Miss Kat had a trip to the audiologist today (4th day of school). While her classroom already has a soundfield, we believe Miss Kat needs a personal FM. The spend time in a classroom of hearing kids (so 25+ students total) and they do a lot of small group work, so I think she would really benefit. So, to demonstrate a need for a personal FM, we needed to do the "Hearing In Noise Test" or HINT. When I suggested the test to our audi, he was a little concerned. Miss Kat has only been hearing with her CI for 9 months and he summed up the concern with "The point of the HINT is to score well in quiet and not in noise. What if her score is low in quiet??"
It was a valid concern. Pre-CI Miss Kat was given the ESP test. It was a closed set of 12 words that were vastly different. She scored 1 out of 24. That means she couldn't tell "ice cream cone" from "toothbrush" from "airplane". Seriously. Those were the words on the test. This time she would have "gum" vs. "gun". It is a much harder test!
Sooo....Miss Kat scored 86% in quiet!!! Her audi was dumbfounded! No one could have imagined that Miss Kat would be doing this well, and so quickly! Every single day she improves. Her private SLT thinks her progress is amazing too. She can't stop talking about the difference the CI has made for Miss Kat. (By the way she scored a 68% in noise, so we have proof that an FM would make a difference) Her SLT cautioned me that I shouldn't think that every ASL using, late id'ed, late implanted Deaf child would turn out like Miss Kat, so don't go around recommending it to other parents! I know Miss Kat is an exception (perhaps because she is so exceptional!!) but we are just enjoying the ride. I can't wait to see how high she'll fly!!
Kat Reading
6 comments:
Well, that shows everyone to never, ever underestimate what Miss Kat can do! What a great score, and she's only been hearing with her CI for nine months! Fabulous. And good news on the FM system- it should help in class!
Way to go!! She's doing amazing!
Way Beyond brilliant... well done little miss Kat!!! And your self...
Soundfield systems really are inappropriate for children with hearing loss. Check out the research in the Ed'l Audiology Journal a few years back that shows that while soundfield is great for attention and some other issues, children with hearing loss need an ear-level system.
Think about it, one of the hardest sounds to hear over is competing speech--and most every classroom for young children has "centers" providing automatic competing speech! Soundfield systems simply can't be used in those environments.
Good luck with the fight for the personal FM.
Does AGBell or CI companies pay you for writing about your daugher's CI process and speech process?
Anonymous,
No, not at all. The only affiliation I have with Advanced Bionics is that my daughter uses their product. As for AG Bell, I am NOT a part of their organization at all. I attended one local funtion and I did not "click" with the people or the philosophy.
I don't know whether to be completely offended to think that you think I'm lying about my girl's progress, or complimented that you think she is doing well enough that they would want her to be an example. Plus, you must think that my writing is that good....
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