CI progress and starting school for parents of DHH kids

kayla123 said:
Hi all, just making a thread here to see how well your child's progress is doing with their CI in school. As for my daughter Kayla, she started kindergarden this year and is absolutley loving school...actually she's excited about riding the school bus, lol. So far she's doing great in school, her teacher keeps me posted and i do volunteer as a classroom parent to make sure she is keeping up with the rest of the kids and to make sure she is understanding what she is being taught. The FM helps a great deal especially in gym class. I had a little discussion with all her classmates about her CI, showing them what it looks like(her hair covers it) and explaining to them that it helps her to hear. They were all so cute and i was'nt sure if Kayla would be shy about being the center of attention but she was so cute just flipping her hair back and showing it off to them. She's still a little behind on her speech compared to her peers but she comes home everday learning something new and excited about telling me how her day went.
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That's great and she would doing well at school. :)

For my opinion, I believe that implant on kids that who are HoH is bad idea because people with HoH are great benefit with HA, except for few cases have medical issues that need get CI. Again, It's up to parents that who make decision but 10 years old girl that I met her and she's HoH but parent force her to got CI and she's not happy with CI. I told her that I cannot help her to stop wear CI but I wish that I would help her then gave her a hug.
 
Kayla has a profound hearing loss and she wore HA for about 8 months and had very little benefit from them. When she's older and decides she dosent want to wear her implant, then that would be her decision and i would support her with whatever she chooses to do. So far she's very happy with her implant and we will start learning sign next summer when she will attend the camp for dhh kids that she will be going to so that she could be exposed to other kids like herself. I want to give her both options now and later she can decide for herself. If i had waited to give her the CI when she got older, it would have been more of a struggle for her to grasp speech and language. I don't know how hard learning sign will be but i know theres no time barrier to learn it. My focus when she first got the implant was her ability to communicate verbally, now my next step is sign language. As a parent, i'm happy knowing that i 'm giving her options and she can decide later for herself what makes her happiest.
 
SxyPork, I am not anti CI. Just think in some cases, that people opt for it without trying other options first. I'm hoh myself, and am not always totally accepted in Deaf society b/c some deafies think I'm too "hearing"

So far she's very happy with her implant and we will start learning sign next summer when she will attend the camp for dhh kids that she will be going to so that she could be exposed to other kids like herself. I want to give her both options now and later she can decide for herself. If i had waited to give her the CI when she got older, it would have been more of a struggle for her to grasp speech and language. I don't know how hard learning sign will be but i know theres no time barrier to learn it. My focus when she first got the implant was her ability to communicate verbally, now my next step is sign language. As a parent, i'm happy knowing that i 'm giving her options and she can decide later for herself what makes her happiest.
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Extremely cool that you're not going about this the "old school assimulation" way. In the past if your kid was an oral sucess, you weren't really encouraged to teach them Sign. Glad some oral first parents aren't being audist. I actually do understand why some parents want to have their kids learn speech first..Speech is hard, and I mean it IS a vital skill....but I still think that parents need to meet their dhh kid halfway and learn Sign. That's actually why I was encouraging you to maybe look into possible enrichment style once a week placements in addition to the mainstream placement. Learning Sign is just like learning any other language...... unfortunatly, THERE IS a time barrier. The language window applies to ALL languages, not just spoken ones. I also know you're very pro- array of options. Which is why I suggested an additional placement, so that Kayla KNOWS she has options other then going to a mainstream school. Like a lot of times, little kids just take their current educational placement/ current communication system/ current whatever as the "norm" or as a sitution that doesn't offer any alternatives. Like a lot of mainstreamed kids don't know that there are alternatives......I can remember I didn't know there were schools for the deaf or regional programs for the Deaf out there. I thought that mainstream school was the only option out there. Parents need to get proactive and introduce the choices and options to the kid. That was really my point....Not being anti-mainstream or anti oral.....just trying to make the point that parents need to actively steer their kids towards the choices, instead of continuing with the default......do you understand my way of thinking now? I really wasn't meaning to attack you or anything like that. .....Hey, you know.......you could check with the state's comission on dhh kids, and see if there's any dhh playgroups or other things like that? Make sure you specify that you want ASL and Deaf related stuff, not nessarily hearing rehab/ Hearing Impaired/hearing Health stuff (which is what most hoh kids get) Ummmm......maybe check into your state's branch of NAD , and see if maybe you could get a mentor for your family and for Kayla? There are some orally trained/ mainstreamed adults, who are very active in the Deaf community. Hope I've helped you!
 
deafdyke said:
SxyPork, I am not anti CI. Just think in some cases, that people opt for it without trying other options first. I'm hoh myself, and am not always totally accepted in Deaf society b/c some deafies think I'm too "hearing"


Extremely cool that you're not going about this the "old school assimulation" way. In the past if your kid was an oral sucess, you weren't really encouraged to teach them Sign. Glad some oral first parents aren't being audist. I actually do understand why some parents want to have their kids learn speech first..Speech is hard, and I mean it IS a vital skill....but I still think that parents need to meet their dhh kid halfway and learn Sign. That's actually why I was encouraging you to maybe look into possible enrichment style once a week placements in addition to the mainstream placement. Learning Sign is just like learning any other language...... unfortunatly, THERE IS a time barrier. The language window applies to ALL languages, not just spoken ones. I also know you're very pro- array of options. Which is why I suggested an additional placement, so that Kayla KNOWS she has options other then going to a mainstream school. Like a lot of times, little kids just take their current educational placement/ current communication system/ current whatever as the "norm" or as a sitution that doesn't offer any alternatives. Like a lot of mainstreamed kids don't know that there are alternatives......I can remember I didn't know there were schools for the deaf or regional programs for the Deaf out there. I thought that mainstream school was the only option out there. Parents need to get proactive and introduce the choices and options to the kid. That was really my point....Not being anti-mainstream or anti oral.....just trying to make the point that parents need to actively steer their kids towards the choices, instead of continuing with the default......do you understand my way of thinking now? I really wasn't meaning to attack you or anything like that. .....Hey, you know.......you could check with the state's comission on dhh kids, and see if there's any dhh playgroups or other things like that? Make sure you specify that you want ASL and Deaf related stuff, not nessarily hearing rehab/ Hearing Impaired/hearing Health stuff (which is what most hoh kids get) Ummmm......maybe check into your state's branch of NAD , and see if maybe you could get a mentor for your family and for Kayla? There are some orally trained/ mainstreamed adults, who are very active in the Deaf community. Hope I've helped you!
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I know that you aren't anti-CI.

Just make debate with between HA and CI.
 
Kayla123, RIGHT ON!!!!! You are approaching the oral/sign thing the same way we are with Lilly! Teach them everything they will/can use to help em out. Then when they are old enough to decide, the decision is all thiers!
 
Lillys dad said:
Kayla123, RIGHT ON!!!!! You are approaching the oral/sign thing the same way we are with Lilly! Teach them everything they will/can use to help em out. Then when they are old enough to decide, the decision is all thiers!
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Yea, it's a tough world out there and we have to prepare them for it.
 
Well said. Besides, what about any time they cannot wear thier CI? Swimming, rough play, slides and so on. What if the CI breaks on a fri evening and you cannot get to the audi until mon?
We know we have to get creative sometimes with the equipment. Just today I had one of those moments. We just got a new body worn controller the other day. While my wife was swapping out the batteries, one of them would not stay in place. It kept popping out of the holder. It appears that the plastic lip on the top of that battery holder had slightly seperated. With a little tape, I got it to work so we can get through the weekend. On monday morning, we will let the audi staff check it out.
 
It does rock that you guys are openminded! YAY!!!!! Lilysdad and Kayla123, you really should find Deaf resources in your state, and start exposing your girls to all you find! Also, Lilysdad, they can take advantage of interpreters....one complaint I've heard from oral deaf folks is that " There's no "real" commnly offered accomondations for us on a par with 'terps.
You two are really doing well..... it is really nice to see that some parents who wanted their kids to be orally trained, are simply looking for another tool in the toolbox.
 
Lillys dad said:
Well said. Besides, what about any time they cannot wear thier CI? Swimming, rough play, slides and so on. What if the CI breaks on a fri evening and you cannot get to the audi until mon?
We know we have to get creative sometimes with the equipment. Just today I had one of those moments. We just got a new body worn controller the other day. While my wife was swapping out the batteries, one of them would not stay in place. It kept popping out of the holder. It appears that the plastic lip on the top of that battery holder had slightly seperated. With a little tape, I got it to work so we can get through the weekend. On monday morning, we will let the audi staff check it out.
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Very good point. That's why I want my daughter to learn sign. She still has the hearing aids, so we are signing with her too. She is 8 months now, and I THINK she actually signs sleep, mommy, daddy, more and sometimes milk. I want her to learn sign before she has the implant because I want her to be able to communicate with us. She seems to have a temper already and I don't know if that is out of frustration. Most 8 month old babies can't communicate their needs, but at least they hear the parents speak and can see the communication the parents are making with them. Hope this makes sense.

When she does have the implant, I want her to be able to use sign for the situations you mentioned below. All summer kids are in pools, sprinklers, and taking baths. I want it to be an easy transition for her when she has to take the implant off.

To anyone with a child with an implant - I recently heard about the slides being a problem. Is it metal slides? Is there anything else that children cannot do with the implants on, other than the obvious water activities? Also, do you find that the implant is less annoying for the child than hearing aids? My daughter pulls off and tries to eat her hearing aids all the time. It's not that she is pulling them off because she doesn't like them, she grabs the string, or the huggie, or rolls over and they fall off.

Thanks
 
The Freedom can be used in a sprinkler and rain. It is water resistant. It cannot be submerged.
As far as slides, true, they cannot play on plastic slides. Metal slides are fine. The only drawaback with metal is the fact that they get hot in the sun.
I made a metal slide for Lilly last year. SHe has since outgrown it so I will be making a bigger one this winter.
Other issues with a CI are anything that produces static elictricity. For research, do a web search on ESD, (electro static discharge).
Obviously, the winter is harder than the summer when dealing with static. We have all hardwood floors so the ESD is not as big of a problem in the house. We do have issues with area rugs. We use a common static guard spray on the rugs once or twice a week. Or you can buy a spray bottle, and mix liquid fabric softener with water and spray that.
You should also be aware of clothing made from non natural fibers. We really dont worry about this that much except for a winter coat and hat. Do not use stocking caps. They have a high amount of ESD when taking them off or on. Also find her a winter coat with a cotton or flannel liner. Do not get a coat with a poly liner. If you chose a coat with a fleece liner, make sure it is real fleece, not a synthetic.
All of this sounds overwhelming. Its not. The hardest part is finding a coat. Try Hanna Anderson. They are a little pricey, but they are very good products. Other than that, just remembering to spray the rugs in the winter is the other hard part.
From talking to the audi staff at CID, they say they havent seen a CI processor get damaged from a shock in a very long time. They say the chances of the processor getting damaged nowdays is very slim. But, I still want to play it safe.
OH! one more thing. In the winter, when getting her out of her carseat, be sure to touch her hand(to discharge ESD) before grabbing her body. That way, the shock has alot more of the body to go through before reaching the processor. This sounds weird, I know, but we were told that from two different audis, and it does make sense.
Sorry so drawn out.
 
Lillys dad said:
The Freedom can be used in a sprinkler and rain. It is water resistant. It cannot be submerged.
As far as slides, true, they cannot play on plastic slides. Metal slides are fine. The only drawaback with metal is the fact that they get hot in the sun.
I made a metal slide for Lilly last year. SHe has since outgrown it so I will be making a bigger one this winter.
Other issues with a CI are anything that produces static elictricity. For research, do a web search on ESD, (electro static discharge).
Obviously, the winter is harder than the summer when dealing with static. We have all hardwood floors so the ESD is not as big of a problem in the house. We do have issues with area rugs. We use a common static guard spray on the rugs once or twice a week. Or you can buy a spray bottle, and mix liquid fabric softener with water and spray that.
You should also be aware of clothing made from non natural fibers. We really dont worry about this that much except for a winter coat and hat. Do not use stocking caps. They have a high amount of ESD when taking them off or on. Also find her a winter coat with a cotton or flannel liner. Do not get a coat with a poly liner. If you chose a coat with a fleece liner, make sure it is real fleece, not a synthetic.
All of this sounds overwhelming. Its not. The hardest part is finding a coat. Try Hanna Anderson. They are a little pricey, but they are very good products. Other than that, just remembering to spray the rugs in the winter is the other hard part.
From talking to the audi staff at CID, they say they havent seen a CI processor get damaged from a shock in a very long time. They say the chances of the processor getting damaged nowdays is very slim. But, I still want to play it safe.
OH! one more thing. In the winter, when getting her out of her carseat, be sure to touch her hand(to discharge ESD) before grabbing her body. That way, the shock has alot more of the body to go through before reaching the processor. This sounds weird, I know, but we were told that from two different audis, and it does make sense.
Sorry so drawn out.
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You were not drawn out, just detailed... I like that! Thanks for all the info, I will keep this in mind. These kind of details you only learn from someone like yourself that has experience. I am always learning from you guys, thanks!
 
2kids1hoh said:
You were not drawn out, just detailed... I like that! Thanks for all the info, I will keep this in mind. These kind of details you only learn from someone like yourself that has experience. I am always learning from you guys, thanks!
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(you're welcome, smile...)

Yes Lillys dad -- really appreciate that information -- I'll make sure Fragmenter checks out your post -- most informative! If you think of anymore advice, please post (and thank you in advance)...

:ty:
 
make sure it is real fleece, not a synthetic.
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Oh, so that means that if you like Polarfleece clothes, they're pretty much a no if you get a CI? That kinda sucks..........Polarfleece is WARM.
 
deafdyke said:
Oh, so that means that if you like Polarfleece clothes, they're pretty much a no if you get a CI? That kinda sucks..........Polarfleece is WARM.
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Er...it really isn't that big of a deal for adults. I wear polarfleece all the time and I never had a problem. I mean you gotta rub the thing looking for a shock trip. I can understand the issue with children but with adults it is not a big deal.
 
Pacman said:
That's great and she would doing well at school. :)

For my opinion, I believe that implant on kids that who are HoH is bad idea because people with HoH are great benefit with HA, except for few cases have medical issues that need get CI. Again, It's up to parents that who make decision but 10 years old girl that I met her and she's HoH but parent force her to got CI and she's not happy with CI. I told her that I cannot help her to stop wear CI but I wish that I would help her then gave her a hug.
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huh? I thought a typical CI candidate was someone who was profoundly deafened, either pre-lingually or post-lingually, who experienced no benefit from HAs? From what I gather, someone who is HoH would NOT benefit from a CI, because they haven the ability to hear with HAs, or am I missing something?


What is a cochlear implant?
 
Oceanbreeze said:
huh? I thought a typical CI candidate was someone who was profoundly deafened, either pre-lingually or post-lingually, who experienced no benefit from HAs? From what I gather, someone who is HoH would NOT benefit from a CI, because they haven the ability to hear with HAs, or am I missing something?

...
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You are mostly on the mark. What you are missing is the amount of benefit using a HA(s). I was still able to use my HA before I got my CI. The problem was that I reached the point where I was considered legally deaf (at least 80% loss in both ears) and I didn't do well enough with the word and sentence discrimination tests. I could still use a HA but things were getting more and more difficult for me. By then, it really was up to me to decide whether to hold out trying a more powerful HA for a while (with problematical benefits) or just wait until I totally lost all of my hearing or just get a CI and be done with it. As you can tell, I took the CI route straight away.
 
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