Hearing parent/HOH baby <3

ProudMommy89 said:
I am* really new to this.
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We were all new to this at some point. Its ok.

Keep in mind....check out other implant centers and oral schools if you wish...but in the meantime, your child is without language, and the impact of that is huge. Those other things take time and are often a long and arduous process. What your child needs immediately is language. Making him wait while you investigate other CI centers is not going to improve his situation. ASL will.
 
jillio said:
Well said. And if she is having to scream, AV therapy will not be terribly successful, either.
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I agree with this. AVT is about listening. And using listening to learn. If she feels she have to shout at him (they often use soft spoken voices for these children) or he doesn't react to a dog barking with his aids on, AVT won't work. It's wasting time when he could learn about his surrounding so much more from ASL.

I don't like that the doctor is making you gamble: that is, If he doesn't speak and hear using AVT (and tell you not to use ASL) , then he'll implant your child.

btw, I am 90 db in both ears since birth, aided since preschool and I could speak and hear with my aids. I use speechreading though.
 
Like I said he believes AVT is all that's needed and in a few months if it still doesn't help, then he will consider CI. Which I understand, but I thought it was better CI to be given at a younger age??? My son has a speech therapist already as well as a deaf mentor who come weekly.
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On the other hand......it's not like he's NOT getting any sound. He is, but at severe hoh levels. If he was getting nothing, it would be more important to get him implanted ASAP. Even severely hoh kids can pervcieve speech and sounds. Not ALL speech and not all sounds, no. But a lot more then a kid who is profoundly deaf. I actually kind of think that's a good philsopohy to have....being conservative about implantation for canidates who aren't "right off the bat" canidates.
CIs rock, but it can be hard to accurately tell how well a baby or toddler can hear with hearing aids. He will develop speech skills in the wait and see period. It's just like the way audilogically hoh toddlers developed speech skills and listening abilty before birth screening, but the thing was that their speech skills weren't as good as a hearing kid's. Make sense?
Oh and definitly do AVT as a supplement.....but also try to do a full toolbox. Meaning, being seen by an oral TOD and Sign TODs through EI. I believe that early intervention needs to be child centered, and that all possible tools and options should be offered.
It's hard to tell what will be helpful. I do know of severe-profound kids who are pretty much oral (and don't identfy with Deaf culture and ASL at all) Then again, I know of audilogically hoh kids who are fluent in both ASL and English, and feel comfortable in both worlds. Remember, if your son finds benifit from ASL, AND got spoken language intervention he could grow up bilingal!
Have you been hooked up with Florida School for the Deaf and Blind yet? Maybe they could do an evalution and make some reccomendations. This is a REALLY good Deaf School, and is Hoh friendly. Florida School for The Deaf & The Blind and
Outreach | Florida School for The Deaf & The Blind
 
You may have done this already, but if not, you may want to check with Florida's state commission for the deaf and HOH (is it FCCDHH?) to find out if they provide communication resources. They may be able to provide you with a range of support: family sign instruction, perhaps even in the home, if that's the direction you choose, parent-infant groups -- which are a great place to share ideas and local resources -- and all sorts of technologies that may help you to work with deaf and HOH professionals to support your child (mentors, instructors, etc.).

We were assigned a Deaf mentor by the state to help us navigate communication options, educational settings, language resources, etc. and just get to know others in the deaf community and those with deaf kids. Rosalee took us on a tour of schools, from oral deaf to ASL-focused -- without bias, introduced us to the process of arranging an interpreter, worked with early intervention and setting up an IFSP tailored to her needs as a deaf toddler (an outline of services to be provided for a child based on his or her needs that precedes the IEP you get at age 3 for school) etc..

We opted to use ASL as Li's first language, and six months later she got her first of 2 CIs. I've never regretted acting quickly to begin down the long road of learning ASL with her, while it's sometimes hard on the little one -- she commutes almost 4 hours a day to a school that provides ASL immersion -- we've also found it to have provided critical language at an early age and I wouldn't do it any other way if I had it to do over again. Our CI clinic and the associated professionals not only support a bilingual approach, but they actively encourage it and work closely with EI and our school.
 
Our CI clinic and the associated professionals not only support a bilingual approach, but they actively encourage it
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OT, but that is AWESOME!!!!
I do agree with faire joure that some Deaf Ed programs may not concentrate enough on spoken language. That said, I don't think she realizes that there are limited resources out there, (for public school programs) and a lot of the speech therapists who work with and have experiance with dhh kids are snapped up by the private oral school programs.
I think it would be neat if we could somehow replicate the attitude of your CI clinic!
 
AlleyCat said:
Hi!

We could use some clarification as to the discrepancy in his hearing loss. You first stated he is HOH. Then you said he has a severe/profound loss. (That isn't HOH. He would definitely need HAs or a CI if he is in that loss range.) Then, you said he was not a candidate. I don't want to come across the wrong way here, I am not disputing at all what you've said -- perhaps you don't know what DB losses fall in the HOH and deaf ranges?

My thought is that you should take him to another audiologist, one that is neutral and not a part of all of that you have been doing, and get an unbiased result.

The whole refusal of implantation because of teaching ASL? Find yourself another doctor, FAST. You can always start with ASL just to get started on communicating (language). Perhaps you will find he would indeed be a good candidate for a CI, or just HAs. (I wear HAs myself and have looked into a CI, so I'm neither endorsing or nay-saying either. I'm unbiased here.)
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I have a severe/profound hearing lose and I call myself HOH.
 
Seems like a trip to Tampa might be needed. You need at least two solid opinion that concurs with the other before deciding.

I wonder if Florida School for the Deaf could help you out?

By the way, it's not worth screaming/shouting at Edmund because it'll confuse him and when he sees you screaming, he'll think you're angry with him.

ASL is a extremely important tool for your son. He needs it now. Don't delay.

Hope all will pan out.
 
And I repeat, Florida School for the Deaf and Blind is an AWESOME resource...it even has an oral preschool. It is VERY hoh friendly.....Schools for the Deaf are awesome and underuntilzed.
 
deafdyke said:
And I repeat, Florida School for the Deaf and Blind is an AWESOME resource...it even has an oral preschool. It is VERY hoh friendly.....Schools for the Deaf are awesome and underuntilzed.
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I will look them up and call on Monday :) :ty:
 
GrendelQ said:
You may have done this already, but if not, you may want to check with Florida's state commission for the deaf and HOH (is it FCCDHH?) to find out if they provide communication resources. They may be able to provide you with a range of support: family sign instruction, perhaps even in the home, if that's the direction you choose, parent-infant groups -- which are a great place to share ideas and local resources -- and all sorts of technologies that may help you to work with deaf and HOH professionals to support your child (mentors, instructors, etc.).
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As soon as I found out about his hearing, I contacted Early Intervention, Deaf and Literacy Academy, and SHINE.

I have a speech therapist from early intervention, deaf mentor from the literacy academy, and a coordinator from Shine that comes to my home once a week.

I plan on asking Early Intervention for help regarding a AV therapist.
Oh, and I go online to the John Tracy Clinic for more information, activities, etc. :dizzy:
 
Keep doing your research, talk to as many people as you can, and keep an open mind when listening to options. Don't limit your decisions base on one person's or a few people's opinions - ask, ask, ask. :)

Keep us posted on how things are going.
 
ProudMommy89 said:
As soon as I found out about his hearing, I contacted Early Intervention, Deaf and Literacy Academy, and SHINE.

I have a speech therapist from early intervention, deaf mentor from the literacy academy, and a coordinator from Shine that comes to my home once a week.

I plan on asking Early Intervention for help regarding a AV therapist.
Oh, and I go online to the John Tracy Clinic for more information, activities, etc. :dizzy:
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You are doing so much -- that's wonderful! Our early intervention services were just amazing -- actually wish all children could utilize their services. Wishing you all the best!

[Our state (MA) provides the attached PDF as an initial resource guide]
 
Saw the guide. WOW! They do need to update the TTY information, though, given that most of us now use videophones. :) But nonetheless, a resource packet like that should be available in every state.
 
I have a speech therapist from early intervention, deaf mentor from the literacy academy, and a coordinator from Shine that comes to my home once a week.

I plan on asking Early Intervention for help regarding a AV therapist.
Oh, and I go online to the John Tracy Clinic for more information, activities, etc.
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So you're basicly trying to go full toolbox with your boy? That is so awesome that you're going to contact FSDB. That may open something more. That's awesome. Are you just going to do AVT as a supplemental thing?The therapy sessions can be helpful, especially as the therapists can be a little more experianced with dhh kids, then your typical speech therapist. However, auditory verbal as a mode can be rather intense for families. I know you're worried if your son will develop on par speech. That's a concern.....but nowadays it does seem like most implanted kids who are educated orally can develop decent speech skills. They may still have oral delays, but more like what's seen in hoh kids (as there are still hoh kids who have spoken language issues) rather then the severe speech delays seen in the past.
 
deafdyke said:
So you're basicly trying to go full toolbox with your boy? That is so awesome that you're going to contact FSDB. That may open something more. That's awesome. Are you just going to do AVT as a supplemental thing?The therapy sessions can be helpful, especially as the therapists can be a little more experianced with dhh kids, then your typical speech therapist. However, auditory verbal as a mode can be rather intense for families. I know you're worried if your son will develop on par speech. That's a concern.....but nowadays it does seem like most implanted kids who are educated orally can develop decent speech skills. They may still have oral delays, but more like what's seen in hoh kids (as there are still hoh kids who have spoken language issues) rather then the severe speech delays seen in the past.
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My son's ENT, also the doctor who does the CI, says that all my son needs is an AVT. So I will try it. If it doesn't help then I'll go find the next step. If it helps, Great!!! I'll finally have some sort of communication.

My son isn't absorbing a lot of the signs. I plan to keep trying though :)
 
My son's ENT, also the doctor who does the CI, says that all my son needs is an AVT. So I will try it.
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As I said, I do think AVT can be good as a supplemental therapy. And it's good to try. But, don't think that you have to go full bore with it. Like some parents think that if a little therapy is good, a LOT of therapy is even better. Sort of like the difference between a typically involved parent, and a helicopter parent. Not saying that parents who opt for speech therapy or even AVT are helicopter parents (I know how some notorious posters can misinterpret my posts) But saying that he won't need tons and tons of therapy in order to learn to listen and talk. Make sense? As long as he has consistant therapy, he'll pick up spoken language and hearing abilities.

My son isn't absorbing a lot of the signs. I plan to keep trying though
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It's possible he's not ready for them yet. Or it is always possible that he is one of those kids who may not feel a connection to Deaf culture and ASL. There are some kids who don't respond to sign. But it's a good idea to try it. It's a good " tool" to have. It's a really good second language to have.....and if it wasn't, I don't think we'd have a ton of audilogically hoh posters saying they wish they'd been exposed to ASL and Deaf classes growing up. I think the debate now, is over which language should be a dhh kid's first language.....
 
ProudMommy89 said:
My son's ENT, also the doctor who does the CI, says that all my son needs is an AVT. So I will try it. If it doesn't help then I'll go find the next step. If it helps, Great!!! I'll finally have some sort of communication.

My son isn't absorbing a lot of the signs. I plan to keep trying though :)
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If you are planning on AVT giving you immediate communication with your son, you will be disapointed. It is a long process.
 
deafdyke said:
As I said, I do think AVT can be good as a supplemental therapy. And it's good to try. But, don't think that you have to go full bore with it. Like some parents think that if a little therapy is good, a LOT of therapy is even better. Sort of like the difference between a typically involved parent, and a helicopter parent. Not saying that parents who opt for speech therapy or even AVT are helicopter parents (I know how some notorious posters can misinterpret my posts) But saying that he won't need tons and tons of therapy in order to learn to listen and talk. Make sense? As long as he has consistant therapy, he'll pick up spoken language and hearing abilities.

It's possible he's not ready for them yet. Or it is always possible that he is one of those kids who may not feel a connection to Deaf culture and ASL. There are some kids who don't respond to sign. But it's a good idea to try it. It's a good " tool" to have. It's a really good second language to have.....and if it wasn't, I don't think we'd have a ton of audilogically hoh posters saying they wish they'd been exposed to ASL and Deaf classes growing up. I think the debate now, is over which language should be a dhh kid's first language.....
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He is a baby!! He doesn't know what he feels connected to.

He may have other undiagnosed neurological problems.
 
Proudmommy, have you read the book Deaf Like Me by Spragley? If you have not, please do.
 
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