9 year old Aided main stream child so many questions

I have traveled my child across the country seeking specialized individuals that deal with his particular case. Everyone has consonantly said he needs to be aided however, that is not going to make him 'normal hearing'.
I can say as a hearing mother, I can watch tv and hear a knock on the door every single time no problem. My son can not. He also needs to turn the tv up louder than me in order for him to relax and enjoy the situation. I do not need to do that.

NaidaUp we are operating right no under your latest comment: no speech for lip reading, no asl. Bad news, he is still struggling to discern speech.
 
NaidaUP said:
Um, he is more hearing then deaf.

Quote from Google -
When your hearing test results are between 21 and 40dB you have mild deafness. Without hearing aids you can hear everything people say to you when you are in a quiet room, but have trouble hearing if there is lots of noise or if the person speaking is far away from you.

Really with a mild hearing loss, hearing aids would properly cause more trouble then not wearing them due to the limited bandwidth.

He shouldn't need to speech read or even need to use ASL as a first language.

Ambrosia has nailed it on the head with her post, totally said the right thing.
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:ty:

WillsMom08 said:
I have traveled my child across the country seeking specialized individuals that deal with his particular case. Everyone has consonantly said he needs to be aided however, that is not going to make him 'normal hearing'.
I can say as a hearing mother, I can watch tv and hear a knock on the door every single time no problem. My son can not. He also needs to turn the tv up louder than me in order for him to relax and enjoy the situation. I do not need to do that.

NaidaUp we are operating right no under your latest comment: no speech for lip reading, no asl. Bad news, he is still struggling to discern speech.
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That's the problem. You really should look into APD, auditory processing disorder. It wouldn't hurt to have him tested for it, and would be good to rule it out. With mild loss speech reading shouldn't even be an issue. The entire year or so I had mild loss in one ear and severe to profound loss in the other I didn't even have hearing aids. I could still watch tv, although a louder volume than my family, still talk to people in person and on the phone, where obviously you can't see the speaker. My mother though had moderate loss for quite a while and had an ITE aid, you wouldn't even know she had hearing loss. We are a big family, 6 kids, lots of grand kids, we're noisy as hell, and she wasn't all what what what what what. Struggling with speech with mild loss, when his speech discrimation scores great, just rings all kinds of warning bells that something else is going on.
 
ambrosia said:
:ty:



That's the problem. You really should look into APD, auditory processing disorder. It wouldn't hurt to have him tested for it, and would be good to rule it out. With mild loss speech reading shouldn't even be an issue. The entire year or so I had mild loss in one ear and severe to profound loss in the other I didn't even have hearing aids. I could still watch tv, although a louder volume than my family, still talk to people in person and on the phone, where obviously you can't see the speaker. My mother though had moderate loss for quite a while and had an ITE aid, you wouldn't even know she had hearing loss. We are a big family, 6 kids, lots of grand kids, we're noisy as hell, and she wasn't all what what what what what. Struggling with speech with mild loss, when his speech discrimation scores great, just rings all kinds of warning bells that something else is going on.
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Exactly. Rule out APD first as a next step. Even with my moderate hearing loss in my right ear with my hearing aid I can hear someone knock on the door while watching tv. If someone with mild hearing loss is unable to hear the knock on the door while the TV is on then something else is going on and that sounds like APD. Some kind of audiological delay at work here.
 
shel90 said:
Studies have shown that children who learn multiple languages do well with critical thinking skills.
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Multiple languages great but for him to use ASL as first language and not concentrate on his speech will be frustrating for someone who is more hearing then he is deaf and yes he is more hearing then deaf!

All my mom's life she's had a mild loss ranging from 30db to 35db and has never needed any assistance or even hearing aids.

To continue to focus on his speech and let that develop and to learn ASL on top is great.

If I had a mild loss and had to use ASL as my first language, I would feel really frustrated as I would be practically hearing then deaf.

He isn't anywhere near deaf and shouldn't need to use ASL as a first language.
 
<offering my perspective> I technically have a "mild hearing loss" and potentially APD. I'm -not-fluent in ASL, but it is is easier for me to use in terms of my strong visual navigation in the world and in terms of my issues with physical speech <I was in Special Ed for speech and language as a child> I had speech therapy for many years. I do not consider myself hearing and would have benefited from learning ASL as a first language.
 
WillsMom08 said:
Thanks for all the input. Still trying to get a solution

He had a project that he had to write sayings and glue them on a poster board. One of the sayings was "Seek to learn" he wrote "See to learn"
and 2 other of the same issue. He had a clue the next morning it may not be correct but couldnt get the words out to ask me correctly.

To top all of this off, I just met with the principal last week Thursday and showed him (again) WIll's IQ scores and expressed the concern that I will not accept half done work. If he makes these errors, at the least they should be sent home for my child to correct, he is smart enough to know and correct. Great, he was talking to the teacher again.

This evening. I hear that there was a spelling test for the class. My son was told to take his computer and move to the back of the class since he could not wear headphones. He was then instructed dont turn it up too loud I dont want you to disturb the class because you are not wearing headphones. He missed over half of the words from errors like gray he spells day etc.

I am really struggling on getting through this without going nuts on this teacher. This is my childs education that he is playing with and it appears to me a joke to this guy.
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Not hearing the final, high frequency sound in a word (the K in seek) is a discrimination issue. Has he had auditory rehab? It is special listening therapy that helps him learn to hear. It is different from speech therapy. The focus is building the brain pathways so he can hear, tell apart, and understand the differences in sounds.
 
WillsMom08 said:
just posted the question in the other forum...if they are pushing oral death program when do they let my son in on the big secret to reading lips better. He obviously didnt hear them teach that subject and is struggling so how do you learn to read lips better??
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It isn't about lipreading. It is about learning to accurately hear the difference in the sounds.
 
It looks like I will have to take him about 2.5 hours for the APD testing. I am a bit discouraged because even if he does test positive for it, I sincerely doubt I will find someone that specializes in it and he will only get some general speech therapy that will not help in the long run.

I think he may have apd issues but I feel like the teachers and principal at our school are lacking any common sense in this situation.

No one I have come into contact with is searching out ways to help him, just more brushing me off, he will be fine, no worries kind of attitude.

Anyway waiting on the Audiologist to call and get him scheduled for APD testing!
 
NaidaUP said:
Multiple languages great but for him to use ASL as first language and not concentrate on his speech will be frustrating for someone who is more hearing then he is deaf and yes he is more hearing then deaf!

All my mom's life she's had a mild loss ranging from 30db to 35db and has never needed any assistance or even hearing aids.

To continue to focus on his speech and let that develop and to learn ASL on top is great.

If I had a mild loss and had to use ASL as my first language, I would feel really frustrated as I would be practically hearing then deaf.

He isn't anywhere near deaf and shouldn't need to use ASL as a first language.
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My hearing son's first language is ASL...didn't hurt him. ASL is a language not a special needs' tool.
 
shel90 said:
My hearing son's first language is ASL...didn't hurt him. ASL is a language not a special needs' tool.
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Not saying its a special needs tool but if I were more hearing then deaf but couldn't speak, I would feel very frustrated b/c you don't fit in to the Deaf world but you can't communicate via speaking so you don't fit in to the hearing world.

My mom's friends daughters have sign as their first lanauge b/c their mom who is a single mom, only uses sign and is 100% deaf but social services (UK thing) made sure they learnt to speak.

They are very grateful for having both ASL and oral communication within their life. They have said they would feel very isolated if social services hasn't got involved and taught them to speak.
 
But in all seriousness, your son is having problems that aren't related to his mild hearing loss.
He may have mild hearing loss IN ADDITION TO APD or maybe even auditory neuropathy. He may need to have his hearing aids adjusted by someone with more experience. He may need listening therapy. He might need a combination of all of these.

Think of it as if your son has a cough. You need to find out why he has a cough before you treat it because the treatment and outcomes are very different. (Forgive my metaphor but you see the point? Explore the most likely explanations before completely changing the educational methods)

In medicine there is a phrase, "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses not zebras"
 
NaidaUP said:
Not saying its a special needs tool but if I were more hearing then deaf but couldn't speak, I would feel very frustrated b/c you don't fit in to the Deaf world but you can't communicate via speaking so you don't fit in to the hearing world.

My mom's friends daughters have sign as their first lanauge b/c their mom who is a single mom, only uses sign and is 100% deaf but social services (UK thing) made sure they learnt to speak.

They are very grateful for having both ASL and oral communication within their life. They have said they would feel very isolated if social services hasn't got involved and taught them to speak.
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*pounds head against computer* He ALREADY has speech. Most schools and programs for the dhh also have HOH style stuff as well.....Most HOH kids are LIMITED to oral only....AND most schools for the Deaf still offer HOH services and or voice on periods....there's NO LACK of oral opportunities even with Signing Deaf ed......even successfully oral/hoh kids constantly say they don't fit into the hearing world,even thou they are strongly pushed towards the hearing world!
 
deafdyke said:
*pounds head against computer* He ALREADY has speech. Most schools and programs for the dhh also have HOH style stuff as well.....Most HOH kids are LIMITED to oral only....AND most schools for the Deaf still offer HOH services and or voice on periods....there's NO LACK of oral opportunities even with Signing Deaf ed......even successfully oral/hoh kids constantly say they don't fit into the hearing world,even thou they are strongly pushed towards the hearing world!
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Thank you DeafDyke :)

I see ASL as a useful tool. I do think ADP or APD is a small piece of the puzzle but to say that is not related to his mild hearing loss is comical. Why does he have APD? Because he never heard those sounds, so the brain no longer makes the connection. And lets throw a little gas on that fire, how will you correct it?? with speech therapy Oh yeah, he cant hear those sounds unless he is the perfectly controlled environment we have created for testing.

He is a HOH child. There are many pieces to his puzzle. It is a travesty to see the hoops we are made to jump through in order to help someone that has no control over his problems.

I have managed to find out at the oral deaf program, they hide there mouth/lips. According to the principal lip reading is discouraged greatly. Good thing because I thought it was a secret club they were not letting my son into :cool2:
 
deafdyke said:
*pounds head against computer* He ALREADY has speech. Most schools and programs for the dhh also have HOH style stuff as well.....Most HOH kids are LIMITED to oral only....AND most schools for the Deaf still offer HOH services and or voice on periods....there's NO LACK of oral opportunities even with Signing Deaf ed......even successfully oral/hoh kids constantly say they don't fit into the hearing world,even thou they are strongly pushed towards the hearing world!
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Oh my word! Yes I know he already has speech but at the age of 9 years old, it'll still be developing!!

Speech skills is not all about actually speaking but it's also the understanding of it.
 
WillsMom08 said:
Thank you DeafDyke :)

I see ASL as a useful tool. I do think ADP or APD is a small piece of the puzzle but to say that is not related to his mild hearing loss is comical. Why does he have APD? Because he never heard those sounds, so the brain no longer makes the connection. And lets throw a little gas on that fire, how will you correct it?? with speech therapy Oh yeah, he cant hear those sounds unless he is the perfectly controlled environment we have created for testing.

He is a HOH child. There are many pieces to his puzzle. It is a travesty to see the hoops we are made to jump through in order to help someone that has no control over his problems.

I have managed to find out at the oral deaf program, they hide there mouth/lips. According to the principal lip reading is discouraged greatly. Good thing because I thought it was a secret club they were not letting my son into :cool2:
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Hearing people can suffer from APD etc. It's not about the fact he's never been able to hear those sounds!
 
ambrosia said:
With mild loss he shouldn't even need to be relying on speech reading. It might help, but seeing the speakers face at all times shouldn't be necessary with mild loss. She says he's using an FM system.

My point is, given all of that something is going on besides his hearing. THAT should be the focus, not which school he should be going to, whether or not he should be learning ASL. The focus should be why he's not getting the speech he realistically should be able to get with mild loss.
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Did you know even hearing people speechread? It's not just dhh people...
I do agree there might be something more going on....or perhaps this might be atypical mild hearing loss.....Maybe the parent is discovering that hearing loss in children is DIFFERENT then in acquired loss in adults....with acquired loss,it's a LOT easier to fill in the blanks .....Or maybe he's got a progressive loss or whatever......but the thing is theory (oh mild hearing loss is easy to "manage", they're just basicly "hearing") may not be true that's all......They've discovered that even unilateral loss can affect learning etc.....so I wouldn't nessarily say that mild hearing loss in children is not that much to worry about.....Certainly he's not acting like say an unaided kid, but even with mild loss, he is still missing stuff.....to me he's just acting like a typical HOH oral kid......
 
NaidaUP said:
Oh my word! Yes I know he already has speech but at the age of 9 years old, it'll still be developing!!

Speech skills is not all about actually speaking but it's also the understanding of it.
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And? Again,he lives in the hearing world and can EASILY pick up stuff related to spoken language development.......Just b/c he would be in a Dhh education setting, that wouldn't inhibit his aquastiion of speech/receptive language .....b/c after all he's got a lot of hearing world exposure AND there's also the fact that many schools and programs for the Deaf are very HOH friendly now, and have speech therapy and even voice on periods.....
 
Please be clear on the fact that all these comments have helped me tremendously. In the text of this forum I have been able to respond with the responses i have to deal with.

2 weeks ago, I totally accepted the fact that my child could not go to the oral deaf program, I would have never thought to challenge the community.

THANK you all for your help. I need it!
 
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