Rocky Mountain Deaf School??

deafdyke said:
Adamsmomma, have they tested him both with in booth tests and ABR? It's possible you might get different results...they do occasionally
I'm thinking the way you are.....that he might have some sort of weird processing loss on top of his mechanical (ie his coachler and other stuff works OK) loss. There is something called cortexual deafness where the brain can't interpret sound. I have a touch of cortexual deafness b/c I have a weird brain....in booth tests show that I'm hoh but ABR says I'm deaf?!?!
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Yeah he had both tests that day and they were identical! :shock: and all his booth tests in the past equaled his old ABRs... that's what's so strange?!?!?! Hopefully his fMRI will give us some clues.

Oh had never heard of that school you sent me, looks like they start at kindergarten? (On my phone didn't se the whole page yet) thanks for the link!!
 
Yes, Adamsmomma there do seem to be a lot of Dhh charter schools opening up! I think that is b/c a lot of parents are finding that the approach of "regular classes regular school with minimal accomondations" isn't all that it's cracked up to be. (and the current generation of parents who are all " YAY my child is an oral sucess and doesn't need "dhh ed" and can be a superstar in minimal mainstreaming have some really hard lessons to learn:roll::roll: And before I am attacked, most dhh kids have been mainstreamed, and parents thought it was the best placement, but yet there haven't been huge acheivement gains) THE problem with mainstreaming is that even mainstream special ed teachers don't have a lot of training in how to teach dhh kids. Some kids don't really need a lot of accomondations, but many other kids.....:(
I am very excited that you're looking into Deaf Schools. The early intervention programs through Deaf Schools tend to be SO much better then those offered in public schools. I do think most dhh kids should start off in Deaf ed, (including formal mainstream programs) and then "test into" the mainstream. Public school special ed has not and does not provide enough for more then minimal accomondations
 
I agree with your post, deafdyke.

I got through school with just "minimal accommodations". It was so hard. I graduated with excellent grades, but I had to put forth what seems (and probably was!) a huge amount more effort to get those grades. The special ed teachers, including IEP teachers, were a joke. I spent my high school years learning idioms with them. After some time of that, I said "forget it" and went to study hall instead.
 
Yeah I have seen what mainstreaming for a child who has hearing and processing issues can do... my brother faked his way thru most of his classes, he had one teacher who really helped him and that was because we knew her outside of school first and she understood his needs on a personal level, but she was only and English teacher so he didn't have her all the time. Recalling how he struggled is one reason I decided A wouldn't be mainstramed. And his hearing is much better than A's. Infact my mom and I were just dicussing this the other day. I want Adam to have the opportunity to be successful on all levels... and I don't want him to have to 'fake' it like M did.
 
Adamsmomma said:
Yeah I have seen what mainstreaming for a child who has hearing and processing issues can do... my brother faked his way thru most of his classes, he had one teacher who really helped him and that was because we knew her outside of school first and she understood his needs on a personal level, but she was only and English teacher so he didn't have her all the time. Recalling how he struggled is one reason I decided A wouldn't be mainstramed. And his hearing is much better than A's. Infact my mom and I were just dicussing this the other day. I want Adam to have the opportunity to be successful on all levels... and I don't want him to have to 'fake' it like M did.
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As someone who grew up "faking" it, it can take a serious toll on a child.
 
Adamsmomma said:
Yeah I have seen what mainstreaming for a child who has hearing and processing issues can do... my brother faked his way thru most of his classes, he had one teacher who really helped him and that was because we knew her outside of school first and she understood his needs on a personal level, but she was only and English teacher so he didn't have her all the time. Recalling how he struggled is one reason I decided A wouldn't be mainstramed. And his hearing is much better than A's. Infact my mom and I were just dicussing this the other day. I want Adam to have the opportunity to be successful on all levels... and I don't want him to have to 'fake' it like M did.
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My little sister thinks I should have tried harder in school. She has NO idea what it was like for me and I had an undx'd case of ADD on top of that. I would never want another deaf child to go thru what I'm sure others feel the same way.
 
deafskeptic said:
My little sister thinks I should have tried harder in school. She has NO idea what it was like for me and I had an undx'd case of ADD on top of that. I would never want another deaf child to go thru what I'm sure others feel the same way.
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Oh yeah M (my bro) has ADD too, if he'd been ADHD maybe he'd have got more help but he was the quiet one so they thought he was just lazy, not applying himself etc... when he really needed help and we (my family) took the word of the school and didn't try to fine him help til he was in middle school. I learned a LOT from that experience...
 
Adamsmomma said:
Oh yeah M (my bro) has ADD too, if he'd been ADHD maybe he'd have got more help but he was the quiet one so they thought he was just lazy, not applying himself etc... when he really needed help and we (my family) took the word of the school and didn't try to fine him help til he was in middle school. I learned a LOT from that experience...
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I didn't get help for ADD because they (profesionals)thought that all my problems were due to being brain damaged due to Rubella so it wasn't till I was 28 before I found out I have that.
 
:cool2: And its AWESOME you totally GET what I'm saying.:D I think mainstreaming is commendable......but it really is too "one size fits all" I would NEVER exclusively mainstream my potential kids.
Have you also thought about looking into public school Dhh programs? Some of them are actually pretty good.
Adam doesn't have poor fine motor does he? Also his IQ is pretty much on par right? So he wouldn't be a typical AAC type of student right? (alternative and augmentive communication) He sounds like he'd be like those CP kids who, while they can hear they can't physcially speak, so they use ASL as a first language.
 
deafdyke said:
:cool2: And its AWESOME you totally GET what I'm saying.:D I think mainstreaming is commendable......but it really is too "one size fits all" I would NEVER exclusively mainstream my potential kids.
Have you also thought about looking into public school Dhh programs? Some of them are actually pretty good.
Adam doesn't have poor fine motor does he? Also his IQ is pretty much on par right? So he wouldn't be a typical AAC type of student right? (alternative and augmentive communication) He sounds like he'd be like those CP kids who, while they can hear they can't physcially speak, so they use ASL as a first language.
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No sweetie he's delayed on all plains-- although his Gross motor skills are off the chart!! He's got fine motor delays, low muscle tone on his right side... he's slowly catching up but it's hard work for him-- and he's got behavioral issues that we're working on but in the mean time WHOA!! LOL it's mostly due to where his brain differences are and his Sensory processing issues... Some might seem him as 'damage' I just see him as challenging at times but PERFECT... :D
 
Adamsmomma said:
No sweetie he's delayed on all plains-- although his Gross motor skills are off the chart!! He's got fine motor delays, low muscle tone on his right side... he's slowly catching up but it's hard work for him-- and he's got behavioral issues that we're working on but in the mean time WHOA!! LOL it's mostly due to where his brain differences are and his Sensory processing issues... Some might seem him as 'damage' I just see him as challenging at times but PERFECT... :D
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How can any child be considered than less than perfect? Anyone who says that are the ones who are far from perfect.
 
shel90 said:
How can any child be considered than less than perfect? Anyone who says that are the ones who are far from perfect.
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AMEN :D :D I agree totally!!! Although I've had people ask me why I picked a kid w/so many special needs... like a birth child couldn't have been born w/issues?? :crazy: people
 
deafskeptic said:
I didn't get help for ADD because they (profesionals)thought that all my problems were due to being brain damaged due to Rubella so it wasn't till I was 28 before I found out I have that.
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yeah it's crazy how they'll over diagnosis ADHD/ADD when a kid has SPD or has other neurological issues but totally miss it in a TRUE ADHD/ADD kid...
 
deafdyke said:
:cool2: And its AWESOME you totally GET what I'm saying.:D I think mainstreaming is commendable......but it really is too "one size fits all" I would NEVER exclusively mainstream my potential kids.
Have you also thought about looking into public school Dhh programs? Some of them are actually pretty good.
Adam doesn't have poor fine motor does he? Also his IQ is pretty much on par right? So he wouldn't be a typical AAC type of student right? (alternative and augmentive communication) He sounds like he'd be like those CP kids who, while they can hear they can't physcially speak, so they use ASL as a first language.
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Ummm, isn't it very likely that your children will have no special needs at all and that a mainstream placement would be fine?
 
shel90 said:
As someone who grew up "faking" it, it can take a serious toll on a child.
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I totally agree!


I had teachers tell me and my parents that I was LYING about being Hoh/SSD/Deaf ... and when my parents told the teacher 'No, she's really Hoh/SSD' they told my PARENTS that THEY were lying to "cover for my laziness!!

Needless to say my k-12 experience (except for one AWESOME teacher in elementary!!) was challenging, exhausting, etc.

Because SSD wasn't considered "real hearing loss" (huh? I'm TOTALLY DEAF on one side!) I wasn't allowed any accommodation other than preferred seating. My teachers (except the one) never modified their teacher habits (talking & writing on the board at the same time, refusing to put CC on etc) and many actively accused me of what amounted to lying and faking it.

Even today - my family is a bizarre combination of unaware & unwilling to communicate with me in a manner that is appropriate for someone what hearing loss ... they wander around the house talking from different rooms, talk with their hands covering their face, don't bother to get my attention first etc.

While I love my family - I don't love that after 30+ years they STILL have no idea what so ever how to communicate with someone who's Hoh/Deaf (even if someone who's "oral Hoh/deaf") and are still "too busy to learn" (30+years ... honestly you haven't had time ... in 30+YEARS???)
 
deafskeptic said:
I didn't get help for ADD because they (profesionals)thought that all my problems were due to being brain damaged due to Rubella so it wasn't till I was 28 before I found out I have that.
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I was the alphabet kid.

Had every diagnosis you could think of in the book. One year it's this, then the next year it's "no, no, no, no... we ruled that out... it's THIS," then the year after it would be "we were wrong, it was that like we originally thought." I feel sorry for mom for dealing with all that.
 
faire joure, actually I have a 50% chance of having dhh kids nautrally. So chances are good that my kids WILL be dhh, if I chose artifical insemination with a future wife.
Even if I opt for adoption, I want to adopt dhh kids.
If they are hearing we will wait and see what the schools are like in our area. Who knows, we may even unschool them... I actually don't believe that public schools are that great for encouraging and fostering a true love of learning. They are too "one size fits all" and are best at educating the average student. Did you know that GIFTED kids very often struggle in public schools TOO?!?!
Adamsmommy, so right now he has obvious delays? I DO want to say that it can be hard to differentate between MR style delays and "obvious learning disabled" delays or severe gross and fine motor and spoken language issues. No wonder you were so excited that his hearing improved! One less thing to deal with! (and I can emphasize with that 100%)
It's very possible with the addition of ASL, you might discover that he's actually a lot smarter then the docs are saying.
 
deafdyke said:
Adamsmommy, so right now he has obvious delays? I DO want to say that it can be hard to differentate between MR style delays and "obvious learning disabled" delays or severe gross and fine motor and spoken language issues. No wonder you were so excited that his hearing improved! One less thing to deal with! (and I can emphasize with that 100%)
It's very possible with the addition of ASL, you might discover that he's actually a lot smarter then the docs are saying.
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Oh he's a very smart little cookie. He compensates quite well especially to have the hearing AND vision problems... but because of the brain damage he has from the CMV he's got the delays. I know for a fact the ASL will help w/his communication delays... but his fime motor and behavior are linked to his brain damage :(

Actually its because he compensates so well that I would worry about him in a mainstream enviornment... that's how my brother did it...

I am actualy still more in shock than excited about his hearing, since the test results are so strange... I was super excited about the fact he got 'graded' at age appropriate on gross motor and adaptive skills, since he's never been age appropriate at anything before....
 
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