Kat Reading

Kat Reading

Monday, September 23, 2013

Auditory cortex development to a 10 year old

Miss Kat has gotten a little lazy about her listening lately. She has been taking a bath without her Neptune, putting off putting on her processors in the morning, and watching movies with the volume turned down pretty low, stating "I can just read the subtitles"...and this is unacceptable in our house. So, today I decided to explain to her why. This was the process of me explaining auditory cortex brain development to my deaf 10 year old. I said:

"When you wear your CIs, you are building up your brain like a muscle. We want your brain to be very strong, so that you can hear and understand when people talk. When you aren't wearing your processors, or when you don't listen, you are going backwards. You are getting further away from the goal. That is why I get upset when you watch a movie without sound, or go so long without your processors. We want your brain to be as strong as it can be."

She understood and we discussed it. She said that she forgets sometimes, and I said that was fine, and that I would make sure to remind her. She asked how, and then said "Oh yeah, sign language!" Silly girl...

5 comments:

kate blue said...

cute story...Brandon tries to get away with only wearing his older one and I get on him too...The other day, we had a really really really busy day and he took both off and fell straight to sleep so I knew they were doing their job!

Anonymous said...

My parents and my old school harped on me to wear my hearing aids practically from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed so that I would listen constantly... that I just got to the point where I didn't want to BOTHER! I'll trust that you'll be careful that you do not become a nag.

Anonymous said...

and here it begins....

that's the exact same thing we've been telling you about.

gonna love being a fly on the wall. maybe interview her for a documentary when she's older.

Miss Kat's Parents said...

Hey anonymous, feel free to continue to follow her progress right here. I am not afraid to share the good and the bad.

You should have the guts to sign your Alldeaf name though..

Dianrez said...

""I can just read the subtitles"...and this is unacceptable in our house."

No problem about wearing the aids, but, isn't this a little over-reacting? Hearing practice does not demand 24/7 or even 16/7 continuity, and deaf ears do get tired. After a long time input merges into a constant din of noise that gets ignored or causes tension.

More important is her reading of subtitles or captions...it is READING and that alone bolsters success, whereas incomplete hearing is not as supportive of it. Reading is worthy of the complete attention she gives to it.