substituting or is this what he hears?

[deafdyke]

That isn't the case here.

Yes, he's got a lot of residual hearing. Seriously, he's just dealing with typical hoh issues.

 

[rivenoak]

For the longest time, I thought the name Phineas was pronounced Piney. Nope :P. It's pronounced Fin-ne-as as in Fin (think fish fins)

Sometimes I dislike the English language: so many things aren't pronounced the way they look or like other words that have similar spelling. Argh!

 

[AlleyCat]

Very true! ^^^

And while I think this probably is not exactly what you were talking about, I have an example: my SO is having a tough time reading fingerspelling (signed) and I can either see or hear him trying to sound out the word as he reads it. I can tell he's choosing the wrong (I don't know what word to use here - sound, tone?) so it makes it hard for him to understand what word he's trying to understand. Like if I'm fingerspelling "revised" he's sounding out "rev-is-ed" and he can't make sense of the word until I tell him, "no, it's not "rev", start with "re" in this case.

 

[natty_4ever]

Oh goodness! Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much because like many others on here, I know hearing children who have speech problems. He could just be adjusted to his hearing aids and can now discriminate more sounds.

Also, the fact that he's LEARNING to speak means he's not going to get it all perfectly. He might like to say "kirkle" instead of circle because that's just him being a child.

Since his loss sounds similar to mine (my last audiogram shows a slope from 70-100 db) from what I think you told us, he won't hear speech just like you do. As I've grown up, I've become more skilled at lipreading and filling in the blanks that I don't hear. Once your son learns to use his hearing aids, he'll pick it up just fine. Don't worry--I wasn't diagnosed till I was 6, and everyone I know understands my speech perfectly well. Even if there's a few things he can't get EXACTLY, don't stress. The important thing is that he can communicate and learn SOMEHOW, and it's wonderful that you're providing him ASL. I'm sure your son will master speech though, but just keep in mind that it isn't everything in life. He will become a strong, independent person one day because you provided him a support system to help him learn and grow, not because of speech drills. Good luck!

 

[deafskeptic]

Sometimes I dislike the English language: so many things aren't pronounced the way they look or like other words that have similar spelling. Argh!

Yep :P Bernard Shaw had quite a few complaints regarding the English phonics system.

 

[deafdyke]

Don't worry--I wasn't diagnosed till I was 6, and everyone I know understands my speech perfectly well. Even if there's a few things he can't get EXACTLY, don't stress. The important thing is that he can communicate and learn SOMEHOW, and it's wonderful that you're providing him ASL. I'm sure your son will master speech though, but just keep in mind that it isn't everything in life. He will become a strong, independent person one day because you provided him a support system to help him learn and grow, not because of speech drills. Good luck!

Nattie, great post! I do think a lot of parents may be overworried b/c their kid got dx late or isn't an oral superstar or is behind. Our generation of hoh kids didn't get dx super early....but a lot of us caught up.
to the OP, don't be worried. He will gain spoken language abilty. It's hard to tell how well he will do....but overall, while most dhh kids can develop oral abilty, their fluency varies tremendously.

 

[dhn121]

Thanks everyone.

I don't think I'm in a panic mode (at least I dont' think so). I do know it takes time for speech. I was just wondering why he did that. Funny how I never even noticed if my other kids did that. Just like I never counted how many words my other kids knew. Ask me now how many my 3 year old HoH child knows and I can almost recite each word. It just seems like EVERYTHING is evolved around speech therapy, early intervention, hearing test, ETC.

 

[Beach girl]

My dad used to make tape recordings of us kids, and have little conversations with us. When I was about 3 (still hearing at that age - I didn't lose my hearing until adulthood), he was talking to my brother and I came in from the other room and said "Do you want chicken loop or beef nooooodle loop?" No "S" at all, and a very long drawn out "oooo" in "noodle."

Also I could not say the word "Whirlpool" for years, always said "Whirlpirl."

Just the way kids develop; even hearing kids have things they don't get right as a young child.

I wonder if you might like recording your son now, and then playing it again six months from now. I bet you'll be amazed at the progress. Sometimes it's hard to see it day to day, but after a few months have passed, it might be quite remarkable.

 

[dhn121]

My dad used to make tape recordings of us kids, and have little conversations with us. When I was about 3 (still hearing at that age - I didn't lose my hearing until adulthood), he was talking to my brother and I came in from the other room and said "Do you want chicken loop or beef nooooodle loop?" No "S" at all, and a very long drawn out "oooo" in "noodle."

Also I could not say the word "Whirlpool" for years, always said "Whirlpirl."

Just the way kids develop; even hearing kids have things they don't get right as a young child.

I wonder if you might like recording your son now, and then playing it again six months from now. I bet you'll be amazed at the progress. Sometimes it's hard to see it day to day, but after a few months have passed, it might be quite remarkable.

What a great idea!! I never even thought of doing that. I'll do that this weekend.

 

[GrendelQ]

Wirelessly posted

My dad used to make tape recordings of us kids, and have little conversations with us. When I was about 3 (still hearing at that age - I didn't lose my hearing until adulthood), he was talking to my brother and I came in from the other room and said "Do you want chicken loop or beef nooooodle loop?" No "S" at all, and a very long drawn out "oooo" in "noodle."

Also I could not say the word "Whirlpool" for years, always said "Whirlpirl."

Just the way kids develop; even hearing kids have things they don't get right as a young child.

I wonder if you might like recording your son now, and then playing it again six months from now. I bet you'll be amazed at the progress. Sometimes it's hard to see it day to day, but after a few months have passed, it might be quite remarkable.

Great point! I love the recording idea.

 

[deafdyke]

Ask me now how many my 3 year old HoH child knows and I can almost recite each word. It just seems like EVERYTHING is evolved around speech therapy, early intervention, hearing test, ETC.

I do know (from a listserv) that you did get the news from someone that your son isn't slow...See we told you so! You really don't need to place him in AVT or send him to Clarke or another private oral program. He has the basics...it will just take time. And yes, right now there is a real focus on speech therapy and early intervention...that is one HUGE (and boring) downside of speech first, the focus on speech speech and how well he's doing orally.

 

[Mudkipz]

Yes, recording is very good and be sure to take one sound at a time. Go from "d, d, d, d, d" with the right mouth oral position (I need better words here) to "dad dad dad dad dad". The "g" and "d" sounds are pronouced differently with your mouth.

really great posts here...

 

[timeflies]

Exactly - I feel that it will take time. He's 3, and has some catching up to do! He may not know yet that he's producing the sounds incorrectly in context. Like when people are learning to sign: sometimes they understand another person's signing; but when they try to produce that sign later in a conversation, they say something wrong because they left out crucial information (like my friend, who recently signed "wrong" for "phone" - laughed pretty hard at that one).

By "discrimination" tasks, I meant to figure out if he understands the differences in words based on the sounds. Like, does he notice that the words sound different if you say "dak," "back," or "gak"? You could make it into a game, working on two sounds at a time: ask him if the words you're saying are the same or different. Pick easy words, only consonant-vowel-consonant - just make sure that you only change one consonant at a time. For example, don't ask if he knows the difference between "dad" and "bab," because then you won't know if he's picking up on the sounds because it's the beginning or end consonant that he understands better. Also, if you want to make it trickier, cover your mouth while you say it (with a piece of paper or fabric) so you can be sure he isn't lipreading the difference between "b" and the other sounds.

Does his SLP have any experience with deaf/hoh kids? Keep in mind that aided, if he's at 25-30dB, that's the bare minimum he can hear in a dead-quiet room. If he's in a classroom with other children around, it'll effectively be 35-40dB at least.

As for what he's producing - I find it interesting that he thinks closing his lips for a "b" is funny. Can he produce "p" and "m" sounds? A "b" is basically a "p" but with your voice turned on, so if he can produce "p" and "m" that's a start. Ask him to say words just like you; heavily emphasize the sound you're working on; and even use a mirror to make sure he understands which sound.

Here's a very, very boring example (I've worked more with kids 4-6, so your little 3yo nugget might not think it's as fun): "Now let's say 'ball' - but say it like me. Oops, you didn't do it like me. Watch me" hold up the mirror, emphasize the 'b' sound "Ball. Now you try to say it like me." You can always turn it into a game. Lots of high-fives and thumbs-up!

In general, just make sure he's paying close attention to how your face looks when you speak (that you close your lips for "b," that you purse your lips for "w," etc.). Make sure he's focusing on your face and/or sign support so he gets the meaning as well; and praise him for his attention.

Last (my fingers are getting tired!), the recording is an EXCELLENT idea. You might even suggest to his SLP for her to listen to them, or present them to IEP meetings.

 

[dhn121]

just wanted to update.

it's now a little more than 1 year. he has about 300 expressive vocabulary. all very hard to understand. I think maybe my family, we're the only ones who really understands him. he's stringing 2-3 words from his expressive vocabulary together. he's still substituting his "d" for his "b". makes the same sound for "s" and "sh" really he's just blowing out air. he has had 3 hearing loss drops and in his right ear in the 4000hz he's in the 120 db. his left ear aided is in the 25-30db range. because we work with him, goes to private speech therapy 2x a week, attends the DHH 1/2 day school program and school speech therapy 2x a week - his progress is too good to qualify for CI. in his right ear he doesn't hear the "s" or "sh" sound when we do the ling test. he's done the SRT in his right ear is a 25 and 15 in his left ear. they also tested him using the ESP test and he scored a 9/12 in both ears. because of those scores she told me he doesn't qualify for CI.

articulation wise he has these sounds down if they are singled out (p, b, n, h, w, t, d, k, g, m) but if you put it in the word he seems to make different sounds sometimes in some words. like if he say "up" it's very clear. but if he says "pop" it's sounds totally different. it's like he forgets to close his mouth to make the sound. His speech pathologist is saying, articulation wise, he's getting there. she feels he needs more time.

So I guess vocabulary wise he's behind by about a year. other people understanding him he's behind about 2 years? he just turned 4, now with his hearing age at 1 year. they still say it's hard to tell if what he's saying is what he hears or if he just need more time to hear the words, allow it to process and let it come out.

guess my question still stand at...how long do we need to wait before we know..hey, something isn't right...

 

[posts from hell]

Glad to see you coming back to update. I am not entirely familiar with what you guys are going through. Are you trying to incorporate sign language as well?

 

[DeafCaroline]

just wanted to update.

it's now a little more than 1 year. he has about 300 expressive vocabulary. all very hard to understand. I think maybe my family, we're the only ones who really understands him. he's stringing 2-3 words from his expressive vocabulary together. he's still substituting his "d" for his "b". makes the same sound for "s" and "sh" really he's just blowing out air. he has had 3 hearing loss drops and in his right ear in the 4000hz he's in the 120 db. his left ear aided is in the 25-30db range. because we work with him, goes to private speech therapy 2x a week, attends the DHH 1/2 day school program and school speech therapy 2x a week - his progress is too good to qualify for CI. in his right ear he doesn't hear the "s" or "sh" sound when we do the ling test. he's done the SRT in his right ear is a 25 and 15 in his left ear. they also tested him using the ESP test and he scored a 9/12 in both ears. because of those scores she told me he doesn't qualify for CI.

articulation wise he has these sounds down if they are singled out (p, b, n, h, w, t, d, k, g, m) but if you put it in the word he seems to make different sounds sometimes in some words. like if he say "up" it's very clear. but if he says "pop" it's sounds totally different. it's like he forgets to close his mouth to make the sound. His speech pathologist is saying, articulation wise, he's getting there. she feels he needs more time.

So I guess vocabulary wise he's behind by about a year. other people understanding him he's behind about 2 years? he just turned 4, now with his hearing age at 1 year. they still say it's hard to tell if what he's saying is what he hears or if he just need more time to hear the words, allow it to process and let it come out.

guess my question still stand at...how long do we need to wait before we know..hey, something isn't right...

Hello, I hadn't heard of this before - that a child wouldn't qualify for a CI if his speech progress is too good.

I didn't get my hearing aids till I was nearly four. It took a while to catch up speech wise - it's a very laborious process for one doesn't naturally hear the sounds so they have to learn to pronounce mechanically and that can take a while - your child just turned 4, they are not naturally inclined at that age to want to attain perfect speech - it's not a priority for them - all they care about at that age is mommy, food, and playtime. They are not thinking about whether they are pronouncing "pop" properly.

It took me years just to learn to pronounce "ch" and to this day, I still can't say "z" as in "zoo" - it keeps sounding like a "J" so "zoo" would sound like "Jew". I was in very intensive speech therapy - my mother learned to teach me and she gave me intensive sessions on a daily basis along with English grammar lessons - she used to be a grammar teacher so it was both speech and grammar that we worked on intensively.

As for your question: what did you mean by "something isn't right?" - you already know he has a hearing problem so what other concerns are you having?

 

[Deafguy25]

just wanted to update.

it's now a little more than 1 year. he has about 300 expressive vocabulary. all very hard to understand. I think maybe my family, we're the only ones who really understands him. he's stringing 2-3 words from his expressive vocabulary together. he's still substituting his "d" for his "b". makes the same sound for "s" and "sh" really he's just blowing out air. he has had 3 hearing loss drops and in his right ear in the 4000hz he's in the 120 db. his left ear aided is in the 25-30db range. because we work with him, goes to private speech therapy 2x a week, attends the DHH 1/2 day school program and school speech therapy 2x a week - his progress is too good to qualify for CI. in his right ear he doesn't hear the "s" or "sh" sound when we do the ling test. he's done the SRT in his right ear is a 25 and 15 in his left ear. they also tested him using the ESP test and he scored a 9/12 in both ears. because of those scores she told me he doesn't qualify for CI.

articulation wise he has these sounds down if they are singled out (p, b, n, h, w, t, d, k, g, m) but if you put it in the word he seems to make different sounds sometimes in some words. like if he say "up" it's very clear. but if he says "pop" it's sounds totally different. it's like he forgets to close his mouth to make the sound. His speech pathologist is saying, articulation wise, he's getting there. she feels he needs more time.

So I guess vocabulary wise he's behind by about a year. other people understanding him he's behind about 2 years? he just turned 4, now with his hearing age at 1 year. they still say it's hard to tell if what he's saying is what he hears or if he just need more time to hear the words, allow it to process and let it come out.

guess my question still stand at...how long do we need to wait before we know..hey, something isn't right...

Is a CI something you are looking at? If so, can you do more difficult testing? When I was being tested for my second CI they tested me with sentences. The ESP has very simple words like hotdog and airplane. They are very different and 9 out of 12 means that he is still missing 30% of very simple and easy words. If he can't hear the difference between ice cream cone and toothbrush, how would he ever hear well enough to distinguish between can, can't, man, fan, cans, pan and tan? The WIPI uses pictures but is much more in depth and could give you a clearer picture of what he can and can not hear.

I also don't know what you mean by "something isn't right"? He isn't hearing speech well, so he isn't developing speech quickly or accurately. What else do you need to know?

How much ASL are you using? Have you taken classes? Do you sign at home? Do they sign at school?

 

[dhn121]

Glad to see you coming back to update. I am not entirely familiar with what you guys are going through. Are you trying to incorporate sign language as well?

yes...signing is part of what we work on at home. he has LVAS so I want to give him as much access to speech as he can get. In school he's in a DHH oral program.

 

[Deafguy25]

yes...signing is part of what we work on at home. he has LVAS so I want to give him as much access to speech as he can get. In school he's in a DHH oral program.

If he has 120db loss, he is not going to have access to speech understanding through hearing aids.

 

[dhn121]

As for your question: what did you mean by "something isn't right?" - you already know he has a hearing problem so what other concerns are you having?

I also don't know what you mean by "something isn't right"? He isn't hearing speech well, so he isn't developing speech quickly or accurately. What else do you need to know?

what I meant is, right now, the professionals (AuD and speech therapist) is telling me wait, give him time to adjust to his hearing aids. this is the normal process and that his articulation will get caught up. even though his hearing loss in the 4000hz is in the 120db unaided. aided he still doesn't have access to the "s", "f", "sh"...etc...sound. Is that right? So what I meant is, should I wait like they suggest or should I find ways to push for the CI since we know he doesn't have access to the sound in the 4000hz in his right ear even aided. They're saying his right ear hears in the 25-30db in those frequencies and that's good enough.