I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now what?

Crazy Summer Days
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Hard to believe it has been a month since I have written anything on here. Where did the time go? We have been so busy -- Rebecca got her hearing aid and loves it! She shows it off all of the time.We are still working on the adoption which is now in full swing, we will sign papers at the end of this month and then consumate in August. We have received all of her recor...
Language Education Thu, Jul 03 2008 · 14 hours ago hide this blog

Too Bad, So Sad
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Today we were at the dentist and Rebecca signed, "Sad, Too Bad". I took me a few seconds, but she was trying to say, "too bad, so sad". I corrected her and laughed all day about it. If my hearing daughter had told me, "Too Bad, so sad Mom" I may have been offended, but it was music to my ears coming from Rebecca. She is 10, so this is a saying that should probably...
Language Art and Storytelling Fri, Jun 06 2008 hide this blog

New Found Independence
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh We got our Video Phone installed. Prior to the video phone I was interpreting with the phone on speaker and then revoicing for Rebecca if the other party did not understand her. Rebecca is 10, I know that soon she will not want me to hear every conversation that she has and she shouldn't have to rely on me to be around to make a phone call. Since we have had the vi...
Language Tech Sun, Jun 01 2008 hide this blog

Deaf Children In Foster Care
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh This has been heavy on my heart & I hope it opens some eyes. We adopted a hearing child last summer and we are working on adopting our second child who is her Deaf sibling. The largest difference between these two children was with the caseworkers. After many years in foster care, Rebecca got her 1st caseworker who knew a little bit of sign with us. This broke...
Language Legal Sun, May 25 2008 hide this blog

Rebecca has a Cochlear Freedom. She has had Kaci the Kaola...
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Rebecca has a Cochlear Freedom. She has had Kaci the Kaola for some time, but did not have the implant part for the kaola. I called Cochlear and got her one. It is so cute, she has been carrying it everywhere. I asked her, "Do I still need to sign to the Kaola even though she has an implant?" She said, "Yes, it really helps her". She takes off the implant every night ...
Tech Culture Wed, May 21 2008 hide this blog

New Aid
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh We went to our appointment for the hearing aid and got fitted for the mold. Rebecca woke up so excited, I felt bad that she had to wait until the afternoon for her appointment. She chose a purple see-through hearing aid with a pink/purple mold. It will be a Phonak Junior Naida UltraPower. Compared to her CI, her hearing aid is really small. Some positives about this p...
Tech Thu, May 08 2008 hide this blog

Exciting News For Me And My Family
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Sunday we did 2 volunteer projects, we made hygiene kits for women who are exiting prision and we made AIDS kits to send to Africa. We had a great time and ended up being the receipient of 2 people who wanted to volunteer and help our family. The first person is a senior in high school, she is learning ASL and thinks that she wants to be a Deaf Education teacher. S...
Language Thu, May 01 2008 hide this blog

How Do You Keep Deaf Culture Alive?
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I search for ways to keep the Deaf culture prevalent and in front of my family. Rebecca is Deaf. She will never be hearing and I don't want her to be confused about where she fits in or feel like she is less of a person or alone. We go to events with other Deaf people, I have Deaf people over to our house, we attend a church with other Deaf people, we have signs ar...
Language Tech Culture Mon, Apr 28 2008 hide this blog

It's All About The Friends
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh The other day Rebecca's rechargable battery died and the school couldn't just pop in new batteries so she was without sound. This is when I am truly grateful that we sign. I do not know what families do that do not sign when this happens. This has not been the first time that this has happened to us where she had to go a few hours without her implant. We sign and ...
Language Education Tech Tue, Apr 22 2008 hide this blog

Texting
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Oh my gosh!! Where have I been?? I have never texted before and now I am hooked! It's also been fun watching Rebecca text - she thinks it is one of God's greatest gifts! I got a Pantech Duo which I am loving! It has been very user friendly and Rebecca has no problems seeing the screen and getting around on it which was my goal.Now I can talk to my Deaf friends mo...
Language Tech Thu, Apr 10 2008 hide this blog

Cold Case
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh OMG!!! I don't even know where to start about the problems with the Cold Case tonight. They made it seem like as soon as you got a Cochlear you could hear and talk. Does the Deaf community really hate Cochlears that much??! They also made it seem like you could just pick up an ASL for dummies book and be able to use sign language and understand others. It has ta...
Media Audism Culture Sun, Mar 30 2008 hide this blog

Deaf Working In Our Community
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Today we ran across our first Deaf working person in our community. We were in line at Golden Corral and the lady getting the drinks for everyone was telling the person in front of us that she is Deaf, so please look at her when ordering. We overheard and I could barely contain myself. When she turned her head I saw that she was wearing a hearing aid. I asked her...
Media Language Sun, Mar 23 2008 hide this blog

I'm Ready For Summer!!
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh We went camping this last week. It was incredible! We stayed in an RV, so I'm not sure if you really consider that camping, but we had a great time! The girls built a fire, roasted hot dogs & marshmallows. We played games by the fire with the assistance of a big light and a bowl for the dice. We also played games inside. The girls taught me a new game that t...
Language Tech Tue, Mar 18 2008 hide this blog

Learning Each Others Language
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Rebecca and me are still learning each others languages. I am taking an intermediate signing class for the second time. Last week my teacher was out and so our class went the advanced class. I am definately an intermediate signer and I would say that Rebecca also has an intermediate language base. We still have a long way to go, but I look forward to the journey o...
Language Education Wed, Mar 05 2008 hide this blog

Is There More Deaf In The Media Or Is It Just Me?
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Do you know how when you are thinking of buying a new car or just bought a new car how you start seeing that car everywhere? I'm wondering if this same phenomenon is happening to me with Deaf in the media or if it just really prevalent this year. So far this year I have seen the following:1) Superbowl Commerical in ASL2) Disney Commericial in ASL3) Marlee Matlin Is On...
Media Culture Fri, Feb 22 2008 hide this blog

Proud Of Our Possibilities
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh This week I got a good dose of the deaf/blind world...let me explain...Tuesday, we went to sign classes. Wednesday we went to the audiologist, got Rebecca fitted for molds, tested again with her implant and tried to get the FM system to work with her CI for school. Friday we got the FM system working at her school (woo-hoo!) and I had a meeting with DARS to discuss ...
Education Tech Culture Sat, Feb 16 2008 hide this blog

My Love/Hate Relationship
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh As you have probably figured out, I have a love-hate relationship with the CI. I love that she can hear me when she is running out in front of something & I need her to stop. I love it that she can hear her cute little Valentine's teddy bear. I love that she can hear my voice when I say I love you. I can think of several occasions like those that I'm grateful for....
Culture Thu, Feb 14 2008 hide this blog

Moving Onto The Vision Stage...
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh The scaryiest part of Ushers for me is the blindness. I have never been around blind people, so maybe that is part of why it is scary. - it is an unknown world I have a meeting with the state to discuss what services they could offer Rebecca. I'm hoping it will make me feel more comfortable as well. Her VI and the state are talking about getting her white cane trai...
Language Education Culture Wed, Feb 06 2008 hide this blog

Cute Times In Recent Days
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I got 3 stories to tell that has happened in the last 3 days. The first one was yesterday. We went to a lunch at restaurant (just Rebecca and me - one of our moments), this is a place that we go to often and apparantly whoever was doing dishes was being really loud. We moved farther from the kitchen, but it was still really loud. Rebecca put her finger in her ears...
Language Art and Storytelling Sun, Feb 03 2008 hide this blog

Ushers & Blue Film????
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Rebecca's school amazed me!! A couple of weeks ago her VI from her school told me that she was going to a class to learn more about Ushers. I figured, she probably does a lot of school districts and this was just part of her training so I didn't think much more about it. I had asked when Rebecca first joined the district, how many other children did they have with ...
Media Language Education Tech Sat, Feb 02 2008 hide this blog

Disposable Kids???
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I've heard about this adoptive parent who decided to give up on her deaf child. For those of you who didn't hear about this, I will recap. There was a family who had a deaf child for more than one year, she had friends at school and was starting to communicate using ASL. They tried to get the child a cochlear implant but found out she was not a candidate for hearin...
Media Legal Culture Tue, Jan 29 2008 hide this blog

Sign Word Challenge
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh When I knew that I was going to adopt a deaf child we instantly started learning sign language. After we learned the basics (numbers, letters & colors), I didn't really knew where to start with everything else. I made a committment to learn at least 50 words a month - now I have learned over 300 words. Some of the words that I learned were intentional words tha...
Language Education Sun, Jan 27 2008 hide this blog

Glimpse of the Future? I hope so!
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I know this is everywhere on the internet right now, but it is such awesome news I can't help but say something about it!! [link] is a link to the Pepsi commercial that will air on the Superbowl. I normally do not watch football, but this is making me want to watch!! I hope this is the beginning of a trend. In an age where we have diverse cultures running for pres...
Media Legal Thu, Jan 24 2008 hide this blog

Presidential Candidates
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I found this link and just wanted to share how the presidential candidates feel about American's with disabilities : [link] here is a list of the debates with closed captioning in case you want to catch up: [link]
Media Wed, Jan 23 2008 hide this blog

Is Deafness A Cultural Nationality?
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh You will notice this blog is named, "I'm adopting a Deaf child..." NOT a child with a CI or a hearing child or a Deaf child with a CI - I have a Deaf child. Why is that looked down upon or looked at with pity? As parents of Deaf chilren we face incredibly difficult decisions - one of the many things that I wrestle with is how my decisions are going to mold her. If s...
Culture Wed, Jan 23 2008 hide this blog

Opthamologist Continued
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh So, we went back to the opthamologist today to see if bifocles woudl help. I also asked them about the perpherial range test. Rebecca did not like the bifocles at all, so that is out. As far as the range test goes, she said that it would be very difficult since she is Deaf and the test involved hearing and pushing a button. I said that I know that there is perpheri...
Tech Mon, Jan 21 2008 hide this blog

Immediate Response Needed!!
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I am so excited about this and I hope my excitement is contagious!! Please show your support for the Deaf/Blind Relay service! Your comments should be addressed to the FCC and needs to include your mailing address. All comments need to be posted before February 4, 2008. They will then have 90 days to make their decision. You can post your comments on-line on the ...
Tech Culture Fri, Jan 18 2008 hide this blog

Opthamologist Update
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I tried again the morning of the appointment to call the opthamologist and there was no answer - great! Okay, we are going to the appointment not knowing if an interpreter will be there or not. Rebecca is not in school & I did not go to work. We walk in and I go up to the counter, both ladies are on the phone - one tell me when she gets a minute that the phones...
Audism Legal Culture Fri, Jan 18 2008 hide this blog

Interesting Results From Dallas
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Motor Development of Deaf Children With and Without Cochlear Implantsfrom the Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf EducationThe purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a cochlear implant (CI) on the motor development of deaf children. The study involved 36 mainstreamed deaf children (15 boys, 21 girls; 4- to 12-years old) without any developmental problems...
Education Tech Tue, Jan 15 2008 hide this blog

Better With Or Without a CI?
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I want to start this by saying I received Rebecca into my home with a CI and we have to provide her with her CI everyday because it is a "medically necessary device". I have found some very peculiar things when Rebecca has not worn her CI. The only times that she has been without her CI have been when she first wakes up, before her hair is dry, if she is engaging in ...
Language Tech Culture Sun, Jan 13 2008 hide this blog

Blessed With Heathly Children?
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Have you ever heard this? I started thinking more about this statement last week. Is it really a blessing to have "healthy" children? I believe my life has been more blessed and neither of my children would be considered completely healthy by anyone who knows us. What are heathly children? Most people would consider a healthy child to be someone without any medica...
Language Education Sat, Jan 12 2008 hide this blog

Opthamologist Appointment
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Okay, it took me about 3 hours of calling and searching for a pediatric opthamologist which would accept Rebecca's medicaid, but I finally found one! We go next Wednesday & Rebecca is not excited. She wants new blue glasses (her current ones are pink), but she does not want to see the doctor. She says that it hurts. What do I need to look for in an opthamologist...
Thu, Jan 10 2008 hide this blog

We Got Our Groove Back
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Things are finally starting to come together. We found our routine and we are on the ground running. The girls are getting their chores completed, homework is being done, we are even finding extra time to spend together as a family a couple days a week. We started cooking at home more which I think has actually somehow given us more time. Someone told me that deaf...
Education Culture Tue, Jan 08 2008 hide this blog

Closed Captioning
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Okay, so I'm not very technologically advanced...but I'm trying to be better. We got Rebecca a larger television for her room which has closed captioning on it & also made sure that her new DVD player was also compatible. All was good, she watched the Polar Express & Chronicles of Narnia and I figured it all out - no problem. She watched it with the caption...
Media Language Tech Sat, Jan 05 2008 hide this blog

Interpreter Please
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I have gone round and round with the school's after school program. They say that they are seperate from the school and will not provide Rebecca with an interpreter. They say that if she can not be in a 17:1 ratio then she will not be able to attend the program. What is wrong with people? Is it so difficult to let an interpreter come in to the program? During sch...
Education Thu, Jan 03 2008 hide this blog

New Years Thoughts
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I'm just thinking about 2007 & WOW what a year! We spent the entire year with a child in our home and at times more than one child. We fostered other children through respites and held a child until CPS could come and pick them up to take her back to South Texas. Each of the children that have came through our home holds a special place in my heart. Each one s...
Language Culture Mon, Dec 31 2007 hide this blog

I Was Born Deaf
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh On Christmas Eve there was a visitor at our church who was a Deaf gentleman in a wheelchair. A lady at our church introduced me to him and Rebecca looked at me and started signing "why". I knew what was next, I shifted my body between Rebecca and the man so that he couldn't see what was being said next. She said, "Why is he in a wheelchair - what happened?" and the...
Culture Thu, Dec 27 2007 hide this blog

Open Your Eyes
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh This month this has happened to us on several occasions. We walk into church and are looking for a good seat for us in front of the interpreter where the 4 of us can sit together & Rebecca can see. We are signing so it is obvious that at least one of us is Deaf. The seats in front are taken by hearing people. I go up and ask them if there is any way that we ca...
Language Audism Culture Thu, Dec 27 2007 hide this blog

Sign Names
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh It's funny to me how I never really thought about my family members names until we assigned sign names. We have Brittney, Bryde & Brookie - that was fun. Then we have William whose name used to be JJ so some people come him William and others JJ. We have Hailey who we call HayHay. Derek is JoBob. Andrea is Annie. Jasmine is Roo. The list goes on and on. An...
Language Culture Tue, Dec 25 2007 hide this blog

Big Decisions
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Our daughter has only been with us for a couple of months and we've had to make some pretty big family decisions already. When she first came she was placed in general education with an itenerant, within 2 weeks I could already tell that was not going to be a good fit for her. We worked towards finding a better solution for her education goals. She is now in deaf e...
Language Education Thu, Dec 20 2007 hide this blog

What A Day In My Life Looks Like
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh This morning like every morning I got up at 4:30am, took a shower & got ready. At 5am, I woke up Rebecca - this takes about 20 or 30 minutes to get her out of bed. It is difficult to wake up a child who cannot hear and will not look at you. She covers her head with pillows and blankets, which I remove 1 by 1 until there's none. She then uses her hands, legs and ch...
Sat, Dec 15 2007 hide this blog

Does She Lipread?
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I am starting to really get annoyed with that question? When we are at a playcare, McDonalds, ordering food or anywhere that there is involvement with hearing people I get that question right after the OOOHHH. Rebecca is a very outgoing child and I love that about her. She will start talking and you can tell that she is deaf from her voice. I will start signing to...
Language Audism Culture Sun, Dec 09 2007 hide this blog

Awesome Kids
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Some days one of the children will come up to me and say something that just makes me realize how far they have come. Even Rebecca so far, even though it hasn't been that long. Rebecca is now asking for most things in a complete sentence without me helping her with every word. Jasmine is now talking most things out instead of everything coming out in the form of an...
Language Sat, Dec 08 2007 hide this blog

Growing Up
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh How do I talk to Rebecca about puberty? She doesn't even understand some simple concepts. How was you told about your monthly visitor? I've gotten several peoples opinions, but wanted to get more.Here sister is almost 9 and we've already had "the talk" with her. I feel that being open and honest is the best and I would rather tell them then to have them surprised ...
Education Tue, Dec 04 2007 hide this blog

Thanksgiving
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. I've been thinking about it all day. Of course my family is at the top of the list. Three years ago, I had no children and only a great husband. Today, I have 2 fantastic children and a wonderful husband. God has truly bless our family. I am honored that God has chosen this family for me.I am grateful that Rebe...
Culture Fri, Nov 23 2007 hide this blog

Mainstream Or Not To Mainstream
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Mainstream...what does that mean to you? To me it has meant frustration and disappointment. I can't imagine that Rebecca could possibly be happy struggling in school. We are spending about an hour everyday on homework after school just trying to get her to understand what the project is or what the questions are asking. Once she understands she gets it. She is ve...
Language Education Tue, Nov 13 2007 hide this blog

We Survived Halloween
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I made it through my first Halloween with our new daughter Rebecca who has Ushers Syndrome 1. We only ran into 3 parked vehicles, ran off of 1 curb and ran over 2 kids. I think we did okay. Thank everyone for their suggestions. I got flashlights for everyone in the family and we used them to help light her path and for her to find us when she turned back around (g...
Wed, Oct 31 2007 hide this blog

It's A Girl!!
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Rebecca has finally arrived!! We spent all weekend in East Texas at a wonderful Bed & Breakfast. It was fantastic! We took the girls to ride Thomas the Train, they fed horses, etc. We met the owners of the b&b when we adopted Rachel. They are going to be foster parents as well-as a matter of fact they are getting 20 month old triplets today for 1 week. T...
Tech Culture Mon, Oct 29 2007 hide this blog

Halloween
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh I've been a lot more aware of dark restaurants, crowded situations, our traditions that include evenings, etc. One of these are coming up & that is Halloween. Normally for Halloween here's how it goes - we go in the afternoon after school to our town square where they where their costumes and go from store to store gathering candy, get face painted, bounce house...
Tech Thu, Oct 25 2007 hide this blog

It finally happened!!
I'm adopting a deaf child with Ushers, now wh Hello. I want to thank everyone for their comments on my last blog. I read them right before I had a HUGE call with CPS. It was like gettting a large hug from all of you & it gave me the confidence to say everything that I needed to say to CPS. Rebecca (our Usher Syndrome 1 child) will finally be placed officially in our home on Tuesday.I wish I had started bloggi...
Mon, Oct 22 2007 hide this blog