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 :)

How do they know he needs those?

I was carrying Peter in a sling, and he was wearing his cute blue hearing aids when i was approached by a stranger who asked me out of the blue "How do they know he needs those?". I know she was just curious, and that she meant well, and maybe my standards are too exacting, but I felt like an "Excuse me,...." or "I just noticed, and I was wondering..." would have been a more polite approach. Ok, skip over the etiquette lecture. I figured it's good practice for all the questions I'm sure will come if/when my little guy has bionic ears. I answered politely, and hoped to spread some knowledge about the impact of Universal Newborn Hearing Screenings. I explained how the tests in the hospital are able to measure a newborn's brain's reaction to noise (earbud, electrode on the forehead) and that they weren't asking a baby to "raise your hand when you hear the beep" ;) I didn't get into the intricacies of the more in-depth ABR or otoacoustic emissions test, as the woman was already gushing over how lucky he was that we were able to catch the hearing loss early. I agree. We were lucky our state has Universal Screening. We were lucky our child was born now, and not in an era where haring less wasn't diagnosed until 2-3, or later. We were lucky hearing loss is now treated in a family setting instead of recommending institutionalisation. We are lucky that insurance covers the cochlear implant that Peter is most likely a candidate for. We are lucky just because we have such a wonderful baby. The only bum luck was that the last governor vetoed a bill to require insurance to cover pediatric hearing aids. Peter is lucky that the expense didn't delay us in getting him aided, but I imagine there are plenty of kids who have to wait while their parents apply for grants, or hope to get loaners or used aids at a discount. How lucky I am strangers can come up and ask me about Peter's hearing aids!

The start of "our story"

Peter was born end of April this year.  He has two older sisters, but neither of those births prepared me for Peter's entry into the world!  We arrived at the maternity ward at 8:03pm, didn't quite finish checking in, and Peter was out and on my belly by 8:23.  He was purple-faced, not from lack of oxygen, but because he came out so fast his poor little face was all bruised! I don't recommend the "precipitous" delivery, as the hospital listed it. I think it was a bit shocking to everyone involved- and a completely unexpected turn of events for me.

I couldn't sleep that night, as I just wanted to cuddle my little guy, nurse him, or stare at the brand new beautiful person I had been entrusted with.  I was awake when they came to take him for the hearing screening.  He was gone a while.  When the nurse came back she said that they had done it twice, and he got Refer, Refer both times, and that they had called someone to check the machine, as maybe it wasn't working.  They would try again in a couple hours.  I wasn't too concerned, but I made sure they did do the test again before the hospital got busy in the morning.  He got Refer, Refer again.

Refer, Refer. Sounds like a code. I now understand it is so your beautiful baby is not "failing" anything, but that you are going to be referred for more evaluations....The nurses and doctors were all very nice and careful to explain that babies often pass a second screening a couple weeks after birth, that there could be water behind the eardrum that didn't get squeezed out because of a short labor, or debris in the ear canal. They scheduled a follow up with the audiologist.

I figured everything was fine, but that Peter couldn't hear right then. I did start explaining diaper changes in ASL, just in case, and as I was planning on using ASL no matter what.  Since I had used ASL with both girls I already knew CHANGE DIAPER :)

I did pay more attention to noises and Peter's (lack of) reaction. We have three big, loud dogs that bark and sing for meal time, and get really loud if there are visitors. Never woke Peter up.  He slept through dogs, loud sisters, shop vac, everything! But I thought it would all resolve itself by the time we had more tests. In any case, he was nursing like a champ, surpassing his birth weight in just a few days, and was happy and healthy!