Unfortunate Language Issue

Since Lauren got her new and improved hearing aids, she has been growing leaps and bounds with her language. Still, we are not where we should be. Bath time last night proved we still have a ways to go.

Lauren has a plastic fish that she plays with during bath time. She loves it and talks about it and to it during the entire bath. That is great until you realize that she can't say "fish". There are a few letters that are hard for Lauren to say until she gets a better grasp on her speech. The letters that are learned last for some hearing impaired children are /sh/, /f/, and /g/, to name a few. Here is what Lauren says for each letter:

/sh/ ends up sounding like /ch/
/f/ ends up sounding like /b/

Have you put it together yet? Every time Lauren tried saying 'fish' it came out 'b*#ch'! I was dying! She would say, Mommy, big fish (b*#ch)! My fish (b*#ch) swimming. For ten minutes straight she was talking about her fish accidentally cussing without even trying. Of course, I started laughing, which made her think she was doing something hilarious, which in turn made her say it more. Not my best parenting moment.

Note to self: Do not talk about fish with Lauren in public.

Mini-Survey

I had a thought the other day and wondered what all of you would think about it. So, I decided to take a mini-survey of my friends. I was driving past a dance studio and wondered if I should sign Lauren up for dance class. Then I thought, hmmm, would she feel bad if she couldn't do the dance moves like the other kids OR would she view it as no big deal and do the best that she could? Then my mind wandered to other activities like soccer, softball, or swimming. How would she feel doing those types of activities? Since she is four and we might not know how she feels about it, I thought I would turn it over to you.

If you had a kid that had limited movement with her right side, would you sign them up for activities that might draw attention to that issue,

OR

Would you sign her up for things that you know she can do successfully?

Don't feel bad being honest. You can tell me what you think, I am strong enough to do what I feel is right. I am truly interested in finding things I never thought of from your answers. So, what do you think?

Morning Wake-Up Call

This morning was fun (insert sarcasm). At 5:52 a.m. I was stripping the sheets off Lauren's bed, Tyler was changing his shirt, and I washed off Dora's head. Lauren decided it was time to throw-up all over her room and her daddy.

I can tell you that when Lauren is sick like that I am the most stressed. She can't really tell me what is wrong and I worry if it is something more serious. It is times like this that make me want her language to be on track. I wish she could tell me what is wrong or when she is going to throw up so at least we have a chance to get somewhere near the bathroom. Oh well, that's why they make buckets.

Right now, Lauren and her daddy are playing Candy Land. He is such a good daddy. But that's a different post.

Hearing Update

Lauren had her 6 month appointment in Chapel Hill on Tuesday. Lauren went into the booth to get her hearing checked. The good news is that her hearing hasn't changed. That might sound weird to be happy about that, but it is good news. It means that her hearing is not degenerative, meaning that it isn't getting any worse.

They also tested her levels of hearing with her hearing aids in her ears. The audiologist said that she is hearing everything that everyone else hears with the aids in. That was a huge relief. The last time we went, we got the news that her old aids were not the right ones. I am glad that I don't have to worry about that anymore.

She told us that we can be confident that we don't need to worry about the aids and to concentrate on her language development. Her language has taken off since she got her new hearing aids. She pulls a new phrase out every week and uses it correctly. She is consistently talking in 4-5 words sentences. I am so happy to be able to actually talk to my daughter and have her be able to talk back to me. I have been waiting a long time for this. I am so thankful for all the people in her life that has helped her get to this point. I would have never been able to help her on my own.

Discovery

I was talking to a friend the other day and discovered something that I never expressed before. I had just gotten off the phone with yet another medical professional and had to put out yet another fire. This thought hit me like a ton of bricks:

It takes more effort to deal with the companies that provide the services for Lauren, than it does to deal with Lauren's actual special needs. What makes Lauren's special needs so hard is the medical profession, not the disability itself.

I can handle the fact that she will wear hearing aids for the rest of her life. Got it, dealt with it, ready to move on.

I can handle the fact that she will struggle with using the right side of her body for certain activities. Got it, dealing with it, helping where I can.

What I can't handle are the institutions that do not make this process any easier. My frustration turns to empathy when I think of all the parents that don't have the time to deal with all the extra stuff like, phone calls to insurance companies, trips to doctor's offices three hours away, or fixing the things that slip through the cracks.

If you are a parent and you find yourself relating to this, then all I can say is hang in there. We can't change what other people do, but we can always be an advocate for our children. Remember, frustration is temporary. Doing what we need for our child is never wasted time.