Monday, October 25, 2010

31 For 21: Day 25 Wyatt's Hearing.....

so wyatt received his bone conductive hearing aid last week.  i know that a lot of kiddos with Ds have mild to moderate hearing loss, and my goal is for him to speak as clearly as he possibly can.  the educational specialist at hope haven reminded me last week not to be so focused on his speech that i neglect other forms of communication (i.e. picture cards and signing).....i'm trying to remember that! 

bone conductive hearing aid

picture cards....

his audiologist is not convinced that he needs the bone conductive hearing aid.  his developmentalist and speech therapist think that if it helps him at all, then it's worth it.  i agree with them.  however, i am not sure how/when i will know if it is helping him!    i asked his audiologist this morning if he will give him the "booth" test to try and see if there is any improvement.  he said we can try that in a couple of weeks, once wyatt gets more used to it.  i THINK that he is responding to whispers on that side of his head, but i'm not sure.   he's probably only worn  it about 6 hours total since we received it about a week ago.  let's just say that he does not just leave it alone and go about his merry way!  he's done better with it than i thought, but it's a struggle. 

it does not look like i thought it would look; we were expecting the "baha" type that is worn on a stretchy "sweatband" type thing that wraps around his forehead.  this one is on thin metal strips that are like a headband over the top of his head, with the aid and receiver sitting behind his ears.  it does not look awfully comfortable; it has to fit rather snugly.  maybe he's getting in some good OT every time he "whips" it off his head!   every time i fit it back on him, i smile sweetly and say "thank you Jesus that Wyatt can hear!"  trying to convince him that this is a good thing!  

happy as can be! 

i'm anxious to see if there is any difference in his hearing test.  i wish that we could test him tomorrow....but i feel like i'm "bugging" our audiologist!   it would be nice to know if it's working!   last night the (very young) waitress at ihop asked us about it; specialists have recommended that her 3 year old, who has cerebral palsy, get an implant for mild hearing loss.   i'm glad that i was able to talk with her about it, from the little bit of experience and multitude of research i've done!   i love how God works through our life experiences to minister to and help others......

1 comment:

  1. One big thing I picked up from Rachel Coleman when she addressed just parents the night before our DS walk was that she felt too many parents who have children with hearing impairments focus on teaching them to talk rather than teaching them language. Call me sometime and I'll share more.

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