New Signs....and a new SELPA

Quick note before I forget - Peter added GIRAFFE, (raises hand from neck to above shoulder),

DIRTY

 and PHONE (puts all knuckles on cheek)

Also, the top two teeth next to the front teeth came in on the 22nd, so he missed the predicted 11-13month window by a few days ;)

And....I got a phone call from my Early Start director saying that we were getting services from the wrong county, and that the IFSP meeting would be the start of a handoff.  Uh...ok...I knew we lived in an odd place- we live in one county, our school district straddles two counties, and our official Town is in the other county...but they called me- I didn't call them a year ago when this whole thing started.  We liked our Early Start teacher, too! I am still thinking what else this means for Peter, but I do know that the meeting where I got Early Start to agree to pay some of Peter's school and therapy next year was all for naught. I have to start all over with a new county and new people. I am sure they are great, awesome providers, but I was hoping for some clarity about what was happening next year, and not a total upheaval!

PS I don't remember what exactly SELPA stands for, but it the service district for Early Start and Special Ed.

A few new things

First, a new tooth! Just shy of 14 months Peter got his fifth tooth, a lower left incisor. It wasn't even one I expected, so my tooth predictions are at an all-time low :/

Second, a sign for UMBRELLA.  Peter signs it by bumping the backs of his fists together a couple times.  But he is consistent, and usually looking at an umbrella when doing it, so I know that is what he means. We went to a kiddy zoo with some deaf friends and their deaf babies, and one mom whose baby is just a year old, asked if Peter was signing yet.  I replied, lots! Her little guy is still just soaking it up, but not signing yet. While I know Peter does not get nearly the amount of fluent ASL her son is getting, I was so proud that I could talk about all the signs he already uses!

Third, the "mmm" sound!

After Peter ate some baby food he was playing with the clear plastic lid. I kissed it, mashing my lips into it and said "mmmmmmwah!"  Peter thought it was hilarious, so I did it more, and look at him go! I will gladly make a fool of myself for results like this!

The Top Ten ASL Signs for a Newborn I Wish I Had Known

When we came home from the hospital with Peter I knew he had something going on with his hearing. He had gotten "Refer, Refer" on several of the newborn hearing screenings. Basically he failed the hearing tests, but they don't like to say FAIL! We had appointments for further tests, but we didn't get a lot of information at that point. I did know that even if the problem was "fluid in the ears" or a "late maturing auditory nerve" and would eventually be resolved, that couldn't hear me at that point.  I wanted to communicate from the start in a way that was accessible to my baby.

I had used sign with my hearing daughters starting at a few months old, so I knew some signs, but many were not useful at all for a brand new baby with limited daily activities.  I had to look up some signs below, and they are the ones I with I had gotten in a pamphlet right after that first failed screening. At that point I didn't want to learn about the top 100 signs for parents. I didn't need to know LION or BALL. I needed something simple. Those first few weeks were overwhelming enough, without having to dig through the web for the ASL words I could use so often with my baby. I also wish I had gotten something that talked about using sign at first EVEN IF the oral route is preferred, and something that talked about ASL without an anti-CI bias (and CI's without an anti-ASL bias!). 

A friend just posted an an article about early language access, and that got me thinking about my (fantasy) project to design a brochure for REFER,REFER folks. Anyone have any other suggestions about what 10 signs a hearing parent might want to know? I chose these because they could be mixed and matched to say so many things about a newborn's day, you can do them leaning over t he changing table so the baby can see them, and they are an easy entry into signing. Also, with CLOTHES being close to GET DRESSED, i felt this group had even more possible combinations. But I am no expert.  My ASL grammar is non-existent. Hopefully someone who is fluent can take what I felt I needed, and massage it ;)

And now that Peter has his CI? I am still signing.  I am always talking, too, but being able to "chat" when his CI's are off, or knowing what he is thinking about, so I can talk about it...priceless! He just learned the sign for LION ( he just sort of rubs the side of his head) and I can tell he loves his stuffed lion, because he signs to it/ about it a lot! I talked about the lion's (and Peter's) eyes and ears today since he was focused on it and excited about it :)

Receptive Language?

Two cute things that made me so hopeful- first, every speech therapist wants us to get Peter to imitate us, but he hadn't for so long. Then the "magic microphone" was suggested. This is where you use one of those spinning LED toys, and pretend it's voice activated. I was skeptical, but willing to try it. When we first tried it I said "ahhh" and lit the toy up while my voice was on, then I passed it to Peter- nothing. Then I demo'd it, then Sydney, then Samantha. After several silent turns Peter finally stated saying "ahhh" also!!  For anyone who has a normal hearing child this may seem really trivial to get excited about, but since my little guy had no way to hear himself before getting his cochlear implant,  now that he is starting to mimic sounds it shows that the technology is helping him!

The second thing happened today. At gymnastics I asked "where is Sydney?" I did not use sign, as I had Peter and other things in my arms. Peter held up two fingers and his thumb to his face and then pointed to where Sydney was sitting behind some other girls.  Those two fingers and thumb? It was the sign for BUG (Sydney's nickname, and the sign we use for her).

 Maybe he heard and understood me? Lately he has also been looking for and signing CAT when I say "Hello, kitty!", but he is so aware that he could spot the cat before me, so I am never sure if it is my voice and words, or the sight of the cat he is reacting to. But I am starting to think he might recognize the words!! And that new sound "kghghg", it could be a hissing, like my girls do when they play cat, or maybe he is starting to try to say kitty. All very exciting for me :)
ASL for cat pictured below, but Peter just uses his pointer finger and flicks it on his cheek.

The Butterfly Effect?

Yesterday my girls found a huge black and yellow (dead) butterfly. I think the cats had gotten it, but it was still mostly in one piece. It was beautiful, and we talked about it, and signed BUTTERFLY.  Peter was really interested and signed butterfly back! He didn't cross his hands like the adult version:

But he put his hands together at the knuckles and wiggled his fingers on both hands at the same time! It was adorable :). Later, and maybe this was just a coincidence, we were looking up the hill, no longer staring at the butterfly, and I said "butterfly", and Peter signed it!!  It would be amazing if he recognized the spoken word already, and that is probably too much to expect :/. I will keep signing, because if Peter can show us what he is hearing with signs I think that is pretty cool :).

New Signs

Just a quick update on new signs (more for me than anything else ;)
Hot
Sleeping
Ball
More

I am taking a free ASL class at a local church. It is taught by a woman who is deaf/hard of hearing.  She grew up speaking, and didn't have hearing aids because her family didn't have the money to buy them. She has a hearing aid now, but still prefers to go without and lip read. She can hear tones, and she has a beautiful singing voice. Talking to her you wouldn't know she was deaf.

Today was the first class, and it was a great cross-section of my community. Middle schoolers, young adults, moms, grand parents. And everyone was so willing to just jump in!  I knew most signs used today (idid learn FROM) but it was great to practice :)

What can he hear, and what does it sound like?

I ask myself this a lot.  Peter will be able to hear, but what he hears will be different than what I hear. The following video is really interesting and has some good examples.  It should just keep getting better as they do more research :)