"In-between"

[deafdyke]

With my aids, I can easily carry on a one-on-one conversation indoors. I can do ok in a small group if we're in a circle. In a classroom setting, I have a hard time hearing people behind me, so if someone asks a question I turn around to see who is talking. I was in Disney World a few weeks ago and heard nothing.



I was in speech therapy in elementary school and apparently speak just fine now. If I could have gone to a Deaf school, I probably would have jumped at the chance. She will learn English from you, from her friends, from TV, etc. She will not learn ASL on her own. In a hearing school she will always stand out because of her aids. However, I think she'd probably do just fine if they are willing to help her out with things that are difficult for her. I remember having an awful time in gym class, just could not hear what I was supposed to be doing with all those darn sneakers making noise. Until she's old enough to tell you what's not working for her, I would go to class a few days with her to try to see trouble spots.

Good luck!

This. This exactly. The world is NOT a soundbooth. We get SO many HOH as kids people saying that they wish they'd gotten exposure to the Deaf World and deaf ed. With ASL, and attending a Deaf School she will have a community and a POSTIVE identity about being dhh. Fitting in can be REALLY important. Instead of being The Girl with the Voice/Hearing Aids, she will just be a girl who is fluent in ASL, and attends a Deaf school, and has a strong powerful positive identity!

 

[deafdyke]

At what level are you talking about for HOH and needing services? It appears that you are lumping a great span of loss together. I would expect that there are some with a detectable loss but not need such things as speech therapy.

On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of bilateral HOH kids DO require accomondations and or services.

 

[JadeSkye]

Thank you all so much for the responses- they have really helped me understand things a bit better (especially your post, Deanne ). I think you have also helped me strengthen my resolve to do my hardest to get her into FSDB instead of just settling with mainstreamed schools (at least until she is old enough to have a voice of her own in the matter). I think that by giving her both worlds it will make her stronger in many ways.

 

[deafdyke]

Thank you all so much for the responses- they have really helped me understand things a bit better (especially your post, Deanne ). I think you have also helped me strengthen my resolve to do my hardest to get her into FSDB instead of just settling with mainstreamed schools (at least until she is old enough to have a voice of her own in the matter). I think that by giving her both worlds it will make her stronger in many ways.

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also one thing to remember.....Florida tends to suck with inclusion sped mainstreaming......In the states where sped sucks, the Deaf Schools tend to be good.

 

[TXgolfer]

I liked the ENT and the audiologist we saw BUT they both came across to me as being a bit "audist" (the ENT talked about how great advances in technology are and how it could make her basically hearing and something about deafness being a disability (I had stopped listening for the most part to keep myself from saying too much- I understand the concept of deafness being a disability and to an extent I think it does make things harder for some but I don't really look at it as a majorly limiting disability) and then the audiologist basically said that she wouldn't need sign language OR the deaf school, she would do perfectly fine with hearing aids and mainstream school).

The best advice I can give you is to ditch the labels and just focus on what you feel is best for your child. I can tell you that you Audi is correct about technological advances. Just in the last eight years I have seen 2 major upgrades in hearing aids. The progress is remarkable. The Esteem implant is pretty amazing too.

Good luck with your decision!

 

[TXgolfer]

I think that by giving her both worlds it will make her stronger in many ways.

Keep in mind that there is more than one way to "give her both worlds." Even if you go with mainstream schools you can still take your daughter to deaf activities.

 

[ecp]

Thank you all so much for the responses- they have really helped me understand things a bit better (especially your post, Deanne ). I think you have also helped me strengthen my resolve to do my hardest to get her into FSDB instead of just settling with mainstreamed schools (at least until she is old enough to have a voice of her own in the matter). I think that by giving her both worlds it will make her stronger in many ways.

Your daughter has moderate (in low frequency) to severe/profound (in high frequencies) hearing loss. She is as deaf or hearing as she wants to be, just like all other kids with hearing loss.
She will likely need extra support regardless of the choices you make for her.
(Also, your daughter is audiologically "more deaf" than many of the more out spoken members. But never forget that you are your child's first and best advocate. Limiting her because of something you read here would be very sad)
Let her be the guide (obviously within reason) if she seems very interested in music and spoken language then DON'T force her to only use sign language...but don't stop exposing her to spoken language and opportunities for speaking.
Your daughter is a very young kid. She has an opportunity to become acquainted with many methods of communication.
If your daughter shows a clear preference for one method, go for it. She is your guide through all this.

 

[ecp]

On the other hand, the overwhelming majority of bilateral HOH kids DO require accomondations and or services.

I totally agree with you about HOH kids needing accomodations but that isn't the question here. The OP's daughter is solidly severely deaf. She will need help. But she shouldn't be limited to deaf or hearing things. She can be whoever she wants and needs to be.

An absolutist approach will likely lead to an angry child.

 

[NaidaUP]

Here in the UK, a lot of use do an average of our hearing losses.

I'm flat loss in profoundly deaf but my friend has a loss ranging from mild to profound so he uses the average hearing loss more as people tend to understand it more.

This maybe done in other countries, not just the UK.
To work out the average, you need to add all the hearing loss together and then divide the total by how many frequencies were tested.

Mine would be

120+120+110+110+110+110 = 680 divide by 6 = 114db average loss.

This maybe a easier way to explain things to people. My friend finds it easier especially as his loss is so ski sloped. I find at work, I get a lot of the public asking how deaf I am, so I just say profoundly deaf and they tend to understand it better.

 

[MCB]

So my loss is 56 decibels, on the edge between moderate and moderately severe. Without HA's, I would have serious difficulties following a conversation.


ISDH: Describing Hearing Loss

 

[NaidaUP]

So my loss is 56 decibels, on the edge between moderate and moderately severe. Without HA's, I would have serious difficulties following a conversation.


ISDH: Describing Hearing Loss

Here in the UK, you would be described as having a moderately severe hearing loss. Is that roughy what you have?

 

[MCB]

Here in the UK, you would be described as having a moderately severe hearing loss. Is that roughy what you have?

According to the link, which comes from Indiana, that is my average. I suppose I still have a tendency to minimize. Several weeks ago, I took out my HA's and listened to a conversation, my eyes were so busy flitting from face to face I really don't think I had enough mental energy left to really process it.

 

[NaidaUP]

According to the link, which comes from Indiana, that is my average. I suppose I still have a tendency to minimize. Several weeks ago, I took out my HA's and listened to a conversation, my eyes were so busy flitting from face to face I really don't think I had enough mental energy left to really process it.

I can understand the not having another mental energy. I'm exactly the same.mi have the lipreading 100% without HAs and I get tired very quickly and I also feel like I get really dizzy quickly as my eyes are working too hard.

 

[JadeSkye]

I'm actually glad you guys brought up how hard it is to deal with sound without your hearing aids. I just posted in the parents section asking for ideas on how to help her deal with sounds when out in public. It seems that since she has been exhibiting signs of not being able to hear well it has been so much harder to take her out in public. She inevitably gets cranky or screeches because she wants something or just plain doesn't "listen" (she was never like this before- she was always just content to sit in the cart and talk with us and so forth, which I guess she really can't do now). Do you have any ideas on how I can make things easier/smoother for EVERYONE involved when taking her out in public? Is there anything I can do for her to make being in public less stressful?

 

[TXgolfer]

I'm actually glad you guys brought up how hard it is to deal with sound without your hearing aids. I just posted in the parents section asking for ideas on how to help her deal with sounds when out in public. It seems that since she has been exhibiting signs of not being able to hear well it has been so much harder to take her out in public. She inevitably gets cranky or screeches because she wants something or just plain doesn't "listen" (she was never like this before- she was always just content to sit in the cart and talk with us and so forth, which I guess she really can't do now). Do you have any ideas on how I can make things easier/smoother for EVERYONE involved when taking her out in public? Is there anything I can do for her to make being in public less stressful?

Sounds like a normal stage. Most babies/toddlers go through them.

I wear a hearing aid and I have no trouble "dealing with sound" at all.

 

[NaidaUP]

For me personally, I can't understand anyone unless you make eye contact with me and keep looking at me when speaking.
When I am out and about in 'noise' I need people to tap me on the shoulder or move themselves to be in front of me.
It will vary from person to person. I can't think of anything else to mention.

When you say your daughter used to sit in the cart and 'talk/ listen' to you before she showed signs of a hearing loss. Now she wouldn't be able to do that. For me, if you were pushing the cart, your attention would not be focused on your daughter and for me, I would not be able to understand you. Maybe the same for your daughter.

I'm sure someone else will come along with a better way of doing things

I'm also not surprised your daughter takes naps still as she is at the stage of learning but also having to work even harder to understand what is being said.

 

[NaidaUP]

Sounds like a normal stage. Most babies/toddlers go through them.

I wear a hearing aid and I have no trouble "dealing with sound" at all.

Her daughter, doesn't have hearing aids yet.

 

[JadeSkye]

Sounds like a normal stage. Most babies/toddlers go through them.

Maybe it is just a stage she is going through (although my oldest didn't really do this, but I know each kid is different too). I don't quite think it is thought because she didn't do this until we started noticing that she had a problem with her hearing.

 

[TXgolfer]

Her daughter, doesn't have hearing aids yet.

I know.

 

[Bottesini]

I'm actually glad you guys brought up how hard it is to deal with sound without your hearing aids. I just posted in the parents section asking for ideas on how to help her deal with sounds when out in public. It seems that since she has been exhibiting signs of not being able to hear well it has been so much harder to take her out in public. She inevitably gets cranky or screeches because she wants something or just plain doesn't "listen" (she was never like this before- she was always just content to sit in the cart and talk with us and so forth, which I guess she really can't do now). Do you have any ideas on how I can make things easier/smoother for EVERYONE involved when taking her out in public? Is there anything I can do for her to make being in public less stressful?

Did someone actually say that about the bolded?

Most of us don't deal with sound without hearing aids. That's when it is pretty quiet...

If you told me this happened after she was fitted for hearing aids, I would say she may be overwhelmed by the sensory input she isn't used to.

Since it isn't, I am betting it's just a normal stage in child development. The terrible twos actually last until five.

You are most likely more observant and thinking about it after you realize she doesn't hear.