Tonow

I have been working very consistently with Brooke on vocabulary of time: today, tomorrow, later, after, before, etc. We have created a calendar in her room to talk about what she and Kate are doing on each day. During everyday conversation, I am stressing the concepts. For example, FIRST, we are eating breakfast and THEN we will paint the Cinderella book." I do this all day by pausing before and after the word I am stressing. It sounds like, "Let's put on your shoes....before.....we go outside and .....then.....we will go to gymnastics.."

Today, Brooke created a new word. This really was a milestone as it shows she is beginning to understand the concepts of language and how vocabulary works by putting words together. We were driving and she saw kids playing in a fountain. She wanted to do it too. As we talked about doing it another day or doing it later, she says, "My daddy says I can do it tonow!" I love this new word: she took the concepts of tomorrow, today, tonight and created the word tonow.

I expect another huge jump in vocabulary now that she is understanding more about the concepts of spoken language and how word patterns often repeat in language.

See you later....tonow I must go!

What it Takes from Families in Order to Develop Spoken Language in Children with Hearing Loss

• Pursuit of Best Amplification
  This may mean more frequent trips to the audiologist than parents who choose a
  different approach.
  
• Weekly Parent/Caregiver Participation Sessions Taught by Trained Professional*
  Approximately 1 hour weekly. It is strongly recommended that the child’s primary
  caregiver participate in these sessions.
  
• Daily Individual Play Sessions with Child in a Quiet
  Minimum of 1 hour daily, preferably with the person participating in parent sessions.
  
• Embellishing Auditory Elements of Normal Caregiving & Play Activities
  3 to 4 hours daily, preferably with the person participating in parent sessions.
• Consistent Use of Behavior Management
  Children with a hearing loss need to develop discipline in order to be able to listen
  Effectively.
  
• Enrollment of Child in an Inclusive Setting with Typically Developing Hearing Peers
  This should be done when parents and teachers determine the child will have success.
  
  
  If these factors are in place and the child does not possess any other delays, it is most favorable that the child will make a year’s amount of progress (as measured by developmental language charts) in a year’s amount of time. If all these factors are not in place, it is most likely that child’s progress will take place at a slower rate.

My thoughts:

Doing all these things results in a year's amount of progress in a year's amount of time. UUGH! We have 2.5 years to make up - Brooke went 2.5 years without her hearing aids. I often get discouraged with all the time, work, effort, responsibility and tears that go into Brooke's therapy. I often feel that I am sacrificing my other children to give her the things she needs to make progress. I often get overwhelmed and stressed out. I often think I do not have the strength to do it all and that I am not good enough to give her what she needs.

And then I remember the Truth: she is God's daughter and so am I, God will give us all the strength we need; God is holding her in his arms...the same arms that created the Earth, the same arms that healed the blind, the same arms that hung on the cross for her. God will take care of her, no matter my strengths or my weaknesses. God will bless her with all she needs to grow in her love for God. What do I need to do? I need to pray. Brooke can make up the gap in her development; we get closer everyday with God's grace filling us both.

Add a Little Bit

Language Expansion



This is a learning tool that I use a hundred times a day with Brooke. It is easy to do once you understand what you are doing.

When Brooke says something to me, I repeat it back to her in an expanded form. Let me give you a recent example.

Last year Brooke's vocabulary was pretty limited. She would say something like, "Where's my......." and then pat her head since the word "hat" was not quite fully in her vocabulary yet. I would wait about 5 seconds for her to think about it and come up with the word. If she couldn't think of it, I would say, "Where's my hard hat?" and then she repeated, "Where's my hat?"

The next level was when Brooke had more vocabulary to use. She would ask me, "Where's my hat?" It would be easy to say, "your helmet" back to her....but that is not giving her all the language she needs, so instead I would expand on her question and say, "Your helmet, that you wear when you roller skate, is in the basket?" Brooke would usually say, "Oh, my helmet is in the basket." I gave her a pronoun (you), more vocabulary (helmet, roller skate, basket), and the location word "in".

Today, Brooke asked, "Mommy, I can't find my Princess helmet." As her vocabulary and sentence structures grow, I continue to expand on her language saying, "Brooke, I think the pink Princess helmet that you use for roller skating is in the green basket." I continue to add to her vocabulary by using pronouns (I and you), adjectives (pink, green) verbs (that you use), prepositions (in the green basket).

Plus a Little More

I usually give her a little more vocabulary by adding another idea. So, after she finds her helmet, I might say, "Good job remembering to wear your helmet when you roller skate; the helmet will protect your head in case you fall down. What a smart girl!" Not only am I praising her, but I'm adding the reason we need the helmet to build her thinking skills and her language skills as well.

Auditory Sequencing Activity

Auditory Listening Skills

One of the areas that Brooke needs extra instruction is in listening to elements of a story and remembering them. It is called auditory recall. As a way to practice, we use sequence cards. The ones below were given to us by our therapist.

Step 1: I show Brooke the cards one at a time and lay them (in order) in front of her. Each card tells a part of the story. I try to make each sentence structure different so it is easier for her to identify.

The monkey JUMPS over the wall

"Hello there!" says the monkey

I wonder what is behind the door?

"Got You!"

The monkey is on his way back to the zoo
"Welcome Home Monkey"

Step 2: With the cards laying in front of her, I repeat one section of the story. For example, I will say, "The monkey JUMPS over the wall." and Brooke will point to the picture. I repeat this for all seven pictures and I do it in sequence.

Step 3: With the cards laying in front of Brooke, I say one part of the story NOT in sequence. She listens for key elements and points to the correct picture. This is teaching her to listen for key words in sentences, remember them, and match them to the picture.

The next step will be for Brooke to retell the story in sequence, but we are not there quite yet!

My thoughts

This activity is so easy for Kate. It is one of the times that I notice a real difference between them. It makes me sad when I see the areas where Brooke is lacking. This is a skill that kids just "pick up on " during daily life that Brooke can not just "pick up on" - I actually have to teach her and practice it. I am so thankful for therapists that can show and teach me these areas! By working on these activities now, the goal is that Brooke continues to learn to listen.

Gosh, I love this little girl

Enjoying fruit and Cool Whip after we finish

This week we are reading Chicka Chicka Boom Boom by Bill Matrin Jr. We try to read it every day and do an activity or craft based on the book. It is a great letter-learning time. Yesterday, we made our very own coconut trees out of green construction paper, paper towel tubes, tape, stickers and crayons. Brooke and Kate put alphabet stickers on the tree trunks and even wrote some of the letters with crayons.