car rides

[Guest guest]

Hi there,

I use to have the mirror so I could keep an eye on my youngest while in the

car, but it soon turned into a way for to see me. She will let me know

when she can't see my face in the mirror and it helps somewhat. We too are in

the car often, our shortest trip is usually 30 minutes. The funny thing is that

lately seems to understand me just fine...it's me who is having a hard

time understanding her from the back seat. (Anyone have any suggestions for

that???) If you have an FM system, you could wear the mic and she would be able

to hear you...however then you run into the problem I have...which is not being

able to hear the child in the back. If it's the school that has the FM

system, see if you can borrow it. If you're in the car that often, then there

are prime teaching moments that you can take advantage of...but only if she can

hear you.

Debbie, mom to , 6, moderate SNHL and , 2 (almost 3)

hearing...never listening

geminigroove wrote:

Hi Everyone,

I have a question....I'm curious to know how other families deal with

communication on car rides with young children that have to sit in the back

seat.

Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were

and ask why not. G.B Shaw

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

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[Guest guest]

This is a Great Question Apryl.

I look forward to the reactions to this question.

I know that when I turned Zain around last month he was much happier

than facing the other way. I am sure at Zarah's age it must be very

hard. I hope someone can give you some great ideas because you are

right, this traffic is ridicules - Poor kids.

Good Luck.

PS

Does she use an FM System at school? Maybe you can use it in the car?

[Guest guest]

Apryl--

I ditto the suggestion of using the mirror on your visor. I bought the

slightly wider version when Hadley was an infant (when she was rear facing,

I had a second mirror on her car seat that reflected into mine, so she could

see me). We converse very easily and she looks in the mirror when she needs

extra clarification. I always offer music when we get in the car, and 99%

of the time, we are talking while listening to music. I usually just have

the back speakers on, so that most of the sound is back there (she likes to

rock out!). I do have to turn down the music to have a conversation with

her, and sometimes will turn my head slightly to the right so that she can

hear me better (she sits on the passenger side).

We do a TON of driving as well, and have since Hadley was a baby. One thing

that really helped me was when another parent suggested that car time was a

great place to work on listening skills. Suddenly, I was no longer

frustrated by what I felt were loud interfering noises in the car-- I was

welcoming them because it was a chance to challenge her listening. That

simple change of attitude helped a lot with lowering my stress level when we

were in the car!

We are not a family who signs, and I know from your posts that you do; I do

know that other signing families have utilized these mirrors. You can also

try out the mirrors intended for elderly drivers that are REALLY big; it

might give you the extra room to sign while your hands aren't too far away

from the steering wheel.

We have a small magna doodle in the car; a car tote with books and supplies;

a child size lap desk; music. On long rides, I've packed magnetic games

(like Mr Potato Head) and other little trinkets. Also, before really long

trips, we might go to the library to pick up some books just for the trip.

I vote with you that a DVD player is not the answer; one of the reasons I

have focused on good listening in the car is because of my many fond

memories of fun family road trips. We've had lots of fun times in the car

already.

Finally, I do have a website somewhere of auto mats that help absorb sound

and decrease undercarriage noise. Some other families have sworn by them; I

can dig it up if you are interested.

Kerry

Car Rides

Hi Everyone,

I have a question....I'm curious to know how other families deal

with communication on car rides with young children that have to sit

in the back seat. I do an insane amount of driving with Zahra, to

school, classes, doctors, etc. We're in the car an average of three

hours a day and we're in LA traffic. You never know when a fifteen

minute ride will take an hour. You can imagine my headache! Zahra

wears aids but in order to clearly communicate with her I either

have to turn around so she can see my mouth and hear my voice

clearly or I have to reach back and attempt to sign. Either way it's

a dangerous distraction. I try my best to tell her to wait until I

come to a stop, but she's young and she gets frustrated when she's

trying to tell me something. I feel bad because she wants an

immediate response as would anyone, but we just can't chat back and

forth unless I'm facing her. I've tried to occupy her time with lots

of books, hand held computers, drawing pads, she even has a little

desk that attaches to her seat. I make sure she always has water and

snacks, but that doesn't stop her from wanting to tell me about the

book she's reading, or the game she playing, or to show me her

drawings. I also use a mirror so that I can sign without turning

around but it is still taking my eyes off the rode. I've asked

around and everyone tells me to put a DVD in the car. I hesistate

because I don't want to turn my daughter into a media zombie.

However I need to figure something out, because not only is it

dangerous, but it is mentally and emotionally wearing me out. The

traffic out here is so horrific, coupled with a frustrated child,

I'm going to lose my mind.

Got any ideas?

Thanks,

Apryl

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[Guest guest]

Kerry Dowling & Dan wrote:

Finally, I do have a website somewhere of auto mats that help absorb sound

and decrease undercarriage noise. Some other families have sworn by them; I

can dig it up if you are interested.

Kerry,

I would love to learn more about those auto mats. Please do share it when you

find it.

Thanks,

Debbie, mom to ,6, moderate SNHL and , 2 (almost 3) hearing

Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were

and ask why not. G.B Shaw

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Apryl,

the only thing I can think of for the car riding solution is an FM system. We

had one for my son, , when he was just a baby and I used to use it in noisy

environments like in the car, at the mall or a large gathering. He had hearing

aids that used FM boots attached and I wore a label mic and transmitter.

My son now uses a CI and hearing aid and surprises me all the time with how well

he can hear in the car, even with the music playing. Often he will pick up what

others are saying when they're not even talking to him.

K

[Guest guest]

Boy can I relate to this one! I posted almost the exact same question

about a year ago because I was having such a hard time splitting my

attention between driving and watching Kate in the mirror - she had just

started preschool (20min ride each way) and we had a lot to talk about

We are a signing family mostly because we rely on it so much to clarify

her expressive speech - so I HAVE to watch her if I want to understand

her!

So there are really two issues: hearing the kids and being heard

yourself. I don't think there is really any magic solution to the first

one - the mirrors are the best idea around, I think. I guess I've just

gotten better at glancing up at the mirrors while Kate is talking/signing

- but there are times I do have to ask her to repeat herself if I've been

in a particularly hairy driving situation

As for being heard, I think the FM is a very good option. It was the

responses I got back last year that prompted me to get our FM - and it

has helped a bunch! I really notice the difference after not having used

it for a while - for example: we've taken a little bit of a " listening to

mommy 24/7 " break this summer ... when I put it back on, I remember

how nice it is not to have to shout and over-enunciate in the car! I

just speak normally, and she hears me

I think what everyone else has suggested is exactly right - lots of

distractions! And having as much of your conversation before you leave

is a good one too - I should do more of that. It does get easier as they

get older (like everything else) - repeating our/themselves is not as

frustrating to the kids and we get better at driving and

talking/signing/watching the mirrors!!

, in CO - mom to:

(6.1) - hearing, typical, has her 1st spelling test tomorrow!

Kate (4.1) - mod/sev HAs + FM, delayed, loving the pool as often as

I'll take her ...

[Guest guest]

It's just good to know that I'm not the only one. For some strange

reason I have been told from audiologist to the teachers not use an

FM at home because they feel it does not provide a realistic speech

enviornment; but if it's going to save me some stress on the rode

then I'm all for it.

Apryl

> Boy can I relate to this one! I posted almost the exact same

question

> about a year ago because I was having such a hard time splitting my

> attention between driving and watching Kate in the mirror - she

had just

> started preschool (20min ride each way) and we had a lot to talk

about

> We are a signing family mostly because we rely on it so much to

clarify

> her expressive speech - so I HAVE to watch her if I want to

understand

> her!

> So there are really two issues: hearing the kids and being heard

> yourself. I don't think there is really any magic solution to the

first

> one - the mirrors are the best idea around, I think. I guess I've

just

> gotten better at glancing up at the mirrors while Kate is

talking/signing

> - but there are times I do have to ask her to repeat herself if

I've been

> in a particularly hairy driving situation

> As for being heard, I think the FM is a very good option. It was

the

> responses I got back last year that prompted me to get our FM -

and it

> has helped a bunch! I really notice the difference after not

having used

> it for a while - for example: we've taken a little bit of

a " listening to

> mommy 24/7 " break this summer ... when I put it back on, I

remember

> how nice it is not to have to shout and over-enunciate in the

car! I

> just speak normally, and she hears me

> I think what everyone else has suggested is exactly right - lots of

> distractions! And having as much of your conversation before you

leave

> is a good one too - I should do more of that. It does get easier

as they

> get older (like everything else) - repeating our/themselves is not

as

> frustrating to the kids and we get better at driving and

> talking/signing/watching the mirrors!!

>

> , in CO - mom to:

> (6.1) - hearing, typical, has her 1st spelling test

tomorrow!

> Kate (4.1) - mod/sev HAs + FM, delayed, loving the pool as

often as

> I'll take her ...

[Guest guest]

geminigroove wrote:

> It's just good to know that I'm not the only one. For some strange

> reason I have been told from audiologist to the teachers not use an

> FM at home because they feel it does not provide a realistic speech

> enviornment; but if it's going to save me some stress on the rode

> then I'm all for it.

>

> Apryl

>

Huh. That's interesting because I was told the opposite. My audiologist

and my AVT-cert. said to use the FM as much as possible (in the car, at

home, out, you name it). They said that the more time Caleb spends

hearing clearly, the more understanding and vocabulary he'll be able to

apply when he's in a situation where he has to fill in the blanks more.

Mom to Caleb, 5, bilateral SNHL, aided, and , 8, hearing

[Guest guest]

Apryl,

We were told the same thing by several people, that she needs to learn to

listening in normal situations, that she wouldn't always have the FM system for

people to speak into. Well, three years later I wish that someone had told us

that although she will eventually need to learn to get by without it in the

" real world " that it would help to get the language in her. (She was diagnosed

at 2 1/2 and had a large language delay). I wonder if we had used it more if

some of the language issues wouldn't be a prominent. But I do know that it

would be a great for us in the car....especially since we spend so much time

there talking.

Debbie, mom to , 6, moderate SNHL and , 2(for 3 more days) hearing

and being pretty good today!

geminigroove wrote:

It's just good to know that I'm not the only one. For some strange reason I have

been told from audiologist to the teachers not use an FM at home because they

feel it does not provide a realistic speech enviornment; but if it's going to

save me some stress on the rode then I'm all for it.

Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were

and ask why not. G.B Shaw

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

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