Re: What do I look for......

[Guest guest]

Debby,

Where are you moving to? I first want to say I understand what you are going

through although our situation is a little different. We have been trying to

get services through the school for the deaf for quite some time. They

don't want him so we are stuck with only services through EI. Actually

just transferred into school and we are not happy with his placement, it is a

non-hearing impaired class with children who are mostly non-interactive.

Is your child a speaker and signer, or just a signer? I ask because in my

experience the EI speech therapists just don't have experience with hearing

impairments, they work with all sorts of speech issues, but they refer to the

local school for the deaf if the child is hearing impaired. If your daughter is

more fluent in sign then your ST then I personally would be in favor of

transfering her. You need a teacher who is more advanced than her. Now having

said that perhaps you should leave her where she is for right now and just work

on the things as much as you can now, and use this time to investigate the state

where you are moving and their programs. This is why I asked where you are

moving to. Also it matters what form, or forms of communication you have chosen

as far as where she should go for the best treatment. I personally would like

to have a ST who specializes in HI kids, but it's not happening. Anyway I

hope this helps. I know this is all so confusing. Try writing your goals for

her and look into all options and decide then which suits her better, but as I

said before maybe you should shift your gaze from the now to when you move. It

will take a while to get lots of info on the new place you are moving from and

it is really hard to process it all, my head start spinning after a while, so

just try to relax and take it a little at a time.

What do I look for......

My 20 month daughter has been in Early Intervention since July. She

was getting PT for gross motor skills & Speech for her hearing loss.

She's just had her hearing aid for about 2 months & will go for a new

hearing test (with the aids) next week.

Yesterday, her EI therapist tested her for her Gross Motor skills.

She doesn't really have to be evaluated until her birthday in May. I

guess part of the problem with EI is that she's pretty much caught up

with her motor skills, she is more fluent in sign than her speech

therapist, & with out any additional needs, EI wants to turn her over

to the school system for further services.

I realize that districts differ from each other. They've suggested

that I go over & observe the hearing impaired preschool class at the

local elementary school. What should I be looking for? Are there

really any other (affordable) choices?

To complicate matters, we are moving in 6 weeks to another state. I

know we will stay status quo here (not change our current treatment),

but where do I start for services in our new area? I feel like I'm

starting this all over again, except it's a new maze.

Thanks & Regards,

Debby

All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is

the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

restrictions.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

>To complicate matters, we are moving in 6 weeks to another state. I

>know we will stay status quo here (not change our current treatment),

>but where do I start for services in our new area? I feel like I'm

>starting this all over again, except it's a new maze.

>

I would tell your listmates (that's us ) about the general vicinity where

you're moving. Parents, esp those on listen up, will know how to navigate

the mazes. Sounds like you're doing TC with your child. I think there are

a lot of TC programs around, where as if you're ONLY going oral or ONLY

going sign, then your options would be more limited.

_________________________________________________________________

Scope out the new MSN Plus Internet Software — optimizes dial-up to the max!

http://join.msn.com/?pgmarket=en-us & page=byoa/plus & ST=1

[Guest guest]

Just to let you know I moved to Orlando area about 1 year ago. I live in

Orange County. My daughter is 9 years old mild to moderate loss in both ears and

might be losing more (we have to follow-up with doctors)? You can e-mail

privately if you want.

[Guest guest]

I would tell your listmates (that's us ) about the general

vicinity where

> you're moving. Parents, esp those on listen up, will know how to

navigate

> the mazes. Sounds like you're doing TC with your child. I think

there are

> a lot of TC programs around, where as if you're ONLY going oral or

ONLY

> going sign, then your options would be more limited.

We are headed towards Orlando.

Lindsi has a moderate loss in her better ear & that or a greater loss

in her other ear. She is extremely visual, so the signing is what we

started for communication, & she gets it. She holds out her hands,

so you can show her new words daily.

Our support staff all believe that she will eventually be verbal &

probably a lip reader. Given continued therapy, they expect her to be

a child that will be able to mainstream into regular classes by

kindergarten. So, I've been told.

Thanks,

Debby

[Guest guest]

I don't know about Orlando, I just wanted to comment though on what you have

been told about mainstreaming her by kindergarden. Is mainstreaming your goal?

If it's not then you don't have to work toward that. While it is great to work

on teaching her to be verbal, she obviously prefers sign and should in my

opinion be exposed to both. I'm not saying this for everyone, but your daughter

is obviously very visual so to put her in a class where she has to survive on

speech and lip reading may be really difficult for her and I was just thinking

that if that isn't your goal then perhaps you should look into a school for the

deaf or a hearing impaired class. Many people strive for mainstreaming, but I

get the feeling that you are more in favor of whatever is more comfortable for

her, and that seems to be sign. Again don't get me wrong I think teaching her

to be verbal would be great, but they can do that in a class where she is signed

to. Not to mention is she isn't saying anything at almost 3 I highly doubt she

will be verbal enough to mainstream into K by 5. Just my personal opinion but

who knows.

The point I make is just because you put a child in a class for hearing impaired

where they sign or send them to a deaf school doesn't mean that they won't work

on being verbal. They often have a lot of focus trying to teach their students

this, it's just when their success in school doesn't depend on it. Anyway

that's my two cents. Go with what you want. If you don't necessarily want her

to mainstream because you are worried she will fall behind then don't go that

way, there is nothing that says you have to go one way or the other. Look into

all options and do what you feel is best. I think it is nice to have the best

of both worlds with being bilingual. They may be able to mainstream her with an

interpreter also that could be an option depending on how well she is doing with

signing.

Re: What do I look for......

I would tell your listmates (that's us ) about the general

vicinity where

> you're moving. Parents, esp those on listen up, will know how to

navigate

> the mazes. Sounds like you're doing TC with your child. I think

there are

> a lot of TC programs around, where as if you're ONLY going oral or

ONLY

> going sign, then your options would be more limited.

We are headed towards Orlando.

Lindsi has a moderate loss in her better ear & that or a greater loss

in her other ear. She is extremely visual, so the signing is what we

started for communication, & she gets it. She holds out her hands,

so you can show her new words daily.

Our support staff all believe that she will eventually be verbal &

probably a lip reader. Given continued therapy, they expect her to be

a child that will be able to mainstream into regular classes by

kindergarten. So, I've been told.

Thanks,

Debby

All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is

the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

restrictions.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Guest guest]

If a child has a moderate to severe loss, it is very possible that that

child can be mainstreamed. There are all sorts of avenues the mother can

look into and not necessarily a deaf/hh classroom IS the only option. For

example, the daughter can be in the DHH program, but be pulled out for extra

speech therapy. The daugther can be given an interpreter. Actually, she

can also stay in the K classroom for an extra year, if the mom prefers,

until her verbal language picks up. There is no reason why a child who

mainly signs can't be mainstreamed.

It is just not a given that somebody who takes naturally to sign obviously

prefers it - It is a more natural form of communication for those who cannot

hear. This little girl is only three and the loss was recently

discovered....there are all kinds of things the parents can try if indeed

they prefer to mainstream their child.

_________________________________________________________________

Learn how to choose, serve, and enjoy wine at Wine @ MSN.

http://wine.msn.com/

[Guest guest]

Look into all options and do what you feel is best. I think it is

nice to have the best of both worlds with being bilingual. They may

be able to mainstream her with an interpreter also that could be an

option depending on how well she is doing with signing.

>

;

Thanks for your info & input. Lindsi just turned 20 months old, so

the fact that she's not verbal is not a HUGE worry for me at this

time. She's only had her hearing aids for about 2 months.

You're right, I want to ultimately put her wherever she's going to

best served & comfortable. I don't want to restrict her options.

I figure, as we move through this maze, I'll be able to take some

cues from her on what works best. Right now, signing works best for

us & at the same time we are starting to work on " puffing " sounds

(unsuccessfully) & long mmmmmmmmmmmm sounds (a little better).

One thing is for certain....nothing ever gets decided overnight &

it's a lot of work! =)

Thanks,

Debby

[Guest guest]

<<It is just not a given that somebody who takes naturally to sign obviously

prefers it - It is a more natural form of communication for those who cannot

hear. >>

I absolutely agree, . When our son was diagnosed (finally!) at age 4 1/2,

he had only about

5 or 6 intelligible words and rarely used them. Our speech path, who had missed

the signs of hearing

loss, had been treating him as a child with Apraxia and had introduced sign,

which he took to like

a duck to water. Because of his affinity for sign, we did choose the TC program

at the Deaf/HOH school

for three years. While I believe it was the right choice for us and I LOVE that

we can sign, signing

is no longer ' first choice. After three years, he went directly from the

" special " school into

a very academically-demanding private school where he is excelling. He has no

sign support, and uses only

preferential seating and his FM system to get along. His verbal skills are

age-appropriate

except for occasional grammatical errors and his reading and writing skills are

quite advanced for his age.

His receptive skills are slightly delayed but he is still learning to process

language at the speed which

we in the hearing world take for granted. I think I spend more time asking

teachers and other speakers to

slow down than I do explaining how FM systems work!

Debby, I think you are really on the right track here and taking your cues from

your daughter is terrific.

I know that our family was fortunate to have the options we have in our area

but involved parents seem to be

able to make up many of the " deficits " between what is best for our kids and the

sometimes-limited services

that they are able to receive through their school districts. Still, here's

hoping that the Orlando area will

have some good choices for you.

Oh, and I had to smile at the image of Lindsi holding out her hands so you could

show her some signs. Precious!

Carol - mom to , 7.9, mod to profound, LVAS

[Guest guest]

,

That's not what I was saying at all, my point is that it is not right for every

child to be mainstreamed, if that is the goal of the parents then that is fine,

but I was simply trying to let her know that if it is not her personal goal that

she doesn't have to be pressured by the system to place her in that situation.

I got the feeling that they were pushing her in a direction she wasn't sure was

right for her daughter.

I am not against mainstreaming, but it can be very very difficult for a child

and personally I think that sometimes it is best to make sure they have access

to sign and speech. So I'm not talking about everyone I thought I made that

clear, I was going off of the feeling I got from Debby on the direction she is

going with her daughter, not saying that her daughter won't talk, but that she

may not be able to understand enough to be ready for mainstream kindergarden.

Now that's not to say mainstreaming isn't a possability later, and well actually

it might be a good option for kindergarden as well who knows, my point is that

there are other options. It isn't right for everyone to be mainstreamed, some

kids do much better in a school for the deaf, some kids do better in a class

with other HI kids. I never said all kids do better in those classrooms I was

simply letting her know there are a lot of options and she needs to be aware of

all of them before she is pushed into making a decision, who knows she may go

with the mainstream option and that is her decision on where her child would be

more comfortable and that's great. It's all a matter of each individual and it

sounded to me like they were pushing her in a direction she wasn't sure was

right for her child so I thought I would step in and let her know she has other

options.

Re: Re: What do I look for......

If a child has a moderate to severe loss, it is very possible that that

child can be mainstreamed. There are all sorts of avenues the mother can

look into and not necessarily a deaf/hh classroom IS the only option. For

example, the daughter can be in the DHH program, but be pulled out for extra

speech therapy. The daugther can be given an interpreter. Actually, she

can also stay in the K classroom for an extra year, if the mom prefers,

until her verbal language picks up. There is no reason why a child who

mainly signs can't be mainstreamed.

It is just not a given that somebody who takes naturally to sign obviously

prefers it - It is a more natural form of communication for those who cannot

hear. This little girl is only three and the loss was recently

discovered....there are all kinds of things the parents can try if indeed

they prefer to mainstream their child.

_________________________________________________________________

Learn how to choose, serve, and enjoy wine at Wine @ MSN.

http://wine.msn.com/

All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post is

the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to copyright

restrictions.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------