listen with your heart. speak with love.
Our Family's Cochlear Implant Journey
Thursday, August 16, 2012
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version of the prep sheet)
-Continue auditory rehabilitation on newly implanted ear with our
fantastic private SLP through the fall.
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uggestions that will help us succeed together from day one. Please
keep in mind that cochlear implants (CIs) do not “fix” hearing, like
glasses fix poor vision.  Christian’s cochlear implants help enhance
his hearing, but additional assistance is still needed. We’ve listed
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Technology Tips
Ø  Christian’s Cochlear Implants help him hear much better, but he
doesn’t always understand what he hears especially if the room is noisy
or if people talk too fast and on top of each other.
Ø  We are happy to talk with you about Christian’s Cochlear Implants.
We will feel better knowing that you understand how his hearing
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Ø  Christian has a remote control that he uses to change the settings
of his Cochlear Implants. Please allow him to keep this remote in his
backpack and to be able to readily access it during times of
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front. I have more of the "first-time in a school that he's the only
with Cochlear Implants and these teachers have no formal training when
it comes to educating my kid" kinda jitters. I thought I was ok, and
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bit of in-servicing. We've really been pushing Christian's newly
implanted ear with MANY hours of rehab both with his SLP from The River
School and with a county SLP. He's made absolutely astounding progress,
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The years went on and we both learned. Christian grew from a newly
implanted toddler to a sweet and chatty 2 year old who was already
urpassing his hearing peers in expressive language. I became a little
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inevitable time that we would leave the school. I started having dreams
of his Cochlear Implant failing during his oral dissertation defense in
college. The dream when it happend on his wedding day still sticks with
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tood by our side. As fast as it happened, it was a long time coming
and we were ready for it. Rehabilitating the newly implanted ear along
with prepping to transition to Kindergarten in our public school became
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center around that school and so many steps of our family journey with
Cochlear Implants have started there. It's bittersweet to leave a place
that not only did my son grow-up in, but I did as well. It's easy to
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and supported in ways that most families never get a chance to
experience, let alone families with kids with Cochlear Implants.
Don't get me wrong, I've been counting down the days until our summer
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ANYTHING with NO limitations. They made my life as a Mom to a kid with
Cochlear Implants just a little bit easier and little bit LESS
tressful by being THE BEST OF THE BEST.
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boy will be the only kid in a school of hundreds of typical kids with
Cochlear Implants. I'm worried he's going to be alone. I'm worried that
for the first time he may just feel different. Pile that on top of all
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-Christian was qualified for ESY (Extended School Year) due to his
recent implantation and activation, so we will receive 1x weekly
ervices (this is in addition to the private therapy we will continue
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CAN do the things we say he can do. Today I will change perceptions of
Cochlear Implant children.  Today, I'm strong. Today, I'm confident.
Today, I'm going to do my best to give my little boy (who is SO ready
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(6), and Liliana Grace (4) Christian was born Deaf, and was
implanted with his Cochlear Implant at 14 months of age and his
econd at 5 years old. Lily is hearing, and is a handful but a