Something to Know

Did you know?  Babies begin to develop speech and language from the time they are born

Did you know? ..... Hearing loss can affect a child’s ability to develop communication, language, and social skills

Did you know? .....The earlier children with hearing loss start getting services, the more likely they are to reach their full potential

Something you should know.....
Babies should have a hearing screening before they are a month old. If your child has a hearing loss, it is important to consider the use of hearing devices and/or other communication options by age 6 months. That's because children start learning speech and language long before they talk.

Did you know? .....  if your child is found to have a hearing loss

Hearing aids for children cost between $1,000 and $4,000 per ear and different kinds of aids can cost more or less than others

Something you should know....

Warranties are good but don't cover everything.  But I bet you knew that!

'Jewelry for a Voice' is a great fundraiser and fun 'get-together' for a cause.  The monies raised that evening go to a fund to help families that cannot afford to purchase and/or repair hearing aids not covered under warranties or insurances.  Children with a hearing loss must have communication available to them - why not help if possible.  Enjoy an evening out and learn a little bit more about a special group of children.  You don't have to be a sponsor - you can purchase a ticket and join us for some fun AND a little information.  This is my personal invitation to you.....call this number and to purchase your ticket 915-521-7229 ext.2989.  



Ideas for some Fun

Tomorrow is the big day! Can you tell I'm excited?  I don't do countdowns, but this one I will, because I will be just like a little kid and not be able to sleep tonight!

Let's talk about a couple of activities that will be happening at Summer Fun Camp: Listening and Language.  There will be a group of little campers, ages 2-4 years old.  They will have fun with Quack, Splash, and Pop!  You can do this easily at home.  The focus will be with little yellow ducks; you can use a variety of stuffed animals, taking care there is a distinct animal sound for each.  We plan on going out in the playground area, made up of dirt, tires, and various small mounds or hills.  The adult will hide ducklings while the little ones are busy in a play area.  Then while they are playing, an adult will point to their ear and say....'Listen, I hear that! Do you hear something?'  Another adult will make the 'Quack, quack! sound'  'Let's go find them!' and the hunt begins. Great hide and seek for those little ones just beginning to seek out items they can just barely see.  If you have a variety of animals; not to big and not to small, you can do the same in your backyard.  After finding each one, have the little one imitate the animal sound and respond with, 'Yes, that's right and duck says 'quack, quack!' 'oh, listen, I hear another one!' and so it goes.......

Our junior and master travelers will be seeking out the long, lost dinosaurs - you know the ones we are always curious about and even more for our children.  One of the activities you can share with younger and older children are names and features of dinosaurs in their hiding activity.  Use modifiers of nouns to talk about different groups of dinosaurs, some dinos, most dinos, another dino, either dino...., or use adjectives to have them find specific dinosaurs.  'I saw one in the yard that has a spiky tail with jagged plates on its back.'  'Did you see the one with the bumpy skin and sharp teeth?' You can also work on past tense in questioning; 'Should we push the wheel barrel to pick up the huge T-rex?' One child may answer, 'I pushed it yesterday to find the food for the dinosaurs!' yeah! 

You can do all this and more while having some summer fun in your backyard!  Wow, look what Listening and Language can do!

Summer Fun: imitation and the magic of words

Summer time! Summer time! Fun time and Hot time!  If you live in the desert you know exactly what I'm talking about.  As I see in the news - all areas of the states are experiencing a heat wave!
You try to keep up with things to do this summer and not have your young ones out in the heat all day, here are some games to play or sessions to keep them going while cooling off in the house!

The Importance of Imitation and the Magic of Words -
Our children are great mimics and they learn to talk by imitating the sounds they hear, especially from you. They also need to figure out what all those sounds mean, in order for them to do that, they need lots of social interaction, especially from you.  For instance, your child loves to listen to music; whether it be children's singing tapes or the music you share in the car or at home.  Make dancing with them part of the music activity.  They will be looking to you to sing with them and teach them the words.  So their nursery songs like 'Itsy Bitsy Spider', or 'The Wheels on the Bus', or 'BINGO' are all fun with their acting out counterparts - do that with them!  But even more fun is when you are listening to the country, pop, or rock song.  Dance with them!  Show them those low-down beats or bass drums can make you 'see how low you can go' Swoop down and touch the floor!  And when you're not singing, listen to those higher notes and lift your hands high up in the air, 'turn around like you just don't care'.  Or lift up your child to show how high notes can go in the song. 
While we're talking about sounds - include in your listening, imitating time to listen to the sounds around the house and pretend play.  Let's pretend to build that blanket tent in the living room with the nail, hammer, and saw.  Where did onomatopoeias come from? People imitating that sound in words; so, pretend with that bang! bang! bang! while you're putting the blanket over the chairs.  Sst, Sst, Sst, with the saw as you saw the blanket to make it fit around the floor with your saw, and swish, swish, swish with the paint brush to make your tent lovely - like a castle for girls - or manly - like the barricade for boys.

Whatever the case, make it up!  'Pretend' for children helps them to practice real-life skills with imaginative fun and sounds turning to words, so let the abstract sounds turn into concrete meanings. Go ahead! Go have some fun!

October!! You're Kidding!!

No way! October already? Last time I had some time (which I don't right now, but I miss the blog!) - it has been well over a month; school was just getting started; and then everything began moving like a tornado!  School life really makes you lose track to time, and school life plus private therapy really makes you lose track of life! Hahaha. . . .

But as I have said in previous blogs, my family is what makes me realize life (and work) can make the living so much more fun and it's the balancing act that counts!

I love this time of year. Things begin to change and children can just feel it in the air.  Holidays are around the corner, going to school now means dressing a little bit warmer because mommy puts a sweater on you in the morning, and color changes remind you that summer does not last forever!  And
I get to help teach the children about the fun sounds they will hear and learn for this time of year.


For the young child just learning to use their listening skills - we do a great deal of singing to teach and learn about the rhythm, pitch, and intonation of speech.  The rise and fall of song also takes place with mom and/or care giver in the raise and fall of speech during interactions with child.
As you take a nature walk and notice the leaves falling from trees you can sing: (to the tune of 'The Farmer in the Dell') The leaves are falling down! The leaves are falling down! Red, and orange, and yellow, and brown, the leaves are falling down!  Or another tune to have fun with. . . (to the tune of Row, Row, Row your Boat)  Falling leaves, falling leaves, falling from the tree.  Rake them up then jump right in - have fun with falling leaves!
Point out leaves on the ground and the few leaves left in the trees.  Point out the crackling sound they make as you step on them under your feet or crackle them in your hand.  Have your child listen as you rake leaves in a pile.  Have them listen as you put them in a bag, basket, and/or wheelbarrow.  Push, push, push your child around in a wheelbarrow, or wagon with fall leaves.  Wheeeee!
For the young children in the classroom - play musical chairs with those songs.  As they listen, they walk around - when you stop singing - they sit down!  Or. . . what I really love - is singing this song as the children are playing in a pile of leaves (you can buy a couple of bags of fall leaves in any hobby or crafts store in the artificial plant/flower area) and when you stop singing. . . they stop raking, or jumping, or throwing the leaves!  Go on. . . . have some fun!

I love this video - thanks to http://www.sallybus.net

Summer Shifts to School (Life)

It has been some weeks since I have been able to blog and I do find myself missing it and missing the read. . . 

These weeks have caught me off guard, trying to get back into the swing of my full-time job with my part-time job.  Whew!  As I try to make my life balance out again, I found another quote that brings a little clarity.

There are obviously two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live.   ~James T. Adams

My thoughts; one should teach us the learning process and the other how not to forget to live fully.   Along with the balancing act, I am reminded along the way that life goes on and we need to enjoy both the learning process and the process of life. 
My students remind me of two items.  1) Summer is a time of fun and we have 'some catch-up' with listening and language.  2) We will get it done.  On the flip side, my family reminds me of two more items.  1) How not to forget to live.  2) How not to forget to listen (to language).

Pragmatics is the social communication of language.  Children whose hearing is intact get the pragmatics of language with every interaction they have from the time of birth.  Children whose hearing has been compromised from birth or seeking habilitation for a hearing impairment are taught pragmatics.   This is an area I work very heavily with parents and students.  It is an important aspect we can't forget during summer months and I can't forget during family time.
Interaction between two individuals is full of language - give and take, lean in and lean out, push and pull, listening and talking, talking and listening.  The easy way out when our life is busy - is give and take or push and pull.  Is there any listening or talking involved?  Think about it.  Listening and talking takes time.  We have to observe a situation, wait for our communication partner and really listen to the language.  Children in the summer - push and pull because they want what they want and they want fun now!  Adults push and pull because life goes on and they are busy and they want their children to have fun now!  We don't always remember to expect language in return. In comes school and I want listening and language that was intact before school let out for the summer.  That does not always happen.

Yet my family does find the way to tell me, school is education and when you are home, family is life. It is the combination of the two that makes life full of living.  Always trying to remember the listening and the language play a part, and always trying to remind my parents to incorporate while I try to remember to love both parts equally.

School Time for Me and Everyone Else

I have so many new things awaiting me this year.  Now I know what my students feel like when they begin a new year with new teachers and the possibility of making new friends.  The program I work with is now on a new campus with new teachers and I, am not only on this campus with new teachers, but have a whole new staff to work within my program.  I wonder if I am asking the same questions as the children.  Will they like me?  Will they work with me?  Will they listen to me?  Will I hear what they say?  Remember, I work with children with a hearing impairment and as they become aware that they are a little different - these questions are very real for them as they are for other children, but magnified because of what they feel is different.  And then I think of their parents - What questions do they have going through their mind?  Will they make friends?  Will they have a good day?  Will they be able to listen and hear the teacher?  Will my child know what is going on around them?  Sound familiar?

I guess it does all feel the same in different ways.  I have to remember when I counsel my parents I tell them their children are waiting to come alive with communication.  We just have to give them the tools to make it happen.  Listening comes first, localizing that sound and finding it.  (Listening to others comes first, localizing the people that want to learn with me and making friends)  Then we move into modeling the sounds and language for them, and the child quickly takes the cue to copy those sounds and words.  (We show the friends are new program, or we show people we can listen and model what they want from us.)  Then we move to turn-taking and sharing of information. (You've seen me write about this before - it never changes with the situation - new school, new program, new friends that share information and ideas and fun.)  What is the difference with how I feel and how parents feel and then how the children feel?  Sometimes I feel the world is cold. . . my parents sometimes feel the world is cold. . . children feel the world is cold and we teach them to make it their business to build fires - taken from Horace Troubel

I do hope everyone has a great beginning of another school year!

How Do Things Happen?

I am always amazed at how things happen?!  Even if I know how they happen it never ceases to amaze - listening or watching the magic of things.  Sometimes while I watch or listen, I can feel the tears come because I am so overcome by the thrill of what just occurred.  Yet the question always comes - How Does That Happen?
I attended a research symposium these last four days and loved the papers that were presented.  Even listening to statistics and reasons given; I enjoyed it!  What I enjoyed even more is knowing what I do counts and I learn more 'things that happen' and share with parents and children every chance I get.  Parents ask a question I have always thought interesting and wondered 'why do I expect this question to never come?' - so once again - I have decided to be amazed at how things work . . . .

When I work with parents of and their children that have a hearing loss, it is always assumed by the parent that once the hearing aids or cochlear implants are activated the child will hear, talk, and perhaps even read.  Well, not all at once. . . but it sure is expected to happen quickly.  At times I am a little upset that parents expect it so quickly when I feel they should know we have so much work ahead.  Yet, I do understand how parents feel - 'look at what my child has to make it all better'. Yes - and with their help - they will be amazed.  It just takes the reminder and the strategies that I share with them for something amazing to happen.  They, the parent, will help their child listen, hear, and talk!  It never ceases to amaze me.

Let's remember it all happens in the same hierarchy as most good things do - and it is that remembrance that keeps it together for parent and child.  It is that remembering that amazes the parents when, once they get started in the listening and spoken language process and learning strategies, their child learns.  I teach the parent that it all starts with the brain (and I learned that from a great audiologist-Carol Flexer), and we are going to train the brain to have a great auditory track and auditory brain development.  We are going to do this by beginning with the listening, as all babies do.  They listen to everything in their environment and we are going to train their child's brain, no matter what their age, about listening.  I, am always amazed on how that thing happens! = )  From listening, we move to turn-taking - which brings about talking and communication.  I am even more amazed with tingles in my arms while I watch a parent cry because they never thought they would watch their child react to sound or have a conversation!  And that. . . is the first of many goals that will be accomplished.  Isn't it amazing how things happen!

Observe and Wait and Listen

My favorite thing to do - observing and listening.  We should do more of it whenever possible.  Sometimes I think people are so interested in what they, personally have to say, not much listening is going on.  Sometimes children have a difficult time with this aspect of language.  So how, as a parent, do we help do this with our child?  It is one of the components to social interaction and one of the many facets of language - learn turn-taking in conversation; which means we wait our turn and listen to the other part of the conversation.

There is nothing more natural to a child than their parents voice; and of course, that natural environment of listening; especially as parents have conversation within the home setting.  There is nothing more natural than a parent reading to their child and the child is listening to all parts of speech, language, and behavior that make the story stand out! Of course, there is nothing  more inviting than home and being with mommy and daddy listening and hopefully then in turn, speaking - with parent guidance.  Notice I said listening first - because as I stated before; observe and listen.  In practice; the parent is creating an auditory learning environment and in return spoken language develops and continues to grow throughout the years.  I haven't strayed from anything besides a natural listening and speaking environment.  Parents just have to take hold of that opportunity and make it work for them - encouraging the child to participate, encouraging the child to imitate, encouraging the child to speak out on their own and upon their turn of conversation.

Reading and any activity that stimulates the child and their attention has the attention span growing and then; creativity and imagination takes hold.  Activities also support social, emotional growth.  But by far the biggest part of interaction in reading and activities, is from all this observing and waiting and listening - the child starts to talk!