that's me!!

we frequently visit the John Tracy Clinic's website to see what's new with them. logan was with me when i clicked on it this morning and he noticed his picture at the top even before i did! click here to see for yourself why he thinks he's famous! (he's in the orange shirt)

We went back...

We have been on the west coast for about 7 weeks and just arrived home last week. Our trip was centered around attending the John Tracy Clinic in LA for their 3-week summer session. It was so nice to be back. I have been waiting for the past year, since leaving LA, to return to all of our friends at JTC. I am always amazed at how much information there is to gain and I loved sitting in the parent classes every day from 9 am-4 pm learning--all over again-- how to better help my Logan.

our cute little apartment...


too many in the elevator...
The Family picnic...

playing in the HUGE yard at our apartments...

They had a "sibling program" that Tanner attended. He absolutely loved it. He made friends, played games and learned a lot about hearing loss and how to help Logan...



The siblings acted out how sound goes through the ear, to the brain. Tanner played the 'stapes'...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

some yummy treats that we received from Wonderland Bakery...
Logan and his teacher, Sarah...
Logan and his SLP, Meghan (Meghan was Logan's preschool teacher when we attended a year ago)...

All of our new friends...

I found myself on YouTube!

I was searching through The John Tracy Clinic's website and came across this video of me being interviewed about Logan's story and the clinic, when we lived in LA. If you can get past the fact that I am speaking a million words a minute, it's fun to watch...

CNN also went to John Tracy and did this story on Jose.

I was shocked and angry when I read this, especially since it is someone we know. The little boy, Jose, was Logan's best friend while he attended the John Tracy Clinic in LA. It breaks my heart.

JTC Graduation

John Tracy had a Farewell Ceremony for all of the children that would be leaving and going on to other programs. We had a fun time and were grateful for our wonderful friends who came to support Logan. It was slightly emotional as I felt like we weren't done yet with all we needed to accomplish here at the John Tracy Clinic. Two parents spoke on their feelings when they first came to JTC. Jake and I tried to hold back the tears as we could completely relate. The feelings of helplessness, fear and hopelessness I think encompass all parents when they first find out of their children's hearing loss. JTC has made the feelings turn into hope and courage. We will forever be grateful for all they have done for Logan and for our family.

Thank you, we love you!

Josh Swiller comes to JTC

My husband and I were privileged to be in attendance when author Josh Swiller came and spoke to our parent class at John Tracy last Tuesday.

(taken from www.jtc.org) :
"When my parents found out I was deaf," author Josh Swiller told JTC parents at their Tuesday night class, "my mother said she knew it all along, even though the doctors said things like, 'He's just a little slow,' and 'He's at that age when he doesn't want to listen to you.' My father, on the other hand, felt like it was his fault and it took him a long time to get over it."
Josh, who visited JTC last fall on a whirlwind tour to promote his book, The Unheard, was invited back as guest speaker for parent class. The parents were riveted by his intensely personal and frequently hilarious account of growing up in both the deaf and hearing cultures.
"It's important to laugh about your situation sometimes," said Josh. "We're here to work with what we have. Deafness is going to create frustration, but it can also create wonderful things. In fact, it's a kind of blessing because it focuses your life and enables you to experience true silence, if you choose. And when it comes to college, it's a goldmine for scholarships."
Born to hearing parents, Josh had progressive deafness and was not diagnosed until he was four years old. He now wears a cochlear implant, which, he says, has greatly improved his speech. "I learned spoken language with my eyes," he recalled, "mostly through reading and regular speech therapy." He is also an expert lip reader and is fluent in American Sign Language.
Asked what further advice he had for the parents, he said: "Deaf children aren't made of glass, so don't tip toe around them, don't baby them. Having a house full of brothers, I didn't get treated like a poor little thing. They slugged me in the arm just like anyone else, harder in fact. I didn't get a pass on anything."
The Unheard is both the story of Josh's childhood and of his two, extraordinary years as the first deaf Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia.


What a wonderful example he is. I jotted down a few of my favorite things from that night, in the back of our copy of the book, for Logan to reflect on when he is older.

-Don't ever "fake it". You don't have to hide your deafness
-Humor makes your deafness less fearful
-It's OK to have struggles, it makes us strong
-Educate others about your deafness
-In school, the education part will not be the difficult part, it will be the social part.

Tips for parents:
-Be sure to "check-in" with your child often, don't let them pretend to be getting it all.
-Teaching them to be good readers is very important
-Educate others about your child's deafness, especially in the early ears
-Make sure your child feels open enough to feel comfortable to talk to you about his deafness
-Josh Filler said, "With hearing aids I would struggle to get all the sounds--with a CI I get all the sounds, I'm just trying to make sense of it all."
-

Logan's update

I have received a lot of emails and phone calls wanting updates about our little Logan and his new Cochlear Implant. Thank you so much. It will make him so happy one day to know how loved he is! Well, things are going very well. He is getting used to all the "noise" and the only time he has become really irritated was on Christmas morning! :) With 9 cousins and all the mayhem, there was just too much sound and he asked me if he could take it off. "too much, too much" is what he kept signing to me.












We have started attending the John Tracy Clinic for the deaf and we just LOVE it. He has actually started recognizing certain words by their name...without reading lips. But this past week was very emotional for me as Logan not only heard a knock at the door, but knew what it was that he was hearing. We jumped around and cheered, we couldn't contain our excitement. That is going to be the struggle, teaching him to recognize what all these new sounds are. We are so proud of him and his willingness to work so hard. I just stare at him sometimes to see his reactions to sound. How blessed we have been. I will do better at updating on his progress. :)