Is My Child Hearing Impared?

Over the past few years Garett and I have worried about Owen's speech. He has always been about 6 months behind where the books report he should be. As he gets older he is falling further and further behind. While Owen will tell long stories with lots of sound effects, waving arms and big facial expressions, at age 3 he still only puts together 3 recognizable word sentences. But most people don't understand any of what he is saying. He tends to say "hua?" and "what" frequently. Of all this, what has concerned us most of all is that often he doesn't seem to understand us. We try to explain the same thing to him in different ways but he still seems like he doesn't understand the words coming out of our mouths. We were concerned that he was hearing impaired. Although Owen did respond to sound, Garett and I both have deaf family members so we thought maybe this was the case for him.

When he was 2 I took him to the Babies Can't Wait program in our county. They tested him and were able to note that he had some annunciation disorder. Although they could not tell me any more than that because they stoped testing him disqualifying him for early intervention since he did not flunk more than the speech category. They told me that I should take him to a private therapist. Unfortunately that wasn't covered by insurance and $75 a visit didn't work with our budget. My pediatrician assured me that she thought he would out grow the problem and to just keep an eye on it.

As I watched Owen struggle to communicate with others I worried about leaving him any where out of my care. I'm the only one who understands what he says. What if his needs weren't met? What if someone hurt him out of frustration? I'm glad to have friends with kids who have speech problems because I don't know that I would have learned about intervention programs that were out there. Now that Owen is three he qualifies for the early intervention preschool through our county's school system.

Before being evaluated for speech I had his hearing tested and vision checked. Both came back in the range of normal. I took him in March for the school's evaluation. I was expecting to leave with a plan for speech therapy at the elementary school by our house. I was surprised when they continued to do more extensive testing noting all kinds of things that I thought were just cute toddler things but were communication problems.

I'm still waiting for the official report with all the diagnostic details. There were a list of problems they made that would require treatment. They thought that they were possibly all linked to one greater problem. It's called Auditory Processing Disorder (ADP). It is a dysfunction with the central auditory system. Not the ears ability to hear but the ability for the brain to process sound is impaired. ADP can be complicated so we have a lot to learn as we go. People with ADP can, like any other person, have a variety of other problems like mental retardation, autism, AD/HA, real hearing loss, among a zillion other things to chose from. Owen, from what we can tell, is otherwise normal and quite bright.

A good example of the way a person with ADP hears has been described as listening through water. They might not be able to discern between sounds like "g" and "d" so dog, God, dod and gog all sound the same. It can make learning to speak, read and write difficult.

Owen, to sum it up, can hear but he doesn't fully understand the meaning of sound. He does understand a lot and is able to learn but has a long way to go and should be able to catch up. He also has speech problems that need therapy. They will be teaching Owen how to cope with the problem since there is no drug or operation that can help. All this information is a lot for us to take in, but is so helpful as a parent to know how better to parent Owen. I'm hoping some recently purchased books will help me until the professionals are able to help. Since he qualifies for the school's early intervention program Owen will start 3-year-old preschool in the fall. It's half days 5 days a week. He is very excited to go to school but mostly to ride the school bus. :)

Can I Have A Vacation Yet?

Between the eggs cracked and splattered on the the kitchen floor and Charly pooping foil candy wrappers messes, messes and more messes I think I'm spent for the day. No more please.

An Easter Message

While Easter has become a fun celebration with family and the Easter Bunny and the egg hunts. It is important to turn our thoughts to why Easter exists in the first place. I'm not great with words so I have added this clip about our Savior. Please watch it. I do believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior, I am grateful that His sacrifice can save me from sin so that I might return to Him again some day. The other part of Easter is of the greatest importance, that our Savior lives, He has risen. He has forged the path for us. Let us be grateful. Let us follow.

Easter Bunny Visited Canton GA

This morning we were so surprised to find that the Easter Bunny had come by our home and left us special treats. And later we found lots of eggs in our back yard. This all has been a very big deal to Owen. We are glad that the Easter Bunny remembered us.

Charly noticed her bucket full of treats as soon as she woke up. There was no stopping her from exploring.

She was very speedy getting the foil off. I was impressed, but then again, she is my daughter and I have taught her to love chocolate as a woman should.

Victory!

Owey's Easter Bunny surprise!

It's hollow?
He then proceeded to use it as a whistle.

Sharing is caring.

Ooooo! Caterpillar. Mommy was brave an let it crawl on her arm.

Checking out the loot. :)

Saturday's Easter Activity

This weekend we had a lot of family fun at the neighborhood Easter Egg hunt. It was a great practice run for the the "real thing". Both of the kids hunted out plenty of eggs.

The Easter Bunny came to visit, Owen was so excited until we got closer. Owen gave him his bottom lip and refused to visit.

Worms! Bugs are so cool!

One of the best parts is that the Canton Fire Dept came with their biggest truck. The kids got to climb all over it, to try on the gear and ask questions.

I love the goofy face on Owen. :)

This looks like Owen shoved Charly, but really he was running to help. Usually he is the one doing the shoving. Poor Charly.

Unsolved Mysteries

Just a minute to blog between baby bubble baths and being climbed on like a jungle gym. There are a few things I have been wondering about. First, who has been picking at my wall? It was a simple indentation but has gotten worst. I couldn't tell if it was Owen or Charly and then.... I caught her red handed. Mystery solved.

Next, while I was at the library with the kids earlier this week we spotted a large animal walking by one of the glass window that goes to the floor. Owen squealed, "It's a squirrel!" But it was bigger than a house cat. It was a dark reddish brown and really fluffy. It was cute. But I didn't know what it was. A little googling later... It was a Groundhog. I found this picture online, but our sweet little groundhog was way prettier. Oh and Groundhogs are the largest members of the squirrel family. Good call Owen!

Okay, I admit, this one is a little odd. But I have been wondering for a while how glitter is made and where are the factories? This is what I found.. "Although a significant amount of glitter is now manufactured overseas, the product itself was invented by an American cattle farmer named Ruschman during the 1930s, although some sources say he invented the product after World War II. His company, Meadowbrook Inventions, is still the world's largest supplier of glitter. Customers can order glitter directly from the company, in a wide assortment of shapes, colors, sizes and materials." They are located in Bernardville NJ in case you were wondering. Also, on their internet video they claim to have over 20,000 types of glitter they can make.

This last one isn't much of a mystery, only that I want to know what is the obsession with the diaper bag? My kids want to (and do) empty it daily. I hide it, they find it and empty it. Keeping it behind locked doors is the only useful deterrent. They seem to really love making messes and driving me nuts.

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote. Cristina is safe and in the final 4!!!