The Science of LANGUAGE

Despite the typos and sloppy grammar you may find on this blog I always excelled at Language Arts in school, but that had to do with writing. I never even considered delving into linguistics. I had a hard enough time getting through my second year of Spanish. However, now having a daughter that is deaf and therefor cannot speak, I am learning all kinds of fascinating facts about language. I'm learning about the intricate art and science of language, and how every one of us communicating in whatever form we learned naturally, is an absolute miracle!

I watched a National Geographic documentary earlier this year called The Science of Babies before I knew of SJ's hearing loss. It touched on the fact that babies are born being able to produce and hear all sounds alike. An American newborn is processing Chinese just as well they are English, but since they will hear English the most they will start to perceive it as their native language very early on. Eventually they will learn to understand English and speak English and have an accent. Understanding and putting together all of these different speech sounds is called phonological development. The English language has about 44 phonemes, out the potential 150 phonemes used in languages throughout the world.

The thing that I am discovering in my most recent research of hearing/language and our amazing minds is that you have to "use it or loose it". As an infant you had the potential to roll your R's along with the best mariachi singer in Mexico, but there are many people whose language doesn't include this sound and therefore they can't roll their R's at all (my husband is one of those people). Did you know that most Germans can't pronounce squirrel? It all has to do with something called phonemic awareness. Our pastor was preaching from the book of Judges chapter 12 recently. He described when the Ephraimites where trying to escape over the Jordan after battle. The Gileadites had secured the river fords to try and stop them. For every soldier trying to cross they would ask them to say the Shibboleth, because they knew the Ephraimites wouldn't be able to pronounce it. The Ephraimites  would then say Sibboleth and were therefor exposed as refugees trying to escape. There you have it. Even way back in the Old Testament, you can find a perfect example of how our brains naturally use and dismiss certain phenomes according to our dialect as we develop language.

If you don't use it, you loose it. All of this information is not only intriguing, but it is also very important to me because of SJ's hearing loss. SJ can hear vowels and so that is what she identifies as language. Her brain is currently wiring her to determine what she should "use" and everything else she will "loose". She is at a very critical age where we either decide that oral communication is not important for her, or we can try to take advantage of  the modern technology that will enable her to hear speech before it's basically too late. We are currently making use of hearing aids, but they can only amplify sound and with her profound loss this isn't really enough. That is why, by recommendation of her doctors and therapists, we are pursuing the cochlear implant. It's not the same as perfect natural hearing, but it will create sound rather than just amplify it and allow her to hear and communicate orally.

One of the articles I was given in regards to "Why Early Audition Is Important" (that was the name of the article) talks about how we process sound and why the ages of 0-5 are so critical. Reading it enlightened me to a whole new level of understanding something that I've always just taken for granted and that is the development of our natural senses and how they all works. I am going to quote a lot of what I read from this article published in Volta Voices in June 2011because if I paraphrase too much it will probably not be as informative.

 "The human brain has a genetic predisposition to want to make sense of the world. This condition of forcing neurons to compete with each other to be selected for "hard wiring" is a necessary biological action that allows the individual to develop the skills necessary to be successful in his or her environment". Being able to say squirrel is not essential to Germans being successful in their environment, but for Americans it's part of our language, on the other hand I don't even want to know what I would sound like trying to speak German or an African clicking language. Moving on, "A fully developed brain has over 100 trillion connections (pruned down from the quadrillions of connections in the 2-year old brain), and there are only 80,000 genes. We use our genes for lots of thing (like neurogenesis and migration) There just aren't enough for synaptogenesis too. Children during the first two years of life create an overabundance of synaptic connections, which continues until around age 8 as they learn new skills and behaviors. These connections are forced to compete for survival and are either pruned away or cemented based on the amount of electrical activity that occurs at that connection." WOW! Okay, so as much as I like to talk about  neural pathways and all, let me tell you how I translate this. If your brain is a honey comb and it has 100 worker bees they all have to find a job to do fast. They will find work somewhere, but if there is no work in one place then they will move on and take their business elsewhere. That is why it really is true that blind people have heightened senses in other areas, and yes deaf people do tend to have better peripheral vision and sense of vibration etc. All of this pruning and cementing that is going on happens early in life which is why it is so critical to get SJ the resources that she needs as soon as possible. Even though it is a time sensitive issue it's also good to know that she is well within the right age range for all of this. We can be confident that it is not too late for her to start stimulating that auditory nerve and we are working toward that pretty much every single day.

I am not an expert in all of this, but I love reading and trying to understand as much as possible. To me it puts a whole new spin on education and foreign language. Some of the resources that I have read came from an online article about how children learn language, which prompted me to learn more about  phonological development on good old Wikipedia, and of course I already referenced some of the other articles that I read and I've included the links for those as well. There is more to all of this and how it directly applies to SJ and her communication abilities, but basically that is the brainy science side of things. In short, use it or lose it!

2012 Garden Timeline

We still have some okra and bell pepper plants that have yet to become full grown, but the majority of our garden this year has reached the end of the road. This was our first Kentucky garden and I have to give great big kudos to my husband for all the work that he did. It's been 4 months of tilling, digging, planting, weeding, and harvesting and we have had plenty of produce to show for it. Here is our 2012 Kentucky garden timeline.

May 10, 2012 J is very thorough in his gardening plans. Z and I made all the labels. 

May 11, 2012 Broke Ground and planted seed

 

June 03, 2012 Things are sprouting

June 13, 2012 A beautiful day to cultivate

June 16, 2012 So close to harvest!

June 23, 2012 Budding Watermelon

July 9, 2012 Loads of onions, carrots, yellow squash, herbs, zucchini, and more.

July 28, 2012 Add corn, tomatoes, and summer squash to all that bounty.

July 30, 2012 J digs up potatoes

August 1, 2012 Time to cut open some watermelon!

Sj loves watermelon. Her sticky little fingers are dripping with the juice.

August 10, 2012 Tomatoes galore

August 14, 2012 Time to add to the compost pile.

Thanks to J and the Kentucky soil for making this summers garden such a success.

The Final Trimester

I am a whopping 33 weeks along in my pregnancy, which means the baby will be here in less than 2 months for sure, and he could arrive even a month from now. In the meantime I have a lot to get done. We've traveled SO MUCH this year I feel like I am running behind, but that last trip to Texas was the cut off. I won't be going anywhere for a while. The next trip we take this baby will be in a car seat and not in my belly!  

At my last prenatal checkup I went to tour the hospital that I will be delivering at. This will be my first hospital birth. It was fun to get to see where we will be going on the big day. 

There is a nice little  atrium in the center of the building

and a waiting area with accommodations for the kids. Children are welcome in the delivery room, but that is not in the game plan for me. They can come and meet their new little brother just as soon as the labor is over. 

The thing that I was not impressed with, and I guess that's why I didn't snap any photos on my phone, were the actual hospital rooms. I am so used to a comfy, homey environment. I was hoping for something more like a birth center, but what I found was very typical, sterile rooms with bright fluorescent lights, uncomfortable looking furniture, and a view of the parking lot. Bleh! I know, I sound like I am whining more than the new baby will. I am sure that in the moment I will be too distracted to worry about any of those details. I am actually looking forward to getting to experience the birth environment that 97% of American women have their babies in. After this I will have had a birth center birth, water birth, home birth, and hospital birth. 

I am starting to feel pretty confident in my body and even though I pray that I will never have a baby in a car or unassisted I feel like I am just about up for anything. 

Test Day

Friday was the big day for SJ to have three major tests done in order to possibly have more insight to her hearing loss and also review her candidacy for the cochlear implant. The first test was the ABR and the results came back the same as last time. She has profound hearing loss in both ears. 

She also had an MRI and CAT scan, but we won't know any results for these tests for a couple more weeks. All three tests were done while SJ was sedated, but it was a light anesthesia and she handled it really well. She had to fast for about 15 hours total and then she was allowed some juice, followed by soft foods, and eventually solids.

It didn't take long for her to bounce back. I captured this little dance routine that evening. 

She's trying to copy all the moves from the Fresh Beat Band including the dancers that flip across the stage! 

That night I took Z to an outdoor movie at his school.

 

I was glad he had a chance to unwind after being at the hospital with us all day. 

I never want him to feel overshadowed or neglected in the midst of what we are going through with SJ. He seems to handle it all just fine for now. I have not seen even one ounce of resentment. He loves his sister very much. I know what it's like to be in his shoes. I was his age when my little brother was diagnosed with Leukemia, so I can remember what it is like to have a younger sibling that is needing constant medical attention. It's a different situation, but  similar enough that I feel like I have some insight. In fact, it's similar enough that my mom can relate to my situation. She knows what it is like to suddenly become an expert on a medical condition that you had no previous experience with. Or to be overwhelmed with Doctors, tests, and appointments while caring for the rest of your family. She also knows how it feels to suddenly drop everything to nurture a child that has special needs, to fight for them, and make major decisions on their behalf.

I don't know why things happen the way that they do, but God has a plan and He has written my story (Psalm 139:16). You just never know when your personal testimony will be the encouragement that someone needs and right now my mom is one of the many people that have been an encouragement to me because of what she has been through, and I hope that I can offer that kind of compassion for Z.

What This Means (3 months later)

A little over 3 months ago I did a blog post titled "What This Means (as far as I know)" and in it I tried my best to describe what was going on with SJ's newly diagnosed hearing loss. At the time I admitted to feeling that I was underqualified to explain or understand what was really happening with her. I still feel that way, but we have made some progress in treatment, diagnosis, and overall adjustment. So here is an update of the 10 questions I had previously outlined.

1. What type of hearing loss does SJ have?
Sensorineural, meaning inner ear.

2. How did this happen?
We still don't know. We may never know, but I have started asking her doctors about genetic testing. I have recently met multiple parents whose children were deaf as a result of a hereditary hearing loss called Connexin 26. I could be totally wrong in my attempts to search for answers, but Cx26  is is the most common cause of congenital sensorineural hearing loss and some of the stories I have heard that involve this type of hearing loss sound very similar to SJ's. I won't go into all the details, but I've included some links for those interested.

3. Was she born with it? We still don't know for sure. My latest theory is that she was born with some hearing loss, but that it wasn't so severe. That may be why she had definite signs of hearing before her 2nd birthday and has progressively gotten worse. It's a shot in the dark, but it's all I've got for now.

4.  Could she continue to loose her hearing?
We don't know, but long story short it won't matter if she does because her hearing loss is so severe.

5. Is SJ deaf?
YES. 3 months ago my answer was that she is hard of hearing, but since then I have learned from her specialists that SJ is in fact deaf. This doesn't mean she has no hearing at all, but it means that she has a profound hearing loss.

6. Will she learn sign language or talk?
Right now SJ is unable to hear speech and therefor she can't talk. We have confidence that with the right equipment she will be able to and we are working on figuring out what is best for our family with great urgency. As it stands, SJ only knows sign language and even that is very minimal because it's new to her and all of us. For now though, this is how she can communicate and it is her first language.

7. What can she hear?
Someone at the deaf school showed me this video and it gives a good illustration of hearing loss. SJ is severe to profound, so even the final setting in the video is better than what she can hear.


8. What about cochlear implant? 
It's amazing how much can change in 4 months. I was originally hoping we would never have to face the decision for SJ to have surgery. At our first appointment with the audiologist they didn't even want to discuss the cochlear implant, which I think is just standard protocol- start with hearing aids then take it from there. However, now her entire medical team is recommending the surgery and we are currently in the process of looking at models, choosing a surgeon, and deciding on when to do it. There is a lot more to discuss about this huge life altering decision, but that's basically where we are at right now.

9. What happens next? 
Tomorrow SJ will be sedated and tested for the ABR, MRI, and CTscan. This will be her second ABR which is the hearing test and that will either confirm what we already knew about her hearing loss or potentially see if it has worsened. The MRI will check any brain or nerve damage, which none of her team of experts are worried about because her vision, balance, and all of her motor skills are great. The cat scan will look at the bone structure and give a better picture of what is happening in the inner ear. The results will be in after about 2 weeks.

10.  What do we need?
I've made a few connections from the deaf school, which is so wonderful, but if you or someone you are close to is deaf, or has a cochlear implant then I would love to hear from you. I am always wanting to learn more and people with personal experience are one of my greatest resources.

You can reach me through my facebook page or email natobusch at yahoo (hopefully, I typed that in way that is spam proof).

Of course we will take all the pray we can get too. Prayers that SJ will be safe during the sedation and that the doctors will get all of the information that they need during these tests. Prayers for guidance on which hospital to use for the surgery if she gets it and even what this means as far as where and when our family will move!

Thank you all for being so loving and supportive. We will of course keep you posted every step of the way. 

His First Day

What a milestone! Z started school yesterday. In Texas, or at least where I lived, his birthday is just after the cut off and he was scheduled to start kindergarten next year, but in Kentucky he is supposed to start this year. Enrolling my child in school for the next 13 years was a decision I didn't want to feel rushed into or have Z unprepared for. So we decided to hold him back and stick with our original schedule, which I was told a lot parents do and it's perfectly acceptable.

Z has never been to any type of daycare or nursery school. His first 4 years were spent at home with me just learning about life in a relaxed environment. That is why I am taking this Pre-k business very seriously. I treated yesterday as the monumental day he began his long journey of formal education. Maybe that is why I cried just a tiny little bit on the way there.

On Z's first day of school I woke up earlier than I ever do, ironed his clothes, shoveled down some pancakes, fretted over whether I was sending him with enough food for lunch, and frantically looked for his back pack wondering why I hadn't done all of this the day before. J and I managed to get both kids out the door and with shortness of breath I began snapping pictures rapidly. I threw any of my professional photographic training out the window. I was in the candid, crazy mom mode. The mom that kept the camera around her neck all morning and literally followed her kids into the school taking pictures all along the way.  

There was a moment though that the craziness subsided. It happened when J and I prayed for Z. That was the moment that I stopped panicking about details and started allowing reality to sink in. I remember days I thought I wasn't going to survive the terrible two's, the nap time refusal, or the multiple attempts at potty training. Somehow I see this day as a finish line for that stage in life, the PRE school stage. Like I can look back and say we did it. It's the beginning yes, but it is also the conclusion of something else. He is no longer a toddler, a baby, or even a preschooler really. He is a smart, compassionate,  happy little boy. A little boy who marched right up to school on his first day and went and sat down with his classmates ready for this new chapter.

When I picked him up that afternoon they said he did a great job. Z showed me a map in the hallway on the way out. He loves geography. He held my hand as we headed to the car and I think he walked a little taller that day. I think I did too. 

YUCK!

I was in for a bit of a surprise today when I got an email saying that my automatic renewal for my messy mom website did not go through. Back in June my debit card was compromised and the bank had to issue me a new one. That is why the one on file did not work for the annual domain payment. I knew this wasn't catastrophic,  I just had to make sure they had my new card info and get my website back up and running. In the meantime I checked out messymom.com and was greeted by a RAUNCHY photo and links to some horrifically offensive websites. Welcome to Messy Mom it said. "Free p*rn at messy mom.com". The only reason I am censoring the word for dirty photos is because I don't want to trigger the wrong kind of traffic from search engines, especially after this little incident. To quote Strong Sad from an ancient home star runner episode "I feel like I need a chemical shower after seeing that! Do we have an emergency eyewash station?" So if you were one of the dozens of viewers that probably did catch that splash page before I had it fixed then I apologize and in it's place I have a couple sweet innocent photos taken earlier this week. 

 Z and J sharing a shake at Twisted Root and SJ super relaxed with me across the table. 

I'm not sure when I will be able to pop in for another update.  Starting tomorrow our week is P-A-C--K-E-D. Do you want to hear our schedule? I know, it's all very intriguing. Tomorrow is the big day for my brother in law and his fiance'. Jeremy will be officiating the wedding and I am doing the photography. Then we will be turning around to make the long haul back to Kentucky just in time for SJ's therapy on Monday. Tuesday is a really exciting day because Z starts Pre-K and I will have all kinds of details and pictures for that along with updates about SJ's new deaf and oral school which she will also go to on Tuesday. Thursday is my next prenatal check up which are now scheduled more frequently since I am 31 weeks! Then finally, on Friday we have a really big appointment for SJ where she will be under anesthesia for the first time and they will be testing her for ABR, cat scan, and MRI which will take nearly all day. So, there is a lot going on which is really nothing new. Anyway, it's good to have my web presence back and all of that nasty filth off of my page. The REAL messy mom lives on!

CFA and My Two Cen

I know everyone is sick of hearing about Chic-Fil-A and it’s old news by now, but in the spirit of freedom I wanted to just share my take on it. I have been a patron of Chic-Fil-A for a long time and haven’t been afraid to blog about it, so why stop now? 

First of all, let me explain why this is an issue that affects everyone and why it is in fact a big deal that is worthy of waiting in line 3 hours just for a chicken sandwich. It mainly started when the owner of Chic-Fil-A made a statement to the Baptist Press involving his views on the Biblical principals of marriage, this not only included marriage between a man a woman, but also marriage that is a lifelong monogamous relationship. Apparently his beliefs went viral and the media began to really blow things up. Certain politicians were working towards banning the establishment in their cities (Boston and Chicago). This a problem. Governmental ramifications disputing free speech is completely unconstitutional, and you may or may not agree with the owner of Chic-Fil-A, but if you were ostracized for saying how you feel about an issue then you probably would see this as a matter worth fighting for. Hunger Games anyone? I remember several years ago a similar issue irrupted with the Dixie Chicks. In the end they posed nude on the cover of Entertainment Weekly covered with words about the freedom of speech controversy and the next thing you know it was history. I don’t think that the nude idea would work out so well for the Chic-Fil-A owner, but I’m hoping that people will look at the public statement that was posted by Chic-Fil-A representatives and quit labeling them and other Christians as hateful. 

Lastly, I just want to address this little image that has been circulating on the internet. I've read some very hurtful comments about the people that chose to "waste" hours of their day on this cause and this is my response.

First of all there are millions of christians that are serving at food banks and homeless shelters all over the world. I could name off a hundred individuals that I know personally and I’ve read about and support countless other ministries. The difference is they are not all lining up at one place for one day only. In fact the Bible specifically address this issue in Matthew 6:3, by stating that when you give to the needy you should not let your left hand know what your left hand is doing. In other words we are to give and serve quietly and with humility. If everyone lined up on the same day (as they did August 1st) to serve at a soup kitchen it might be newsworthy sure, but it would be stupid and pointless. So that is why I think this whole statement might be clever and hopefully inspires people to do more, but other than that it’s comparing apples and oranges and mostly just another attempt to negate the stand these people were making about the freedom of religion and speech. I can just about guarantee you that if you added up all of the food donations from  the lovely people that posted the above photo it would be no where near the amount of food that Chic Fil A has donated throughout the years. They are one of the most benevolent companies you will have the pleasure of supporting. I've seen it first hand every time they have donated sandwiches to our church's ministry to the homeless. 

Sorry to rant. I just think freedom of speech and religion is something worth fighting for. My children may not remember this historic event, but they will be able to reap the benefits of it.