WOW! So much advice! Thank you all very, very much.
I only have a minute, so I can't comment on everything just yet... but,
- Columbus is also far away - 2 1/2 hours.
- No, we are not rural in the least.
My thought with Millridge is basically to do what Jillio and DD are suggesting - go talk to them and see what they do and then see if our local district can adopt some of the same methodologies. Millridge actually works directly with 21 districts in the area giving just that kind of advice, but not districts as far away as we are. *sigh*
Right now, she is in a mainstream daycare and has therapy every other week. We would go every week, but we are appealing for more visits and the $150 therapy visits are getting a little tough to manage. And we are not eligible for any assistance from the state on that.
Daycare is doing a great job with her. She actually talks more at school than at home. But I am always wanting to push for more.
Here is the thing that sparked this recent journey...
I was watching "Through Deaf Eyes" on PBS and a Deaf woman was describing her childhood education. She said so much time was spent trying to teach her to speak, that she never received any real education in math or sciences or whatever.
That *really* struck a cord with me. Now, i know Erin wouldn't need to spend that much time learning to speak. She is already well on her way. Her CI has removed many barriers that the woman on Through Deaf Eyes had to overcome.
But, my concern is that she might have to spend too much time compensating for general communication deficiencies and that could hamper her learning options.
I was trying to explain this to our RIHP person and she said "Oh. So what you are saying is, 'Why should I
settle for mainstreaming'." Which is a concept I hadn't considered before seeing that documentary. It was always as though mainstreaming was our goal - but what if we can do better than that?
Erin is very bright (I know... Mommy Brag
). Will she be able to meet her full potential if she is in a mainstream school? Are there options out there for CI kids that address their specific needs that I am just not able to find in my area? What I am seeing so far gives me the impression that since the CI "movement" is still relatively new, there are not a lot of programs in place for them. It is an All Deaf solution or a Mainstream solution.
Even comparing CI kids to HOH kids doesn't exactly do the communication issues justice. The two disabilities are different, in my opinion.
That is what keeps me up nights.
I guess I went over my minute.