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'...

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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...

WISCONSIN STUDY!!

We went to Wisconsin a couple weeks ago to participate in the Bilateral CI study. We had a fabulous time. We spent 4 days there, two days were spent testing. After each test he got to choose a sticker to put on his sticker box and after every three tests, he got to pick a small prize out of their fun prize box...he loved this!

It was interesting for me to see the different tests that were conducted and to see how Logan is really hearing. He was such a trooper and did great.


The airplane ride there...
a "study break" during the second day of testing...


auditory tests...

expressive language tests...

showing off the "sticker box" and the "prizes" he got for "good listening". ..

We found a homemade popcorn shop and stopped to get a fun treat at the end of a busy day...

Another "study break"...

posing by some of the prizes...

When all the testing was done, they let him choose from a big prize box. This was the "prize" he choose he loves it and it hasn't left his side since...


This isn't a great video, it was day two of the study and the end of the day, so needless to say, he was a bit worn out. Also, it's a little difficult to hear and the picture is dark, but it's a little bit of our time participating in the study...

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Wisconsin is first to require cochlear implant insurance coverage...

Logan and I are currently in Madison, Wisconsin participating in the bilateral Cochlear implant study.

We have been here for two days, and already have had about 10-12 people congratulate us and ask how we feel on the new bill past last week. The first few times I smiled and nodded, not knowing what they were talking about-but figured it was something to do with hearing loss or Cochlear Implants. I then got to a computer and searched the internet to see what they were talking about.
I found that last week, Wisconsin lawmakers acted to become the first state to require insurance companies to cover cochlear implants for children with severe hearing loss. This was fantastic news and it was awesome to see how excited the locals were about something that didn't really affect them.
"Sen. Lassa [one of the authors of the Wisconsin bill] also noted research that suggests that Wisconsin taxpayers stand to save as much as $5,000 to $10,000 per child per year in reduced or eliminated special education services and a savings of about $1 million per person over their lifetime if more children can receive hearing aids and cochlear implants. Currently, thirteen states require that insurance companies cover hearing aids."

Click here and here for more info on this bill.

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Bilateral study 2009...

Logan has been chosen to participate in a a federally funded research that is conducted at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He will be tested in order to gain more insight into the benefits of bilateral implantation vs. a single ear implant . He is scheduled to travel to Madison in about two weeks.
When I heard of the opportunity for him to take part in this, I jumped at the chance because their first study on bilateral implants is what helped my husband and I decide to go forward with getting a second CI for Logan.

They sent us some pictures for Logan to become familiar with to get ready for some of the testing they will be conducting. Out of 24 pictures, I was concerned that he only knew 7 of them--but in only 2 days he has mastered all 24. We made flashcards out of them and have developed different games to help him understand and say the different words.

Tonight we had him choose a card and draw the picture on the driveway with sidewalk chalk...