The simple sound of rain...

Before having a child with deafness I never stopped to listen to the rain. I find that that is true with many sounds around me. I am grateful for the small and simple things that I am able to experience through Logan.
Yesterday it rained pretty heavily for about an hour. We sat outside and listened as each drop hit the ground. We walked down to the retention basin on our street and listened as the frogs croaked in the rising water. The sound of live frogs was something Logan had never heard before--again, small and simple things...

Tanner reading to Logan...

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Update...

We have been busy lately with the start of school and therefore...I have neglected the blog. Logan is loving school. He is doing well and has definitely become more expressive. Although we don't understand all that is being said we are already at that point where we are saying to ourselves, "Does he ever stop to breath?"
We are set up to see the audiologist this Thursday for the first time since moving to Florida and are crossing our fingers that a second CI is in our future. We are also set up with a great AVT and will see her soon.



Logan had a great time at a church water activity last weekend even though I wouldn't let him wear his CI due to all the water (although it has already fallen in the pool and in the toilet and has survived). The fire department came, which was Logan's favorite part.

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!

Thanks for the emails...

I have had a few other 'CI MOMS' email me and ask what kind of program/therapy we have Logan in. We are still trying to set all of that up, since we have just moved, but here is what we have been doing this summer to keep busy...

Logan attended the Preschool at the John Tracy clinic last year and that is where we learned most of the “therapy” that we do at home. They have free online courses, if you’re interested. Go to http://www.jtc.org/ to sign up. We just moved from California to Florida, so the only therapy he has received this summer is at home with me. I usually set aside one hour in the morning and one hour after his nap and play with him, making it a language activity. I am talking to him all day about everything we are doing. I ask him to repeat a lot. It took him a while before he would mimic me, but now he does it without me having to ask.

I choose a theme for the week (or sometimes two weeks) and we read books, do crafts, (try to) go on “field trips”, all having to do with that theme. I print off pictures of that theme (from the computer) and hang them up around the house. When we walk by the picture we say the name. For example, one week we did fruits and vegetables. We had pictures of apples, peas, corn, etc. around the house. We then went to a strawberry farm and picked strawberries. We also made carrots out of tissue paper. Then every night we read the same book, which has to do with our theme. My older (hearing) son enjoys the activities as well, and my 20 month old benefits from the language activities as well!

Right now we are working on the Alphabet. We do two/three letters per week, but don’t move on until he has mastered the current letters. There are letters hanging up around the house. When Logan walks past one, he comes to tell me what it is. When we read our book at night, we try to find the letters of the week, in his book.
You can find a lot of ideas off the Internet. Many preschool sites have free lesson plans; we use those, and then just tweak them to fit Logan’s needs.
Also, once he starts school, we'll find out their theme for the week and do our own activities at home that go along with what he is learning at school.

I am also a big fan of "experience books". Logan simply loves them and I find myself needing to make a new one about every month. I make experience books with Family members, daily activities, and objects/places that he sees everyday.

I would also love to hear any ideas, form any of you, who have done things that have worked as well. Please share!

For other CI parents...

(FREE ONLINE COURSES AVAILABLE THROUGH COCHLEAR...NEXT ONE IS TUESDAY, THE 29TH. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)

Our next HOPE Online event features provides 20 top tips for achieving the best outcomes with a cochlear implant. It is appropriate for both professionals and parents. As always, our HOPE event will be captioned and will offer CEUs from ASHA and the American Academy of Audiology. This course will also provide credits that can be applied to AG Bell's Academy for Listening and Spoken Language. To ensure your place at this popular event, please sign up at least 4 hours in advance at: www:cochlear.com/HOPE in the area marked Online training for professionals in education.

Achieving the Best Outcomes with a Cochlear Implant: 20 Top TipsPresenter: Donna L. Sorkin, M.A., Cochlear Americas & Ashley Garber, M.S., CCC-SLP, LSLS Cert. AVT, HOPE Specialist Date/Time: Tuesday, July 29, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. (Eastern) / 12:00 p.m. (Pacific)Description: This session will review four key topics that impact a child’s outcomes with a cochlear implant: (1) maximally using the sound processor, (2) empowering parents to promote auditory learning (3) addressing needs in school settings, and (4) involving friends and family members to aid in the child’s personal development. Each topic will be explored by sharing a series of tips and related resources that can help families and professionals achieve the best possible outcome.

Medical Bracelet

We've been thinking about getting one for a while, so with school starting up soon we finally ordered one last month. He thinks it's pretty cool, but will only wear it for moments at a time. Hopefully he'll get used to wearing it. LOGAN CRAGUN

PROFOUNDLY DEAF

NO MRI'S

NEEDS A COCHLEAR

IMP. TO HEAR

Our first 5 word sentence...

Tonight Logan was picking a straw for his drink and said to me, "Mommy, which one, blue, yellow?"

One of Logan's new words...

"MOT-MAUN"

(BAT-MAN)

I bought some fun Batman masks at Walmart for the boys and he has quickly become the favorite superhero around the house. I hear "mot-maun, mot-maun" ALL DAY LONG!!! We're glad his language is expanding!

Logan's speech...

(click on picture to view video)



Logan's speech 7/20/08

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.

Disney World...

We were so excited for Logan to experience Disney World since the last time we were at Disneyland was before he was implanted. The sounds were fantastic to him and he even tried to sing along with "It's a Small World". I would have never thought it, but what a great language experience Disney World is. There were so many new things he had never seen, the characters, the colors, the songs! He loved every minute and wouldn't stop asking how to say everything he saw. Although we had so much fun, unless we were actually on a ride it was very stressful for me to struggle with Logan hearing me through all the crowds. (Another reason we are eager to get the second implant done.) I was shouting most of the time just to get his attention. We also ran into a problem with him wandering off so much. Because Logan is still very visual, so many things seemed to catch his eye and he'd wander towards it. It was difficult to keep track of him because we were also with his two other brothers and their 3 cousins! I would usually keep little Logan on one of those cute "leashes", but that wasn't something he wanted to wear since all of the older kids were free to walk on their own.
All in all it was a great three days and he can hardly wait to go back.

New receptive and expressive words learned from Disney World:
"Mickey"
"Lion"
"weeee"
"Rhino"

One of Logan's favorite rides was at the Animal Kingdom, the Safari. There was a picture list of all the animals we would see on the safari. Every time we saw an animal, he would find it on the picture board, ask me how to say it and try to mimic it.

Happy Independance Day!

We had a great 4th of July. It was a new expreience to watch Logan observe, and try to mimic, the sounds of the fireworks.

I love this picture...he is expressing how loud they were. This time last year, they made no sound at all--at least to him.

Logan in the church bike parade...

Telling Dad that he heard a new sound and asking what is was...

Logan 6.26.08

(click on image to view video)

quick update

So on our cross country trip from LA to Florida, we stopped in San Antonio, TX to visit family. While we were there, we spent two days at Sea World. We saw the Shamu show a few times because it was Logan's favorite. Anyway, today we were lounging around the house listening to music and having fun with each other when Dad put on Neil Diamond's "America" (my older son loves that song). As soon as Logan heard the first 4 beats, he did the sign for Whale and tried to tell us that that was the same song he heard during the Shamu show. He was right! Simple, I know, but we were amazed that he made that connection and was learning to distinguish music like that.



Logan is progressing nicely. Just the other night he needed help with something and said a 3 word sentence-spontaneously- "Daddy, help me." He is also weening out the sign when he speaks, "mommy" and "daddy" are completely 'sign-free'. It's almost as if he knows what words he says well and are understandable because those are the words that no longer are accompanied by sign.



We received confirmation that the oral program here ion Gainesville is a for sure thing and, in fact, they just hired a teacher. The program director said that they were really happy with the decision made to hire this teacher and that she is fantastic and ...she, herself, has bilateral implants! Pretty cool. There will be 6 children between the ages of 2 1/2-4. Three with CIs and 3 with hearing aids and they are all between 3 to 9 months hearing. We are excited and hopeful about being apart of the start of this program.



We are in the process of setting up new audiologists, ENTs, etc and will start our process of trying to get him the second implant.

I know this film is fairly old, but I finally got a chance to watch it last night and I really enjoyed it. I laughed, I cried and I understood a little bit more about Logan's world. If you haven't had a chance to see it yet, do!! It is on HBO and I'm not sure if it's available anywhere else as of yet.

It is a documentary of a 65 year old couple who have been deaf their entire lives and decided, now, to receive cochlear implants. The film is narrated to us by one of their daughters who also gives an insight as to what it was like growing up with deaf parents. I loved it!

A CI model!

Logan posed for a new textbook coming soon. Look for this photo of him in Occupational Therapy for Children, 5th Edition, Jane Case-Smith, Mosby, Inc, St. Louis, Missouri!!

Sorry it's been so long since our last post. It's been a crazy month, my husband just graduated from UCLA dental school then we drove cross country to move from Los Angeles to Florida and are trying to get settled in. We'll be back soon!

Thanks for asking about our situation regarding Logan's processor... we never in fact seemed to pin point the problem, but after receiving three different ones, we seemed to find one that is working well.