Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Long Time, No Post

I haven't been writing on here lately but I decided to update.

First, on a sad note, we lost my Dad on January 2, 2015. He fought a long fight with Alzheimer's Disease. He will be greatly missed but I am happy that is suffering is over. I also think my Mom waited a long time for him and now they are together again.

Jack has been working hard with all his therapy. He got his second cochlear implant back and is making progress but it is very slow. He is walking, running and climbing. He is still way behind but I see him moving foward so I remain very hopeful despite his negative evaluations. He is happy and charms everyone. He is really not talking yet but he has a few words. He constatly babbles and reminds me of Latka from Taxi with his own little language.

Julianna is also thriving. She did all kids of things this summer, She waterskied, did trapeze, surfed in the ocean, swam and had all types of fun.

I have a lot of meetings for Jack as he begins the transition from Early Intervention to pre-school. The funding comes from different sources so it is a big deal to switch over. Early Intervention usually gives more services but my insurance is billed for them. When the school district takes over they do not bill the insurance.

Jack has been going to the Deaf Infant Program. They have been really great for him. The teachers are certified in deaf education as well as speech therapy. He gets two on one therapy as well as classes with other children who have cochlear implants. Some of the kids have amazing speech and you would never know they are deaf. Jack is not even close to that level. They say his hearing age is 9 months because that is when his left implant was activated. His speech and language are at about that level. I know he understands what I am saying most of the time.

Jack will only be able to stay in the Deaf Infant Program until December 31 of this year. He turns 3 at the end of November and the rule is that they can only stay in the program until December 21 of the year that they turn 3. They do not adjust for prematurity.

I went to see one of the schools for the deaf that is in my county. It is a pretty far drive and Jack would be on the bus for over an hour each way if he goes there. I was not happy with the school. It was very much like an institution. They were very Deaf culture and the whole campus was signing. They did have an auditory verbal class for kids with cochlear implants but they were still very much exposed to sign. There was also a kindergarten class with 10 kids. They were all bilaterally implanted with cochlear implants but they were all signing. When I asked why this was I was told that they had all failed the oral program for one reason or another. That upset me and I really don't want Jack to go there, I am hoping he will make a lot of progress in the next few months so I have more options.

Tomorrow I have a big meeting with the school district to decide what type of services Jack will get when he finishes with Early Intervention. I am hoping it goes well. We shall see......

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