It’s a Process
Last week the Little (s)Thinker had her big hearing test. The result: Completely/profoundly deaf in the right ear, moderately to severely in the left. It sounds bad, but what it means is that she should be a good candidate for a hearing aid in the left ear, which will be a big help. It also told us exactly which ear we should be yelling into when we try to talk to her: the left.
“HELLO LITTLE BABY, HOW ARE YOU TODAY?!!”
“Coo!”
“WHO’S A CUTE LITTLE BABY? WHO? YOU! YOU!”
“Gaa!”
Good times. The test was interesting to watch, because even sounds that were painfully loud to the wife and I sitting in the room with her got nary a reaction from her.
It’s also fascinating to think about just how she registers with the world. She makes sounds of her own beyond crying, and I wonder why. Is it instinct that makes a deaf baby make those happy noises? Is it the inner vibrations that lead her to do it?
Anyhow, next week we have a meeting with a social worker to hear about programs that are available to kids with disabilities, like my daughter. The week after that they’re going to make the mold of her ear to get her fitted for the hearing aid, and the week after that she should get it installed. That’s going to be big. When I can finally talk to my daughter and know that she’s hearing me....yeah, that’ll be big.
There are a lot of resources out there. It looks like the speech and language program through WSU-Spokane does a lot of work with deaf kids, and we’re going to find about about the birth-to-three programs available through the state. One of the ladies I work with brought up social security, another talked about the active deaf community in the area. It’s going to be an adventure.
The nurse who did the tests last week also brought up cochlear implants. I’ll have to do a lot more research before I feel comfortable with that. I look at her now, a little baby, and then I think about them cutting into her head for surgery…I don’t know.
I’ve gotten a wide variety of responses from the people at the school, too. Some have started crying as soon as I gave them the news; other are, “Wow, that sucks!” We’ve both been told too many times to count that the Lord gives special kids to special people and that she couldn’t have possibly gotten better parents to deal with this. I work with great people, and this has really driven that home. The support is profound, and appreciated.
“HELLO LITTLE BABY, HOW ARE YOU TODAY?!!”
“Coo!”
“WHO’S A CUTE LITTLE BABY? WHO? YOU! YOU!”
“Gaa!”
Good times. The test was interesting to watch, because even sounds that were painfully loud to the wife and I sitting in the room with her got nary a reaction from her.
It’s also fascinating to think about just how she registers with the world. She makes sounds of her own beyond crying, and I wonder why. Is it instinct that makes a deaf baby make those happy noises? Is it the inner vibrations that lead her to do it?
Anyhow, next week we have a meeting with a social worker to hear about programs that are available to kids with disabilities, like my daughter. The week after that they’re going to make the mold of her ear to get her fitted for the hearing aid, and the week after that she should get it installed. That’s going to be big. When I can finally talk to my daughter and know that she’s hearing me....yeah, that’ll be big.
There are a lot of resources out there. It looks like the speech and language program through WSU-Spokane does a lot of work with deaf kids, and we’re going to find about about the birth-to-three programs available through the state. One of the ladies I work with brought up social security, another talked about the active deaf community in the area. It’s going to be an adventure.
The nurse who did the tests last week also brought up cochlear implants. I’ll have to do a lot more research before I feel comfortable with that. I look at her now, a little baby, and then I think about them cutting into her head for surgery…I don’t know.
I’ve gotten a wide variety of responses from the people at the school, too. Some have started crying as soon as I gave them the news; other are, “Wow, that sucks!” We’ve both been told too many times to count that the Lord gives special kids to special people and that she couldn’t have possibly gotten better parents to deal with this. I work with great people, and this has really driven that home. The support is profound, and appreciated.
posted by Ryan at 8:35 AM
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