Zack's Sound Cause

ZACKARY Walton's laugh is infectious as he bops along to the Wiggles on television.

The bubbly 22-month-old from Mannum sits playing with his Sesame Street books and Monsters Inc toy, like any other child his age.

But when his mother, Sarah Walton, was 35 weeks pregnant with Zackary she discovered he had Treacher Collins Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects growth and development of the head.

Only one in 50,000 children are born with the genetic disorder which prevents the skull, cheek and jawbones from developing properly, causing facial defects, breathing and feeding problems and hearing loss.

Mrs Walton described her youngest son as a little fighter - strong, intelligent and brave.

"Mentally, he's completely normal," she said.

"Doctors say if anything he's very intelligent and will grow up and do great things.

"We're pretty lucky round here, everyone's very accepting."

Zackary currently wears a headband that helps him hear but his family are hoping he can have a cochlear implant to improve his quality of life.

"He can't wear the headband forever as it doesn't give quality of sound; it's just not practical and it does draw a lot of attention," Mrs Walton said.

"The better he can hear, the better he'll be able to talk."

His family hoped he would be able to have the operation within the next year or two, so he would not need to learn sign language and could attend school in Mannum with his siblings.

"He'll also have a jaw distraction surgery at about four, with that and the implant hopefully he'll be able to hear and talk normally before school," Mrs Walton said.

But as the cochlear implant has only just been approved in Australia, it will be years before it is available through Medicare or the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and will be a costly exercise for the Walton family.

Family friends Matthew and Sally Staples have organised a fundraising campaign to help the family.

"We've got so many charities that do a great job but you can't actually see what they do with the money," Mrs Staples said.

"It's good for the community to be able to help a local boy and see what their dollars can do and help change his life."

Donate now to help Zackary to get a cochlear implant.  

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