Introduction from Beverly, Mack, and Jarrod in GA

[Guest guest]

(I apologize for the length of this post!)

Hi,

My son is 18 years old and has a moderate to severe bi-lateral

sensorineural high-frequency loss. WHEW! That's a mouthfull,

isn't it? He has been aided since he was eight years old.

I've been reading some of your posts and see that Jarrod, our son,

isn't an exception to the " fool the audiologists and MD's in the

fact that I can't hear because I'm reading your lips " rule. The

resiliency and ability of these kids to compensate is amazing to

me.

My husband and I have two older sons, both with normal hearing, so

when Jarrod was 2 and not speaking as plainly as the other two at

that age, we became concerned as to the reason of his language

delay. I was watching Dr. Terry Brazelton on TV one day while he

discussed certain characteristics of children with a hearing loss.

He met every one of those characteristics. We had a pediatrician's

appnt. not long after that and I took the list to him, telling him

that I didn't think my son could hear very well. I was told I was a

paranoid mother and that Jarrod was just " slow " like, of all

things...Forrest Gump. I kept thinking, " I'm on my third

child...paranoid is the LAST thing you could say that I am. "

From that time on, we took Jarrod to audiologists and specialists,

having audiology evals and tests run to find the problem. We were

told that he had no hearing loss. He was first diagnosed with

Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD), then with ADD. After

that, we were told that he was borderline mentally retarded when

during a test that is normally given to profoundly deaf children, he

was put in a room with a psychologist and shown different tests with

pegs and puzzles, but no verbal or physical instruction. After he

tried several times to get her to talk with him, he hid the puzzle

pieces and pegs and refused to give them to her saying, " You won't

talk to me; you aren't my friend. " When given the diagnosis that he

was MR, we said, " Prove it, " then we took him home to basically

homeschool him during his 5-year old Kindergarten year.

We enrolled Jarrod in Kindergarten when he was 6. Between

Kindergarten and the first grade, Jarrod learned all the phonetic

sounds of the alphabet, as well as learned to read 4 different first

grade readers. He had also learned all the sight words that were

required for first graders. He entered first grade able to read any

word that was put in front of him. Still, his speech and

language/communication skills were lacking.

Upon taking practice SAT tests for first graders, Jarrod's grades

dropped from straight A's to F's. For the SAT, the teachers were

allowed to give instructions one time and in the way they were

presented on the test, thus prohibiting the teachers from explaining

the directions in a manner in which he could understand. His

teacher and we decided to have the school's psychometrist put him

through LD testing during the summer between first and second grade.

We were so very fortunate to have a kind, concerned, motivated

psychometrist in that system, because she knew something wasn't

right about Jarrod and his diagnosis. She told us that she stayed

up many nights, contemplating what could possibly be wrong. Nothing

seemed right to her. He didn't qualify for LD in any area, so she

was basically stumped. She approched several different avenues in

order to find the problem and finally called a friend of her's in

Montgomery, AL who was an expert on CAPD. He told her that if

Jarrod's audiology report showed a hearing loss, then he probably

did not have CAPD. She requested his reports and found that he did,

indeed, have a severe hearing loss; we had been misinformed by of

all people, his audiologist. She immediately referred us to

Children's Hospital in Birmingham, AL for further testing.

Jarrod ended up having not only a sensorineural loss, but a

conductive loss, as well. His conductive loss was from his third

set of tubes being pulled out by his pediatritian...taking 2/3 of

his left ear drum with it. He underwent a tympanoplasty to repair

that ear drum and was fitted for hearing aids. He received his

first pair of aids in January before he turned 9 in February.

We moved to another city in AL, who at the time refused hearing

impairment services. After a year and a half in that school system,

and after fighting to get teachers to follow his IEP, we decided to

homeschool him. I guess this is where I should tell you that my

husband is a high school teacher and his job in that system was

threatened if we pushed for HI services...homeschooling was a good

fit for us.

We homeschooled Jarrod for 4 years, catching him up accademically,

with the exception of reading comprehension. My husband took

another job in a neighboring school system, so we decided to re-

enter Jarrod into public school, especially since I had to go to

work outside the home. His math and grammer skills were above those

of his fellow students when we re-entered him into public school

for his 8th grade year. Unfortunately for now and for some reason,

high schools seem to think that teaching grammar isn't all that

important these days, so his grammar skills are not as high as they

were. We hated giving up his Saxon math, too, because it was a

wonderful fit for him.

Jarrod attended that school for two years, then my husband retired

from Al. and we moved to GA. (Now that makes us sound so old, but

he graduated from college and began teaching when he was 19...of

course, some of my young co-workers think that 40 and over is

automatically one foot in the grave. Ha!) Jarrod and my husband

have been at this school for two years and have enjoyed it very

much. We have found that Georgia is much better at dealing with

IEP's and HI students than Alabama, but we are still having to fight

to get his teachers to comply with his IEP's. Most recently, we

had to discuss with his inclusion British Lit. teacher about her

refusal to accommodate him according to his IEP. She, in an IEP

meeting, said that she does accommodate him by leaning down and

whispering in his ear that he doesn't have to write as many pages in

an essay, or that he has extra time to do an assignment. When she

told us she whispered to him, I thought his HI teacher and speech

teacher were going to fall out of their chairs! She whispers to a

hearing impaired boy who has a hard time hearing loudly spoken

language! Needless to say, that was addressed.

Jarrod still has difficulty in carrying on a conversation with his

peers. We added a critical objective to his IEP to include in his

speech, trying to get him to the point that he can carry on a

conversation with at least three conversational turns. I am a

special needs parapro for a pre-k program and we have that as goals

for some of our children, as well. He is also working on a critical

objective for being able to write more involved essays. We hope

this upcoming year, his senior year, will be a good one for him with

many accomplished goals.

Our biggest concern right now is Jarrod passing the Georgia High

School Graduation Exit Exam. He is struggling with that as of now.

He has passed only one area, the writing exam, and is having to

attend classes this summer in order to try to prepare for it in the

fall. I have a very difficult time in accepting that if he fails

this test but passes all his other academic courses with A's and B's

through his high school career, he will not graduate with a high

school diploma from his beloved high school but rather with a

special education certificate of attendence. I know that for now,

accommodations are only to give him extra time in taking the test

because it is a standardized test, but I would like to see there be

better accommodations for others in the future. I just don't know

how to get that to come about.

I feel so much for all of you who have young children and are just

embarking on this journey. I also know that we will always be on

some sort of a journey with our son because he will always have a

hearing loss. I have tried to find the good in all of this,

especially since in the middle of all our searches for a correct

diagnosis, then finally getting it and the reality that my baby

couldn't hear birds singing finally set in, I felt grief and dispair

at times. One blessing is that I feel the deaf and hearing impaired

are by nature more innocent and kind than a lot of hearing

children. They have to focus so intently on hearing the spoken

language, if they can hear it at all, or lip reading or signing if

that is their form of communication, that they don't have time to

focus on the pettiness of cruelty to others, or gossip. I know my

son believes everyone loves him...and most of them do. He is a

sweet, loving young man who would give someone the shirt off his

back, so to speak, if they asked him.

Another blessing that I have recently begun to see as a gift from

God is that Jarrod is gifted, musically. He is in the band (his

daddy is a band director) and plays the xylophone and keyboards. He

can listen to a song being played on the piano then sit down and

play it just like he heard. He has been arranging some songs, as

well. I believe that although one form of his hearing was taken

away, God gave him a unique type of hearing to take its place.

I apologize for the length of this introduction, but I've had 18

years to cover! My husband and I certainly are not experts, but if

there is anything we can do or say to help any of you here, please

know that we are more than willing to do so.

Blessings,

Mack, Beverly, and Jarrod

[Guest guest]

Beverly,

Welcome to the list!

You said: Our biggest concern right now is Jarrod passing the Georgia High

School Graduation Exit Exam. He is struggling with that as of now.

He has passed only one area, the writing exam, and is having to

attend classes this summer in order to try to prepare for it in the

fall.

What is the second part of the test-- is it given orally?

Putz

Illinois Families for Hands & Voices

_www.handsandvoices.org_ (http://www.handsandvoices.org/)

_www.ilhandsandvoices.org_ (http://www.ilhandsandvoices.org/)

Email: support@...

[Guest guest]

Welcome Beverly, I live in GA too, in Macon. Glad to have another Georgian on

the list. My daughter is 14, finishing 8th grade and has a moderately severe

loss, in both ears. She has been aided since she was 4. Last night we were

talking about hearing aids and realized this week is her 10 year anniversary

with HA. We also have two older daughters both of whom are hearing. I think we

are older than you so don't feel bad. I'm getting ready to enter a new decade

and it starts with a 5!! That is so terrific that your son is gifted in music.

There is a deaf music teacher in our district! I would think that there might

be some tutoring available to help with the graduation test. When I graduated

from high school in Florida in 1974 there was a " 12th grade " test that had to be

passed. So it's new to GA. I'd be very interested to find out just what

accomodations are possible for the test - to only have extra time is not the

only accomodation that the SAT (the college test, not the test given to younger

kids) so I would think the GA test would have to do the same. Kids are allowed

to take the test 5 times, so it might be a good idea to focus on one or two

areas to try to pass each time, then it's not the whole huge test you are

trying to pass. But I've heard the writing is what catches alot of kids and he

has already passed that so that is great. Got to go to work, (in

MACONGA - sounds exotic that way, huh??)

[Guest guest]

>

Beverly

So much information in your post! I was shaking my head! I just

wnated to say Welcome to the List!

(> I feel so much for all of you who have young children and are

just

> embarking on this journey. I also know that we will always be on

> some sort of a journey with our son because he will always have a

> hearing loss. I have tried to find the good in all of this,

> especially since in the middle of all our searches for a correct

> diagnosis, then finally getting it and the reality that my baby

> couldn't hear birds singing finally set in, I felt grief and

dispair

> at times. One blessing is that I feel the deaf and hearing

impaired

> are by nature more innocent and kind than a lot of hearing

> children. They have to focus so intently on hearing the spoken

> language, if they can hear it at all, or lip reading or signing if

> that is their form of communication, that they don't have time to

> focus on the pettiness of cruelty to others, or gossip. I know my

> son believes everyone loves him...and most of them do. He is a

> sweet, loving young man who would give someone the shirt off his

> back, so to speak, if they asked him.

>

> Another blessing that I have recently begun to see as a gift from

> God is that Jarrod is gifted, musically. He is in the band (his

> daddy is a band director) and plays the xylophone and keyboards.

He

> can listen to a song being played on the piano then sit down and

> play it just like he heard. He has been arranging some songs, as

> well. I believe that although one form of his hearing was taken

> away, God gave him a unique type of hearing to take its place.

>

> I apologize for the length of this introduction, but I've had 18

> years to cover! My husband and I certainly are not experts, but

if

> there is anything we can do or say to help any of you here, please

> know that we are more than willing to do so.

>

> Blessings,

> Mack, Beverly, and Jarrod

>

[Guest guest]

Beverly

I wanted to clarify that I was shaking my head at what your family has

been through - not at the length of the post

> >

>

> Beverly

>

> So much information in your post! I was shaking my head! I just

> wnated to say Welcome to the List!

>

>

[Guest guest]

LOL! Either way, it is a lot! Thanks for the welcome. I'm looking

forward to learning more from all of you.

Beverly

> > >

> >

> > Beverly

> >

> > So much information in your post! I was shaking my head! I just

> > wnated to say Welcome to the List!

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

There are five areas in which they are tested. Writing, English (which

includes parts of speech and reading comprehension) Social Studies,

Science, and Math. The directions are read orally if the student who

has accommodations wants it, but Jarrod had rather just read the

directions to himself. He says it begins to confuse him when he is

trying to listen to the oral directions and read at the same time. The

only other accommodation is to be given extra time. The students

taking these tests during the school year take a test in one area per

day.

Jarrod is good in math and science, so we were shocked that he didn't

pass those areas. He used to be good in grammar and sentence structure,

but hasn't reviewed or been taught anything like that since we stopped

homeschooling him after the 7th grade. Social studies was " if-y, "

although he enjoys history and had an A+ average in his

Economics/Government class. We're just not sure how to prepare him

except for sending him to the summer classes.

Here's a link to a site for practice tests of all kinds. The page

should take you to some practice tests for the GHSGT, but it doesn't

include every subject on which they are tested.

http://www.testprepreview.com/ghsgt_practice.htm

http://www.testprepreview.com/ghsgt_practice.htm>

Thanks! Have a great weekend/Mother's Day!

Beverly

>

> Beverly,

> Welcome to the list!

> You said: Our biggest concern right now is Jarrod passing the Georgia

High

> School Graduation Exit Exam. He is struggling with that as of now.

> He has passed only one area, the writing exam, and is having to

> attend classes this summer in order to try to prepare for it in the

> fall.

> What is the second part of the test-- is it given orally?

> Putz

> Illinois Families for Hands & Voices

> _www.handsandvoices.org_ (http://www.handsandvoices.org/)

> _www.ilhandsandvoices.org_ (http://www.ilhandsandvoices.org/)

> Email: support@...

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hello ,

Thanks for the warm welcome! I am glad to know there is someone

else with a Georgian drawl...of course, my drawl is somewhat mixed

up since I am originally from Alabama and have lived in Georgia for

only two years.

We lived in Phenix City, AL for 8 years, and I'm betting that you

probably know where that is since Macon isn't very far from

Columbus, GA, which is only across the Chattahoochee from Phenix

City. We now live about 30 miles north of Marietta, in

sville, and love it! We joke that we've moved to " Mitford. "

As far as the accommodations for the GHSGT is concerned, we

addressed that in Jarrod's latest IEP. We were told that there was

no way they could do anything other than extra time or have the

directions read orally. I would like to know, too, if that is

actually correct.

We were thrilled when he passed the writing test; we were told last

year that most of the deaf/HI students in this area have a difficult

time passing that portion. In fact, the lead SLP told me a couple

of months ago that she didn't expect him to pass it. We also know

the reading comprehension area of the test is difficult for kids

with limited vocabulary, as is Jarrod's case. We do plan on sending

him to the summer classes for tutoring in the fields in which he

failed. Poor guy...he's going to have to spend most of his summer

studying, I'm afraid, but it is so important that he pass this

test.

Jarrod's musical ability amazes us. Music is his passion and he

hopes to go on to college and pursue some kind of music degree. I

would like to know more about the deaf music teacher in your

district, though. That is very interesting to me.

Again, thanks for the welcome! I've got to run...we're packing to go

to Sewanee, Tennessee for our middle son's college graduation this

weekend.

Beverly

>

> Welcome Beverly, I live in GA too, in Macon. Glad to have

another Georgian on the list. My daughter is 14, finishing 8th

grade and has a moderately severe loss, in both ears. She has been

aided since she was 4. Last night we were talking about hearing

aids and realized this week is her 10 year anniversary with HA. We

also have two older daughters both of whom are hearing. I think we

are older than you so don't feel bad. I'm getting ready to enter a

new decade and it starts with a 5!! That is so terrific that your

son is gifted in music. There is a deaf music teacher in our

district! I would think that there might be some tutoring available

to help with the graduation test. When I graduated from high school

in Florida in 1974 there was a " 12th grade " test that had to be

passed. So it's new to GA. I'd be very interested to find out just

what accomodations are possible for the test - to only have extra

time is not the only accomodation that the SAT (the college test,

not the test given to younger kids) so I would think the GA test

would have to do the same. Kids are allowed to take the test 5

times, so it might be a good idea to focus on one or two areas to

try to pass each time, then it's not the whole huge test you are

trying to pass. But I've heard the writing is what catches alot of

kids and he has already passed that so that is great. Got to go to

work, (in MACONGA - sounds exotic that way, huh??)

>