Update on school front

         Prisha is already into 2 weeks of school,how time flies and the week is over so quickly. She has been giving me regular feedback like a parrot without missing any details from one period to the next. Gives a sense of happiness to see her start the year with happiness.This year,we have done a lot from home,school too is well prepared with all the plans lined up for her and we hope she would move from "modified expectation" this year to grade level performance.
         From what I hear from her, she has been given a lot of "good job", neat work,smilies and "that was fast" etc a lot.It makes me happy but I wanted to hear from the teachers too. I soon heard that Prisha has surprised them a lot and they feel they see a huge steep graph in understanding and learning since the last session at school. It made us very humbly happy.This morning Mrs.K, her special educator, who comes to class everyday for an hour, told me that she was extremely happy with Prisha's write up on the week end news.She said she describes it very very well and she was very happy to see her write neatly too. It gave a lot of satisfaction to me. Prisha has even a 5th grader come and read with her now and then.So am looking forward to a meeting to get an update on what her new teacher has to tell me about Prisha after about a month or so.Till that time, work on her is on.
       She also wants to do more dancing, so ballet is sure as an after school activity,we will try for hip-hop too.And she loves Mr. Owen, her story teller in reading time after school activity,so hopefully that too would be on. We may cut down speech therapy outside school from 1 hr 45 mins a week to one hour as we waste a lot of time in travel. Our efforts are on.

Trial of Niada S UP V

Prisha's list of complaints for her new hearing aids !!

       Since we were still hung on more clarity with Prisha's hearing aids, Geers called the Phonak people and they suggested we try the new range of the Naida S series.It is more advanced and so we decided to go ahead and try them.We put them on and Prisha was very happy as they were clearer and she tested for an audiogram and we realized her readings were 10% better. We got them home and she was very hassled as she found she had many issues.
1. She found them softer- as it has more channels,16 nos, the sounds are softer and she was straining to hear. A big let down.
2. She found some whoom sounds- guess it was the zoom working,was very uncomfortable with those sounds.
3. She could not hear too well when someone called her from behind- we cannot ignore the sounds coming from behind,danger could be anywhere.
4. She found too many confusing sounds as if many spoke at the same time around her- the zoom was confused probably.
    After wearing it for 5 hours that evening, she just refused to have them on the next day.So we are now waiting for an appointment to see if the zooms can be switched off, made some more adjustments or maybe use Naida S UP III which has fewer channels giving more sharpness where she is able to differentiate the sounds better.  Sometimes you feel so helpless when you are ready to give the best technology to your child , but it does not work for them.

First day of the new academic year

Waiting for the kids to come in

So.....here we go

Love you school mascot !!

Lining up!!

Bye mommy!!

       After 9 weeks of summer break which was full of activity at home....reading, writing, picture reading,blogging and math too, to keep in touch with the academics and avoid any regression like the last year ;schools re-opened today. We rushed up excited and a bit too nervous wondering who the new teacher would be, how Prisha would adjust and what to expect from the school.
      Well , we got into the line,following the flag for her grade and I went up to introduce myself to new teacher. A bit nervous myself, I smiled and she just took over from there.She was the assistant teacher and Mrs. R , after the introductions ,said she was aware of Prisha's needs and she had been given the best place for so that she could hear the teacher well, her special needs educator too was fixed and so she would be coming in to help Prisha. She was absolutely reassuring about the support they would extend to me and that we could be in touch through mails and any problems we faced would be sorted out mutually. The warmth and reassuring voice put me at ease and the whole night of tossing and turning that had led me stiff, completely eased my mind and body. I was so thankful as unlike last year this year the school is fully prepared to handle the situation well. Prisha went in to her class holding her teacher and I came home and relaxed a bit....a bit of me still was worried about her actual day at school.
      In the afternoon , I went in to get her back home, the teacher Mrs. O'B smiled and said all went well and no complaints. Now to my girl...she walked in and I looked at her with motherly concerns.She smiled and said shyly that she had a good day. She said she loved her teacher and that the assistent teacher was the one who helped her at school when she broke her tooth. On the way home she did complain that she had no friends as some just walked away with theirs and her best friend was stolen by another smart cookie.She was very miserable.Apart from that she told me about her day at school was good, she sang out a lovely song for me which was part of a game they played.I was happy she had picked it very well, I just had to correct a couple of words here and there.She is looking forward to going to school tomorrow.I will try and see if Prisha can get her friend to move into her grade as she is in another grade.Rosella and Prisha are both upset. I hope the year moves smoothly and we have a great year of learning which catapults her to another level. Crossing my fingers on that one!!

A touching advertisement

Most touching advertisement. This is for all those kids who are ashamed of their deaf parents. Despite their disability, they want the best for their hearing kids. They work harder so that they can provide for them,they love them unconditionally ...so why are some kids ashamed to be born to them. I have known a few cases and so I thought it appropriate to share.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZMX6H6YY1M&feature=related

Another signing family

   Yesterday on the way to the speech therapist, we came across a family with 2 little kids struggling to get into the tram while we sat on our seats. Mt attention was drawn towards the woman as she had exaggerated mouth movements with no sounds.I realized she was deaf and was struggling with the kid's buggy,a little baby on her hip and trying to communicate with her husband through lip reading. He too had his other kid and bags.The struggle they had climbing in while having a tough time looking at each other trying to understand what the other was saying, was very touching for me too.The buggy toppled over,they could not hear it topple over and a person standing by tried to help them. In between all this struggle when they could not lip read, they tried to sign too. I was so frozen trying to understand their struggle. The isolation was obvious as no one in the tram could understand what they were trying to say. But just watched as silent spectators.
    Prisha too watched this thing and was busy staring at them. the family settled down opposite us and started to sign and were busy sorting out the issue, arguing away. After a few minutes,the person looked at me and smiled, I looked at the woman and I told her that my daughter too had hearing aids. She nodded and pointed to her eyes and then to Prisha ...to say that she saw it. The man was without HA but was able to say few words in English. In the hushed tone and signs he asked if she spoke. I learned to lip read and so I said that Prisha wears aids and speaks.He wanted to know if she went to special school.When I told them that she spoke and went to International school like other normal kids,he kept silent.The woman looked on too...I wonder if it was a wishing look. The older kid was deaf too but as he threw away HA, they had got used to it and so did not insist on him wearing them and were comfortable that he too could lead a life like theirs as they knew no other.The man then communicated with a thumbs up for the younger one about his hearing....he could hear perfect ......with a victorious smile. I smiled said goodbye and left at our station.
      Prisha then asked me if these people too could not hear. I had a session with her a few days ago when she was clear she did not want to sign. I told her and reinforced to her about why we keep working on her. She said "mum, I love talking, I always want to talk and talk.I don't want to do signs,you will help me more? And maybe when I grow up,my ears would be alright and I can hear without hearing aids." I was so touched, I held her hand tight and told her that we love her non stop chatter in the house and we love her singing and noway are we going to stop that. I just smiled at her wish , I have told her earlier though that as of now she is always going to have them till science makes progress and we are able to use stem cell to cure her deafness maybe some day.
     This incident made me realize the struggle of the people who have had no access to AVT. The struggle between signs and lip reading, to people not understanding them and also the isolation due to lack of modes of communication made me realize how blessed I was to have Prisha lead a near normal life.She talks, sings and has no issues with communicating her needs to people even when I am not around.No one has to ask me what she wants to convey as she is able to do it herself.She makes friends, plays games and there are gaps in her understanding but that could happen to even hearing kids who has relocated into a new environment.We are all working on her through reading, writing, blogging, activities, games and doing loads of work sheets. It is just......a matter of time.

A moving write up

What a beautiful write - up , a must share.Was moved immensely.Sharing it on my blog too.

http://thelifeunexpected.com/archives/1705

 

ESL /grammar worksheets site

  Found another site for language learning and for printables.  Very elaborate and extensive.

http://www.usingenglish.com/handouts/

I enjoyed going through this.

No stones !!

     About 2 years ago Prisha had suffered from UTI and kidney stones and since then we had been very careful about her drinking a lot of water.Thanks to her homeopathic medicines and our being careful, they got dissolved and she was stone free last year.This year she complained of pain on the left side of her abdomen and it stressed me out.Took the appointment and we were at the doctor this morning.The assistant told me she did not need to have the bladder full which was surprising, so we went with just a cupful of milk in her tummy. The test showed stone free kidneys !! I was so thrilled when he said that there was some fold in her bladder which he needed to investigate. I was so taken aback as till now we have never had this in any ultra sounds in India.He asked to fill in with water and come back for another.That one hour was the most difficult for me.I just bought her some water and cheese bun and tried to look so calm.The year 2009 came flooding back when fever diagnosis led us to UTI and investigation for that led us to kidney stones.And now investigation for stones leading to what??
    Just paced the playground for an hour and went it to get her checked again.And trying to hold on to my nerves and smile looked at the monitor.The bladder looked nice and full and.......absolutely in good shape!!Relief was written all over my face.It was probably a fold of the empty bladder.Came back home happy and drained out from the strain.Now next ultra sound next year ! Till then good health to Prisha and peace of mind to us.
    Meanwhile I am looking forward to our appointment with the audiologist this 9th.We are going to try out the next generation model of hearing aids from Phonak.Hoping it would do wonders to her hearing and give us even better results than Naida III.Keeping my fingers crossed.