SJ Update

Things are starting to move along since SJ was diagnosed HOH a month ago. We've seen a couple specialists from the First Steps program and everyone that we've met so far has been so wonderful and helpful. They've all fallen in love with our baby girl and are eager to help her get to where she needs to be developmentally. A couple days ago someone came to the house to evaluate her. We know that she has severe hearing loss, but many times children like SJ can also be behind in other areas because audio and speech delays have made an impact in developing other important skills like cognitive and social. Thankfully this is not the case with SJ!

It turns out she is a genius that is hard of hearing. Okay, I am the typical proud mom exaggerating a little, but she did do extremely well on all of the tests. Her case worker did many different play therapy games with her to see how well she could follow instructions, and use her fine and gross motor skills. She did puzzles, stacked blocks, and sorted things by color. She drew a circle and a line perfectly. She caught a ball, ate yogurt with a spoon, and turned upside down pictures right side up. The lady was blown away by her attention span and how well she performed. The hard part was they still had to check at what age she was developing her speech and hearing, which of course she is WAY behind in. She did not respond to her name at all when called from the other room and she couldn't point out eyes and ears without the use of gestures. She also can't pronounce any consonants except maybe a slight m sound. The workers have been so gracious to warn us that it can be hard to hear the results of these tests knowing that your child has a disability. In some areas she is ahead of her peers, but when it comes to hearing and speech she scores at the level of a 2 month old. You might be thinking well, of course she does, she is physically impaired, it's nothing to be ashamed of, it's still hard to hear though. However, I am not discouraged. Everyone is excited about the chance to work with her because she is just a ton of fun and they can't wait to see how much excels once she is aided. 

Speaking of aided, she gets her first set of hearing aids in just a couple days. She is going to go from hearing basically nothing to being able to hear music, voices, the dog barking, her favorite TV shows, and so much more. I can't imagine what that would be like. I am not getting my hopes up that she is going to light up when I say her name or that she will start talking right away. I don't know what to expect, but I do know that some children don't like having hearing aids at first. They have no context for the sounds around them and they may be irritated by having to wear the devices, but we have some experience with that already. 

When Z was 15 months old he got glasses 

He did well with them, but we went through a few tough times of him loosing and breaking them before they became something that he actually took pride and ownership in. Some of my friends may remember being a part of the search party at the park several years ago. The men, women, and children that were  with us painstakingly scouring of every inch  of the wooded area to find this little pair of frames that we did not have $400 to replace! Thankfully we did find them that time. These days Z takes his glasses off to swim, bathe, and sleep that's it (much like his sisters hearing aids will be). 

There are so many times I have been grateful that I am going through all of this with my 2nd child and not my first. Not just because of the glasses thing, but I feel like I have some frame of reference for what to expect in general. I think if SJ was my first I would worry that every little fit and tantrum was because of her hearing loss or inability to communicate verbally, but I'm no rookie. I know that most of the times that she is upset or acting out is because she is TWO and that is what two year olds do along with being stinking adorable. 

I'm glad that I have this blog to share all of these details with family and friends. I  have heard your requests and will be teaching some of the signs she knows via blogging for anyone that is interested in being a part of SJ's "first language" along with continuing to keep everyone posted on what happens with the hearing aids next week! More to come.