Guest guest Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 Here's a great opportunity for me to brag and hopefully provide encouragement for parents/family of kids with hearing loss who are new at this. My son , 5, is profoundly deaf and received a cochlear implant over 4 years ago. We've only gone to speech therapy twice a month because I just can't afford more often. In addition, my husband and I both work full-time (I'm a middle school teacher) and we have 2 other kids (Mallory 14 and 2). So life is crazy for us!! has always attended a hearing day care and last year went to a hearing impaired preschool our school district started. Before that he went to a general ed. preschool. He did VERY well this past year and is ready for kindergarten. Well, 's SLP recently quit. Naturally this makes me VERY nervous. With my schedule. This is background information that leads up to what I really want to share. On a recent test, scored within normal limits in all but 3 areas. This was a very extensive eval. that took weeks to complete and the 3 areas he was low in were very abstract concepts and things that could be difficult even for hearing kids. The SLP even said he's almost at the point where she would be comfortable seeing him (or the new SLP) once a month or even every 2 months. But with him starting school it makes her a little nervous. God gave the perfect persoanlity to overcome his disability. He is a perfectionist and he really is auditory, even though he is deaf. I am so proud of him and what he's done! So my advice to other families is this: if your child is a CI candidate and you're looking at this as an option, the earlier the better. My son was the youngest to be implanted in our area and he's really quite a role model for others. The other advice is read a lot and often. We read 2 books before bed every night, even if is exhausted (that's his choice, not mine!) But I can't just read the text. I have to look at the pictures and really think about the vocabulary he is missing. Books have been the best place for me to teach new vocabulary and concepts. When we do an assessment and there's something missed, I can always trace it back to books. For example, he knew igloo and not teepee. Well, we have no books with teepees, but we have a couple with igloos. I can even look at the assessment and say which ones he would know and which he wouldn't. Sometimes it's hard having a deaf child. Mostly it's a blessing. I even forget that is deaf he does so well. A fellow parent once said to me and I really took it to heart, " Narrate life. " It's great advice and it works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 Yay ! What great news! I'd also say that whatever method of communication is chosen, having your child diagnosed early and then early intervention is the way to go. As one with a child who was diagnosed at 3 (aided at 3-1/2), it's my greatest regret... Barbara snbtools wrote: > Here's a great opportunity for me to brag and hopefully provide > encouragement for parents/family of kids with hearing loss who are > new at this. > My son , 5, is profoundly deaf and received a cochlear implant > over 4 years ago. We've only gone to speech therapy twice a month > because I just can't afford more often. In addition, my husband and > I both work full-time (I'm a middle school teacher) and we have 2 > other kids (Mallory 14 and 2). So life is crazy for us!! > has always attended a hearing day care and last year went to a > hearing impaired preschool our school district started. Before that > he went to a general ed. preschool. He did VERY well this past year > and is ready for kindergarten. > Well, 's SLP recently quit. Naturally this makes me VERY > nervous. With my schedule. > This is background information that leads up to what I really want > to share. On a recent test, scored within normal limits in all > but 3 areas. This was a very extensive eval. that took weeks to > complete and the 3 areas he was low in were very abstract concepts > and things that could be difficult even for hearing kids. The SLP > even said he's almost at the point where she would be comfortable > seeing him (or the new SLP) once a month or even every 2 months. > But with him starting school it makes her a little nervous. > God gave the perfect persoanlity to overcome his disability. > He is a perfectionist and he really is auditory, even though he is > deaf. I am so proud of him and what he's done! > So my advice to other families is this: if your child is a CI > candidate and you're looking at this as an option, the earlier the > better. My son was the youngest to be implanted in our area and > he's really quite a role model for others. The other advice is read > a lot and often. We read 2 books before bed every night, even if > is exhausted (that's his choice, not mine!) But I can't just > read the text. I have to look at the pictures and really think > about the vocabulary he is missing. Books have been the best place > for me to teach new vocabulary and concepts. When we do an > assessment and there's something missed, I can always trace it > back to books. For example, he knew igloo and not teepee. Well, we > have no books with teepees, but we have a couple with igloos. I can > even look at the assessment and say which ones he would know and > which he wouldn't. > Sometimes it's hard having a deaf child. Mostly it's a blessing. I > even forget that is deaf he does so well. A fellow parent once > said to me and I really took it to heart, " Narrate life. " It's > great advice and it works! > > > > > > > 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. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 1, 2006 Report Share Posted September 1, 2006 That is so great. How inspirational! Tawnya What these kids can do! Here's a great opportunity for me to brag and hopefully provide encouragement for parents/family of kids with hearing loss who are new at this. My son , 5, is profoundly deaf and received a cochlear implant over 4 years ago. We've only gone to speech therapy twice a month because I just can't afford more often. In addition, my husband and I both work full-time (I'm a middle school teacher) and we have 2 other kids (Mallory 14 and 2). So life is crazy for us!! has always attended a hearing day care and last year went to a hearing impaired preschool our school district started. Before that he went to a general ed. preschool. He did VERY well this past year and is ready for kindergarten. Well, 's SLP recently quit. Naturally this makes me VERY nervous. With my schedule. This is background information that leads up to what I really want to share. On a recent test, scored within normal limits in all but 3 areas. This was a very extensive eval. that took weeks to complete and the 3 areas he was low in were very abstract concepts and things that could be difficult even for hearing kids. The SLP even said he's almost at the point where she would be comfortable seeing him (or the new SLP) once a month or even every 2 months. But with him starting school it makes her a little nervous. God gave the perfect persoanlity to overcome his disability. He is a perfectionist and he really is auditory, even though he is deaf. I am so proud of him and what he's done! So my advice to other families is this: if your child is a CI candidate and you're looking at this as an option, the earlier the better. My son was the youngest to be implanted in our area and he's really quite a role model for others. The other advice is read a lot and often. We read 2 books before bed every night, even if is exhausted (that's his choice, not mine!) But I can't just read the text. I have to look at the pictures and really think about the vocabulary he is missing. Books have been the best place for me to teach new vocabulary and concepts. When we do an assessment and there's something missed, I can always trace it back to books. For example, he knew igloo and not teepee. Well, we have no books with teepees, but we have a couple with igloos. I can even look at the assessment and say which ones he would know and which he wouldn't. Sometimes it's hard having a deaf child. Mostly it's a blessing. I even forget that is deaf he does so well. A fellow parent once said to me and I really took it to heart, " Narrate life. " It's great advice and it works! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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