitation Association (VRA).
Her career working with Hard of Hearing, Deaf and Late Deafened individuals included:
