School...

Last Friday we got a chance to go and meet Logan's new teacher and see the classroom. We had been excited all week, only to walk in to some minor disappointments. Although we were excited about the teacher (she is fantastic) we were not thrilled about the other elements of the program. We were promised a room with carpet--which is important for CI users to avoid echo and bad acoustics-- and the room was tile from top to bottom. Also, the speech therapist that will be working with the children not only had no experience with working with CI kids, she didn't even realize that there was a difference in teaching a hearing child to speak vs. a implanted child. I left there disappointed, sad and slightly deceived. I felt like the school, in a sense, said, "Here's a teacher and a sound field. There's your Oral program." I understand that being a new program, that there will be kinks to work out. But a few of the major issues, that were previously promised to us, were not in tact. Logan is at a crucial time for his language development, and although we are doing all that we can at home, his school experience needs to be up to par. I decided that Logan would attend class on Monday and that I would go in with a more positive attitude and do what I could to help get this program started.

Logan could hardly contain his excitement all weekend. He packed up his backpack with tons of school supplies (see video below) and helped me make his lunch. I felt more at ease when we walked in to the classroom and saw that adjustments had been made to the room. There were a few rugs around the room and color had been added...it was now more kid-friendly. Logan was slightly hesitant, but once he saw the play dough, his worries vanished.

At the end of the day I spoke with his teacher, Ms. Mills (who is a bi-lateral CI user) and seemed confident that Logan would get what he needed from her and this program. We, of course, need to continue his "therapy" at home but I think he will progress nicely under Ms. Mill's care.

getting ready for school 8/17/08

Sound Bingo

In the previous post, Logan was playing "Sound Bingo" purchased from Kindermusik. They also have an ABC Sound Bingo. Both of them are on sale now. Click here and type in "Sound Bingo" under Search. Happy shopping!

My husband will be done with his residency in about two years and we have been thinking a lot lately about where we want to end up...for good. The Dallas area has been top on our list and after seeing this video, my husband says Dallas is now his #1 choice! :)

This isn't a super interesting video, but just wanted to document it. It's the boys playing Sound Bingo...

Playing Sound Bingo 8/7/08
(click on image to view)

Mom did a NO-NO...

Today I took a trip to Target, with all 3 boys, to pick up a few things. As we walked into the electronics department, Logan lagged behind getting distracted by a Batman DVD he saw. Near me was a older gentleman talking on the phone to what seemed to be a cell phone company. Logan picked up the DVD and began to call Tanner's name to show him what he had found. Tanner's name is very difficult for Logan to pronounce, it usually comes out like "Ah-Ah". When Tanner didn't look his way he began to yell his name louder and louder and louder to get his attention. I then heard the older gentleman holler out, "Could someone quiet that kid down?" I immediately became irate, left my other two children in the cart and walked over to the man. I then did something that I said I would never do (no...I didn't slug the guy), I blamed Logan's deafness for the scene he had just caused. I sarcastically apologized for Logan and rudely explained that my son was deaf and was just trying to communicate with his brother and that he has a difficult time with volume control. I wanted to make him feel guilty for being so rude, so I pulled out the deaf card. As I was confronting the man, two other men came to also defend Logan using profane language to express their "disgust for people being insensitive." I grabbed Logan and walked away as the men proceeded to 'discuss' the issue. As I calmed down, I began to feel awful for what I had just done. Although the man could have been kinder with his words, he didn't know Logan was deaf and was not trying to attack his deafness. I went back to sincerely apologize to the man, but he had already gone.

I think this has been weighing on me for the last few weeks. For some reason Logan's "volume control" has been getting worse and the people in this new city have definitely noticed. This is the 4th or 5th comment I have received implying that I need to quiet down my son (although the other comments were tactful and kind). Church has also been slightly uncomfortable for me since Logan has somehow forgotten how to use an inside voice and always has so much to say.

I know I shouldn't care what strangers think of me and my son, but it's makes my outings less stressful when we blend in to the crowd like everyone else. I also think this is an important thing for him to master, especially with school starting soon. I have tried teaching him at home to mimic a whisper and what the difference is between loud and soft. He is not getting it, or maybe he just doesn't want to! So...any suggestions on how to get Logan to know the difference between a loud voice, a normal voice and a quiet, inside voice? He seems to only have one setting--extra loud!