We're celebrating tonight! What an amazing three years it has been, full of listening, games, playing and fun. It's been lots and lots of hard work; days spent in hospital offices, with therapists, audiologists and at all day pre-school. Drew's progress has been nothing short of amazing and we're thankful everyday for his gift of hearing. And listening. And speaking. And communication.
We captured a little video of Drew tonight to mark this third hearing anniversary.
Happy Hearing Day Drew! We are so thankful that you are such a happy, loving and hardworking little boy. We are so lucky to be your Mommy and Daddy!
Monday, June 28
Friday, June 25
Nearly Three Years - Part 2
It's been nearly three years since Drew's cochlear implants were activated! Here's a look back at some of my favorite posts:
Jingle Bells Part 2
Off And A Little Conversation
Happy Halloween from Drew!
Thanksgiving
Drew Singing on Christmas Day
Please Talk to Me!
Mr. Bron
Jingle Bells Part 2
Off And A Little Conversation
Happy Halloween from Drew!
Thanksgiving
Drew Singing on Christmas Day
Please Talk to Me!
Mr. Bron
Wednesday, June 23
Nearly Three Years
It has been nearly three years since Drew's cochlear implants were first activated - and what a journey it has been! Here are some of my favorite videos from the past three years.
Sunday, June 20
Soccer
Drew is very excited this evening - he begins soccer (and basketball, football and t-ball) lessons in the morning!
Drew has been asking, for probably close to a year now, to take soccer lessons, and we've finally signed him up! It's not that we haven't wanted to enroll him, but this is the first summer that he is old enough to participate in a program in our community. We could have enrolled him last summer in lessons, but they would have been nearly 30 minutes away!
We're very excited that Drew is going to be able to participate in a program just like all of the kids in our neighborhood - with no accommodations! I'll brief the instructor in the morning about CI's and what to do if one falls off; I'll let them know that they may have to repeat instructions for Drew, and that background noise can be a bit of a problem. Other than that, he'll be good to go.
I have a feeling he is going to have a great day tomorrow!
Drew has been asking, for probably close to a year now, to take soccer lessons, and we've finally signed him up! It's not that we haven't wanted to enroll him, but this is the first summer that he is old enough to participate in a program in our community. We could have enrolled him last summer in lessons, but they would have been nearly 30 minutes away!
We're very excited that Drew is going to be able to participate in a program just like all of the kids in our neighborhood - with no accommodations! I'll brief the instructor in the morning about CI's and what to do if one falls off; I'll let them know that they may have to repeat instructions for Drew, and that background noise can be a bit of a problem. Other than that, he'll be good to go.
I have a feeling he is going to have a great day tomorrow!
Tuesday, June 15
Summer Therapy
I've struggled quite a bit with what to do for Drew this summer in terms of therapy. What does he need? Who can provide it? What is he eligible for?
The unfortunate thing is that now that he is on an IEP he is not eligible for Extended School Year services. In order for our school district to provide summer services, we would have to demonstrate that Drew would have a significant reduction in his current performance level by not having services in the summer. That obviously isn't the case, so he isn't entitled to any school based services. (The reason being that all kids regress some during the summer months, and special needs kids should not be subject to services that peer students are not, unless the special need student would regress more than a peer. Basically, the summer months are not a time to "catch up" because it isn't fair to peers. Blah. Blah. Blah.)
So, we're left in this little area of doing well, but trying not to let the summer months lead to a large reduction in speech and language. So, what is right? Luckily we were informed about a grant that is provided through Drew's Preschool specifically for deaf and hard of hearing children. Drew was accepted to the grant program and will receive six hours of auditory therapy this summer. We're really excited about this formal therapy.
Other than the six hours of formal therapy, Drew's Dad and I signed Drew up for the preschool summer reading program through our local library, which guides us through reading specific books designed for Drew's age group. Some are pre-readers, some are letter and number books, and others are stories. Some come with questions for discussion to work on understanding of key concepts in the stories.
Other than that, what are we doing? We're having fun. We're going to relax. We're going to enjoy the summer months. This is the first summer where we've felt like we can just relax and that everything is going to be fine. That's a first for us. The past summers have been filled with CI activation - and all the appointments that go with it, therapy and IEP battles. We're looking forward to just being a normal family this summer!
The unfortunate thing is that now that he is on an IEP he is not eligible for Extended School Year services. In order for our school district to provide summer services, we would have to demonstrate that Drew would have a significant reduction in his current performance level by not having services in the summer. That obviously isn't the case, so he isn't entitled to any school based services. (The reason being that all kids regress some during the summer months, and special needs kids should not be subject to services that peer students are not, unless the special need student would regress more than a peer. Basically, the summer months are not a time to "catch up" because it isn't fair to peers. Blah. Blah. Blah.)
So, we're left in this little area of doing well, but trying not to let the summer months lead to a large reduction in speech and language. So, what is right? Luckily we were informed about a grant that is provided through Drew's Preschool specifically for deaf and hard of hearing children. Drew was accepted to the grant program and will receive six hours of auditory therapy this summer. We're really excited about this formal therapy.
Other than the six hours of formal therapy, Drew's Dad and I signed Drew up for the preschool summer reading program through our local library, which guides us through reading specific books designed for Drew's age group. Some are pre-readers, some are letter and number books, and others are stories. Some come with questions for discussion to work on understanding of key concepts in the stories.
Other than that, what are we doing? We're having fun. We're going to relax. We're going to enjoy the summer months. This is the first summer where we've felt like we can just relax and that everything is going to be fine. That's a first for us. The past summers have been filled with CI activation - and all the appointments that go with it, therapy and IEP battles. We're looking forward to just being a normal family this summer!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
