Announcer  
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Mary Beth Marsden  
ABC 2 News at five. It's a much bigger problem than most parents and teachers realize.

Del Walters  
It is. Thousands of children losing out on critical instruction time simply because they can't hear. ABC 2 News education reporter Jenny Glick has the story of a mother who is on a crusade to make sure that children who don't sit in front and center don't wind up behind.

Christopher DeMallie  
This one has a little star. This one has a little car.

Jenny Glick  
Christopher DeMallie is a good reader now. But a few short months ago, he was struggling.

Suzanne DeMallie  
He seemed to know all of his letters, but he couldn't put them together to say the alphabet.

Jenny Glick  
So his parents did some testing and soon found out that Christopher is one of an estimated 15% of children nationwide that has trouble hearing.

Christopher DeMallie  
I mostly don't hear when people are like reading a book.

Craig DeMallie  
My concern was that he was immediately going to be labeled with some sort of disability like ADD or something like that. And so I was really glad we found out it was something else.

Jenny Glick  
Christopher was moved to the front of the class here at Stoneleigh Elementary, but his mom says that doesn't help when a teacher turns her back or when other children speak. But this auditory enhancement device which increases volume by 10 decibels does because it evenly distributes sound around the class.

Suzanne DeMallie  
If they want to talk privately with a student they can turn it off and you can easily hear the difference in the sound.

Jenny Glick  
Suzanne says she doesn't just want the sound system for Christopher. She says a large percentage of students could benefit and research backs her up. Study show students in Utah using the system saw a significant jump in test scores. Even students with no problems hearing say it's often hard to hear their teachers.

Katie DeMallie  
So when she talked, it was like hard to hear and she like had to like write the assignment on the board for homework or something. And then if she was to, like say it out loud then it was hard to hear because like other kids were like, trying to get their notebooks out.

Jenny Glick  
Suzanne's crusade has gotten some support from school board members. The main problem is the price tag.

John Hayden  
Installation cost of somewhere in the multimillion dollar area. Six or more million dollars. And you know, I can't say six or more million dollars and say inexpensive in the same breath.

Jenny Glick  
But Christopher's parents don't plan to give up. Their son is their inspiration.

Christopher DeMallie  
I really like the sound enhancement system and I wish it was in every school, but it's not in every school.

Jenny Glick  
With research indicating thousands of school children could benefit, Christopher's parents say school systems can afford to turn a deaf ear on this problem. In Baltimore County, Jenny Glick, ABC 2 News.