Carol Flexer came out to Salt Lake City and spoke to parents, teachers, and those who work with deaf and hard of hearing children. She is an audiologist and quite amazing. I always learn something to use with Chance when I listen to her and I appreciate her knowledge.
It was after hearing Carol Flexer talk about how we should expect our deaf children to hear from 30 feet more than 6 years ago that got us seriously thinking about getting Chance a cochlear implant again.
My husband and I looked at each other and mouthed,"THIRTY FEET?"
We realized that we could have expectations like that with Chance's hearing.
When Carol came this last spring, she talked about many things that struck me and made me think. One thing she talked about was when a deaf child starts struggling in school when there was no problem before, don't immediately decide that it is the child. Look at the vocabulary and the terminology first. Many a deaf child has struggled due to the fact that they did not hear or understand the vocabulary or terminology, not that they could not get the concept. And the terms get more difficult as they get older.
This is a concept that I remember focusing on when Chance was younger, but I think I need to make sure that he is getting the terminology now.
Imagine how lost you could get if you just missed what eruption meant when doing a unit on volcanos in science. The teacher would start talking about the different signs that a volcano may present before it erupts and you would be trying to figure out what in the world she was talking about.
Or what if you missed what the word sum meant in math. The teacher would be up there telling you to figure out the sum and you would be a lost little puppy.
I went out to lunch with two deaf adults in the break during Carol's conference and it was so enlightening to learn from them. The gentleman had been one of Chance's consultants when he was in 2nd grade and wears hearing aids. The woman is a friend of mine who has bilateral implants.
I saw how when a baby started to cry a few tables over they both leaned in to hear better. I heard the baby but my hearing was not hampered by the noise.
I also learned from Chance's consultant that he has seen how vocabulary issues has side-tracked kids that otherwise are doing great in school. Once they understand the vocaulary they are good to go.
I know that Chance has some holes in his vocabulary. He went two years without hearing plus several years not hearing all that he needed to so every once in a while a word will come up that other kids his age will know the meaning of but Chance does not. He did not hear the word the 500 plus times they say a child needs to hear a word to "own it" from the ages of 1 to 6 like most of his peers. Plus, these deaf kids hear amazingly well but they do not hear absolutely everything.
I have requested that Chance's science teacher send me the vocabulary and terminology for their units as much of it is going to be stuff Chance has not heard before. I think it will do a lot of good to get the terminology and go over it with him to make sure he gets the meaning of the concepts at least the vocabulary involved. That will help ensure that he is on an equal footing with his peers when his teacher starts throwing around new terms that Chance has never heard before in his life.
1 comment:
That is definitely a good thing to do, have vocabulary sent home to you before a unit. I can remember all too many times being foiled by missing a key word. I'd hear tons of explanations about it and using it but, What was that word?". Techniques like this would've helped me avoid that frustration.
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