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...

Cancer? Really??

I just had a Deaf adult on a group for parents (who I had blocked because she has a HUGE problem with me) say that she hopes I get cancer someday so that I can "see what Deaf people feel". She says she will never be silenced because of my cruelty to Deaf children....

This is supposed to be a community that I want my child in? Every day I am fighting with my professors, saying that I believe ASL is beneficial to deaf kids, that deaf kids with CIs have speech, language and audition equal to deaf kids of hearing parents, that CIs aren't always the right choice for all deaf kids, and that kids who start with ASL can have outcomes equally good as those who are oral only, and what do I get in return? Cancer wished upon me...

Jacob's Ride

This past week-end we had a very interesting event happen in town. If you happen to follow "cochlear implant events" you will know about a young man named Jacob who is riding his bike around the country to raise money and awareness for cochlear implants. (If you do not know about Jacob check out his website here )

Well, Jacob came to our city over the week-end and came to visit Miss Kat's school. They had a little pep rally and got to hear his story. (He also went to the baseball game, but Miss Kat finds them "boring" so we skipped that part!) They also had a parade where the kids got to ride their bikes with Jacob and give him a send off. She had a great time!

A Book Review

When I was sitting in my adviser's office, registering for classes last week, I noticed she had a pile of the book "If a Tree falls". I asked her if the book was any good, and she said yes, and that she was assigning it as reading in one of her graduate classes. She asked if I would like to borrow a copy, and I said sure. I took it and had finished it in less than 24 hours.

I remember when this book was first published. It was 2010, and in the advertising it said that the parents had made a "controversial decision" about how to go forward with language and learning when they discovered that their to daughter were deaf, and deaf from a genetic condition that was throughout their family history. When I heard that, I was like, "Wow, they must decide to forgo the implant and use ASL." Well, nope. Don't mean to spoil it for anyone, but they end with with a CI, and listening and spoken language. I guess they would have been making the decision in 2004, so maybe it seemed more controversial then (but I doubt it). Plus, their older daughter was already attending Clarke Northampton, so it is not like they were alone on this journey, unable to find support or understanding for their choices...

Don't get me wrong, I fully understand how difficult a decision it is to implant your child. I mean, we did it just a few years ago! And I know how heart-wrenching decisions about language and schooling can be. Our family still struggles, and will until Miss Kat is old enough to decide for herself. But, to call choosing spoken language and cochlear implants "controversial" today? In the hearing world? I don't really think so.

Other than that, I thought the book was nice. It was an interesting story, very heart-felt and truthful. I could feel the emotions the mother was going through, and I ached for her. I would recommend it for anyone. It is a nice easy read, and a good introduction for people who have never been a parent of a deaf child, or if you are one, it is always lovely to hear the story of another!

House rules? Oh, never mind...

Miss Kat's Nana came to take her back to Utah for the last weeks of summer, and her oldest cousin came along to get a taste of our city. We love showing the out of town guest all the awesome things there are to do here. Well, her cousin said something and Miss Kat missed the remark. Miss Kat asked for clarification, and her cousin brushed her off. That's when Miss Kat stopped everything and did something I'm EXTREMELY proud of!

She said:
"No, in our house we don't say 'never mind', you have to tell me. It is the rule".

Great job Miss Kat!! She advocated for herself, and wasn't allowing herself to be left out of the conversation. And she is right, we don't allow never mind in our house. We don't allow either side of a communication to give up or to leave the other person out. I was so excited that Miss Kat has completely internalized the fact that she has the right to be included in every conversation and that she deserves access! Keep fighting Miss Kat!!

Relaxation...

So, it is the last week of summer school, and in a few short days Miss Kat will be headed back to Utah to visit with family. We are having a simple Sunday at home, allowing all of us to just hang out. Well, Miss Kat was attempting to finagle an extra bit of candy out of Dad and I. (She is allowed one treat a day, and she knows it.) So, she says "Can I have a Fun Dip?" So, we start tut-tutting about the one treat rule, and Miss Kat comes back with "It would be soooo relaxing. Remember last time I had a Fun Dip, it really helped me relax".

Seriously? What kind of argument is that?? An adorable one...and now she is off enjoying her candy treat...

The Principal's Award

This year at graduation/honor's day, Miss Kat was awarded a great distinction. She was given "The Principal's Award". She earned this accolade by making greater than 1 year's progress in 1 year's time, in ALL AREAS of her standardized testing!!!! She also received the "President's Award for Educational Achievement" and "High Academic Achievement Award" for "superior achievement in reading comprehension, total math, language and listening,"

In addition to that, we just got her reading assessment (Woodstock Johnson III) back, and she has made tremendous progress. She scored withing the normal range in three areas, and huge gains in all of the areas. In fact, she went from a score of 71 to 87 in "Passage Comprehension"! She gained an average of 5 points (a score remaining the same from year to year indicates a full year's growth) but as high as 14 points (in Reading Comprehension)!

Way to go Miss Kat!!!