Miss Kat's Deaf journey

***Utah School for the Deaf IMPORTANT Meeting***
Miss Kat's Deaf journey If anyone out there reading this blog cares about USD, it's future, and the future education of ALL deaf children in Utah, I would strongly encourage you to attend this meeting!!When:Thursday, March 18 at 6:30 p.m.Where:USDB-JMS at 1645 e. 3300 s.The associate superintendant, Jennifer Howell will be talking about the upcoming changes to USD, (including the ending of a...
Tue, Mar 16 2010

Bilingualism?
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Last week I attended an AV training for our School for the Deaf employees. They was some great discussion and I learned a lot. While we are in no way an "AV family" we do use some AV-style techniques to help Miss Kat learn to use her hearing. We use that approach because I believe it is the most effective way to teach a deaf child to learn to listen and speak.All that...
Tue, Mar 02 2010

Another MAPing and IEP
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Miss Kat saw the audiologist last week. Her MAP changed very little, so he wants to go to appointments every 6 months instead of 3 months....I remain unconvinced. Her audiogram was very good, she is hearing at 20-25 db across all frequencies. Her speech recognition threshold (not awareness, recognition. He tested her with 5 cards, and she has to point to the right SPO...
Tue, Feb 02 2010

Have you guys seen this year's AB calendar? Look at this...
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Have you guys seen this year's AB calendar? Look at this carefully.....Look in the bottom corner....see anything interesting??Yes, Miss Kat's drawing has been featured in this year's Advanced Bionics calendar.Awesome!!
Mon, Jan 11 2010

Another meeting
Miss Kat's Deaf journey We are having a meeting with Miss Kat's teacher. It is time to write all new goals!!! Miss Kat has already surpassed all the goals and benchmarks we set up for her in September.Woo Hoo!We are now 13 months post activation, and Miss Kat is doing wonderfully! According to the school she is:1. Using 6-7 word sentences2. Follow commands with 2 critical elements3. Discrimi...
Mon, Jan 11 2010

People I don't know, whom I am grateful for
Miss Kat's Deaf journey There are a lot of people in my life that I am thankful for. They are family and friends and professionals who make a difference in Miss Kat's life. (Miss Aimee, she still talks about you every day, do you want to come to her birthday party again?) They know who they are, and I try to go out of my way to thank them every time I see them. Today's post is a little diffe...
Tue, Dec 29 2009

Phrases I never thought my Deaf child would say
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Lately Miss Kat has been picking up some new phrases. These are things that no one has taught her, but that she has nonetheless picked up and now says all the time!1. "Good job!"- She says this CONSTANTLY! She seems to think that everyone around her needs congratulated for doing anything. I think she believes we are all incompetent.2. "You're welcome"- She now demands...
Mon, Dec 28 2009

Back to normal
Miss Kat's Deaf journey So, Miss Kat loves school again. I think our prior freak out was due to two separate issues. First, it's growth spurt time! Miss Kat is growing like a weed, and eating like a pig. Second, the 1st grade had it's Christmas program. It didn't go very well for Miss Kat (or for any of the deaf kids in the class). In the past, at the bi-bi school, the Christmas program has ...
Sat, Dec 19 2009

She doesn't like school?
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Ok, I'm really upset, so I might ramble.Miss Kat goes to an oral school now. It is new this year, she had been in a signing school since she was 3. She has always been very excited about school and been a very good student.This week she has been telling us that she doesn't like school anymore. She says that she doesn't like her teacher, and that she is mean to her. Sh...
Fri, Dec 11 2009

Miss Kat's first report card!!!
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Today was parent-teacher conferences and we got Miss Kat's first official report card.She did amazing!!!Her strongest subject is math, she is grade level appropriate and will pass her goals (which are just the 1st grade curriculum requirements) with no problem. The only problem she is having in math is that she says "three one" for 31 (and so on).Her weakest subject w...
Thu, Nov 19 2009

Town Hall
Miss Kat's Deaf journey So, I don't know how many people who are reading this follow Deaf education politics in Utah, so I will summarize....Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind recently appointed a new superintendent. He worked for USD in the past, but his most recent job was running Tucker Maxon Oral school. He is an oral advocate. The Deaf community, here, is up in arms about it! They thin...
Tue, Nov 17 2009

Conference, part 3
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Miss Kat's audiologist also gave a lecture. It was called "I'm lost, I need a MAP". Cute, isn't it! He went over exactly what happens when you MAP a cochlear implant, and how each of those things help the child hear better.I didn't go to his lecture. He told me it would be too boring. He said that he tells me what he is doing, when he is doing it, when he MAPs Miss Ka...
Mon, Nov 16 2009

Conference Continued
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Our speaker also discussed the 10 factors that determine success with a cochlear implant. Some of them are under a parent's control, others are completely within the child.1. Age of implantation (the earlier the better)2. Commitment (auditory vigilance)3. Use of the device4. Gap between onset of hearing loss and activation5. Attitude (the child's behavior and feelings...
Wed, Nov 11 2009

A (AG Bell) Conference Week-end
Miss Kat's Deaf journey So, last Saturday, I went to the Utah AG Bell conference. I will say now that, as anyone who has ever spoken to me knows, I am not a big fan of Bell himself (though, in his defense, many great minds of that time were interested in eugenics, but he targeted deaf people, and that affects me!) or of the organization (why is a organization for deaf people nearly completel...
Tue, Nov 10 2009

Halloween (better late than never!)
Miss Kat's Deaf journey This year's halloween was a world away from last year.Last year, we were two days pre-surgery. We were worried about Miss Kat, worried about complications and recovery, just, really, worried about everything.Last year Miss Kat was wearing hearing aids that weren't very effective anymore. She couldn't hear us call her from very far away, so we made sure to stick very c...
Sun, Nov 08 2009

One year ago
Miss Kat's Deaf journey One year ago, we had to wake up very early.One year ago, my mom took the day off work to be with us.One year ago, we sat in a waiting room.One year ago, we put her hearing aid on, for the last time.One year ago, we changed her into a hospital robe.One year ago, we took her hearing aid out, for the last time.One year ago, they wheeled her away, drowsy but happy.One yea...
Wed, Nov 04 2009

Uh-oh....
Miss Kat's Deaf journey I yelled at Miss Kat's teacher today...We have been working very hard at home, on reading and on language in general. We have been doing Miss Kat's sight words every night, plus her homework, plus we read twenty minutes every night and we are working on phonics through Miss Kat reading a series of books called "Reading For All Learners". Miss Kat reads 3 of those ever...
Mon, Nov 02 2009

Yikes! (and then some great news)
Miss Kat's Deaf journey So, you are now well informed about our FM issues, but as soon as we got home from the audi, there was more trouble. We walked in the door, after a smooth two hour drive home, and turned on the lights, and headed downstairs to the family room. I flipped on the TV and sat down on the couch and Miss Kat started looking around. She told me "It's loud." I asked her what w...
Thu, Oct 15 2009

More Happenings
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Problem, after problem, after problem.So, we headed up to the audiologist (again) to get Miss Kat's T-coil turned on. She needs the t-coil so she can use the neckloop FM system at school.Well, actually, let me back up a little.Miss Kat's classroom has a soundfield, but we didn't feel that was the appropriate accomadation for her. We thought that she needs a personal F...
Tue, Oct 13 2009

Audiology
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Miss Kat had a trip to the audiologist today (4th day of school). While her classroom already has a soundfield, we believe Miss Kat needs a personal FM. The spend time in a classroom of hearing kids (so 25+ students total) and they do a lot of small group work, so I think she would really benefit. So, to demonstrate a need for a personal FM, we needed to do the "Heari...
Mon, Sep 14 2009

First Day of (Oral!) School
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Today was Miss Kat’s first day at the oral deaf class. I had to work, so I sent Daddy to take notes and report back to me. I also went there straight after work and checked up on Miss Kat. I hung around for about an hour and then came back to pick her up. There are nine students in the class, including Miss Kat, seven girls and two boys. Miss Kat’s spoken language is...
Thu, Sep 10 2009

Our final IEP....for now
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Today was the big IEP meeting. With only 6 days remaining before school begins, we had to finally choose a placement for Miss Kat.(A reminder for the folks at home), our choices are:1. ASL bilingual bicultural, voice off program. She can receive up to 40 minutes a week (though in the past it has been limited to 20) of SPEECH therapy. It is not spoken language or aural...
Tue, Aug 18 2009

I hate....and choices
Miss Kat's Deaf journey I hate that "philosophy" is more important than educating my child.I hate that while it is supposed to be an INDIVIDUAL education plan, the only thing that is individual is her goals.I hate that no one WANTS to think outside the box.I hate that if your child is beyond 0-4, you can't get good services for spoken language.I hate that I feel like I will be disappointing ...
Fri, Jul 24 2009

Bye-Bye Bilateral
Miss Kat's Deaf journey I want to start by sharing a comment I left on someone elses blog about JTC. It was left in response to someone asking how JTC can possibly NOT be anti-ASL:My experience was that they were not ANTI- anything, as long as it was working for your child. We are seriously the best signing hearing family you will ever meet, and they accepted Miss Kat, and had no problem wit...
Thu, Jul 23 2009

Home, and on....
Miss Kat's Deaf journey So after we got back from JTC, I couldn't face another month living in a dorm without Hubby (and therefore Daddy), so we changed the plans for the rest of the summer. Miss Kat is now going to Sound Beginnings only twice a week. We are driving the two hours each way and living happily at home. The drive is doable (Thanks Veda, if you could do it everyday, I can do it t...
Tue, Jul 21 2009

Week 3, Day 4
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Today was a mixed day. We started the day with our last meeting with Miss Kat's SLT. She started going over Miss Kat's testing. I got really upset. On the PLS-IV, she got 2 years 7 months expressive language level, and 2 years 11 months receptive language. I just got really overhelmed. I felt like she was making so much progress and when I saw those numbers I got real...
Mon, Jul 20 2009

Week 3, Day 3
Miss Kat's Deaf journey The week is coming to an end, and so is our time at the John Tracy Clinic.The classes are defiantly getting more intense and in-depth. Especially "speech", it is so complicated! But more about that later...As I mentioned before, the first 45 minutes of school the parents spend in class with our kids, using the skills we are learning. Today, Miss Kat and I lead a song!...
Thu, Jul 16 2009

Week 3, Day 1
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Today we talked about behavior management and we watched "Sound and Fury" and "6 years later" and had a discussion afterwards. Miss Kat also had an audiology appointment.I have seen the movies before and I blogged about my thoughts here: [link] The one thing I would like to add is that while I think it is great that they decided to get the implants and that it did m...
Mon, Jul 13 2009

JTC Week 2, Day 4
Miss Kat's Deaf journey 6/18/09Our first class was all about experience books today. They are little books about the things we do everyday, to demonstrate things to children with very little language. For example, if the child is having trouble behaving in the grocery store, you would draw, or take pictures of every step of the trip and of the child behaving appropriately and perhaps a rewar...
Wed, Jul 08 2009

JTC Week 2, Day 3
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Today was a day of mixed feelings. We had a panel of deaf adults. The thing I came away with was "missing". The adults talked about the services they had in school and they talked about advocating for themselves. They seemed okay with the fact that they often missed information or needed special help...WHY?? Why is it ok that you aren't getting everything? Why is uneq...
Tue, Jul 07 2009

JTC Week 2, Day 2
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Ugh, I spent too long writing this morning and got a very late start.We had an audiology appointment this morning at 9. We did a CI audiogram and reset her hearing aids and did a hearing aid audiogram. The results:250 HZ- 25 db500 HZ- 30 db1000HZ- 30 db2000HZ- 25 db4000HZ- 15 dbSpeech perception- "ahhh"- 20 db, "eeee"- 25 db, "ooo"- 35 db, "sss" 25db, "shh"- 30 db, "m...
Mon, Jul 06 2009

JTC Week 2 Day 1
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Boy oh boy, what a week-end! But now we are back to school and back to work! (Miss Kat woke up this morning, turned over, smiled and signed "Disneyland?")Our first class this week was about FM systems. The first thing we learned is they key to everything. Signal to Noise Ratio. When we are in a very quiet environment the speech of an individual (the signal) is much lo...
Fri, Jul 03 2009

JTC Week 1 Day 5
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Fridays are short days, we get done with class at noon, so we only had one class and our support group meeting (have I talked about support group yet? Almost everyday we have a group meeting with psychologists and we air our issues and talk about our feelings and struggles as parents of children with a hearing loss. It is a really great element of the program and very...
Thu, Jul 02 2009

JTC Week 1 Day 4
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Today was an interesting day. I have been a little concerned because Miss Kat is in a class with all (but one) VERY beginning learners. Two have been adopted in the last year and the last has no language at all. None of them respond to their names or have any receptive or expressive language. They are not even able to understand environmental noises yet. The kids are ...
Wed, Jul 01 2009

John Tracy Clinic Summer Session Part Three
Miss Kat's Deaf journey 6/10/09Today was another great day of learning.Our days start in the classroom with our little ones. We spend 45 minutes practicing the things we have been learning and just playing in the classroom. Yesterday we had talked about the power of pausing. By allowing a few seconds, we give the give the kids an opportunity to process what we are saying and give an appropri...
Mon, Jun 29 2009
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John Tracy Clinic Summer Session Part Two
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Date: 6/9/09Today was another learning experience. First, we are turning up Miss Kat’s hearing aid. She could be getting better gain. I have been asking about this for awhile, but have been pooh-poohed since she now has the CI. I am crossing my fingers and hoping that the audiologist will let us borrow a loaner aid. It would be an Oticon Sumo. It is the most powerful ...
Sat, Jun 20 2009

John Tracy Clinic Summer Session Part One
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Date: 6/8/091. I HATE California! We left home at 3am Saturday morning. We figured we would take about 12 hours to get there. I was hoping by leaving at that dog-forsaken hour, I could get about six hours of driving in before Miss Kat woke up. I was wrong. It was only about four. It wasn’t bad, though. She was very cheery and excited for the trip. It’s overall not tha...
Thu, Jun 18 2009

Busy
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Well, my busy summer has started. I'm off to John Tracy Clinic (and considering bilaterals). I won't have access to the internet, but I'll compile all my thoughts and post them here when I get back. See you then!
Sat, Jun 06 2009

The end of the school year
Miss Kat's Deaf journey I spoke with Miss Kat's teacher today. We have really great news! Miss Kat is well above grade level for her math skills and has achieved her "need to be at this level by the end of Kindergarten" reading level as well. She is doing great!! I would say I was proud, but that would imply that *I* did it! It wasn't me, it was all Miss Kat and the best teacher in the whole...
Tue, May 19 2009

Semester Progress Report
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Miss Kat's therapy semester ended last week. We received her "progress report" this week and it was great news!Long Term Goals:1. Katrina will increase receptive language through auditory information only using her cochlear implant by February 2010.2. Katrina will use her cochlear implant to develop spoken language by February 2010.3. Katrina will increase the complex...
Sun, May 03 2009

The summer
Miss Kat's Deaf journey So, our plans for the summer have firmed up. It looks like Miss Kat will be attending TWO summer programs.June 7-26, we will be at the John Tracy Clinic's International Summer Session. I am very much looking forward to this. It will be Miss Kat's first experience in an oral classroom, plus they have classes for me, onsite audiology....It will be great!June 27-July 30,...
Tue, Apr 28 2009

"I NEED THAT!"
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Miss Kat was getting off the bus today and she was in a big huff. She walked right over to me and handed me her CI. She told me "The blond girl who sits next to me was messing up by hair and my implant came off. I NEED that for hearing!!!" She was very upset. I went and told the little girl not to touch Miss Kat's CI and she said OK.About 5 minutes later, I went to pu...
Tue, Apr 28 2009

Another insult
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Today, on a message board, a Deaf individual said that I had a severe mental illness that caused me to abuse my child by putting her through unnecessary medical procedures so I can get attention. Why did they say this? Because my daughter got a CI.Is this a community that my child needs to be a part of? Hate filled, disgusting, vile name calling. Lovely...
Thu, Apr 16 2009

Audism Free America
Miss Kat's Deaf journey This blog is for my daughter, so this post is going to be deleted in a week, but I feel like I need to say this:I find this organization frustrating. If people put this effort into educating parents of deaf children about the benefits of ASL, instead of fighting with AG Bell, I think many things could actually change. Parents don't go to AG Bell for the answers, they ...
Fri, Apr 03 2009
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Ugh, maybe I'm giving up
Miss Kat's Deaf journey We went and visited Miss Kat's school today. I wanted to observe her speech therapy, and see if it has improved since we have written better goals, and the SLP has spoken with our private therapist....NOPE!I was terribly upset at what I saw. First, it was conducted in the classroom, while other kids are there, doing other noisy things. Second, she still has NO IDEA ho...
Wed, Apr 01 2009

Go, Dog. Go!
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Miss Kat and I read this book today. When I am reading voice only, I ask her to repeat back to me, in sign, what I have said, so that I know that she is comprehending what I am saying. (I don't always do it, sometimes we just read to enjoy, or to just flood her with language, but today I did check) And here, in bold, is what Miss Kat understood today:Big dog. Little d...
Tue, Mar 31 2009

Thought I would share
Miss Kat's Deaf journey I don't know if many people outside the Deaf community have seen this video and since I know some hearing people follow Miss Kat's exploits I thought I would share this video. I think it is beautiful and I cry every time watch it. (Plus isn't that littlest girl just the sweetest thing you have ever seen??)
Wed, Mar 18 2009

What is "deaf"?
Miss Kat's Deaf journey I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to explain the term "deaf" to Miss Kat. We have run out of ideas.1. Can't hear...(the simplest explanation)-NOT TRUE! She hears very well with her CI, and in her nonimplanted ear still has enough residual hearing to know that I am talking (can NOT even make out a word though!)2. Wears hearing aids or CI- NOT TRUE! She knows PLENTY ...
Tue, Mar 17 2009

Big Egg
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Ok, this video is a little more complicated! I am signing off camera, reading a book to Miss Kat. I was hoping to have her just repeat what I was saying with her voice to show off her speech 3 months post activation....that didn't happen. She is instead, reacting to what I am saying and sort of telling the story too.The whole video is captioned. The parts where she ju...
Thu, Mar 12 2009

Three Billy Goats Gruff
Miss Kat's Deaf journey Miss Kat brought home a "story board" with pictures. They had read the story of "Three Billy Goats Gruff" in class that day. She is retelling the story for all of us. (It is captioned for the signing impaired)Enjoy!
Wed, Mar 11 2009