JULY 2008!! Progress is Amazing!

JULY 2008

Hi family and friends:
Here's my update for July 2008. I am continuing to learn to hear and even have a new milestone!!! I know my NAME!! Someone can call my name, and I stop--listen and turn to their voice. Since my Implant isn't exactly the same as your ears, I am learning a new skill called scanning. I am learning to stop when I hear a sound, and then scan the room to figure out what made it.

Also.... I can repeat and recognize ALL my 6 main learning to listen sounds. Mama took me camping with my Nauntie and my Unkie and my Aunt Cheryl. We were at Mayfield Lake campground and as we were walking back to the motorhome from the lake, a small gardener snake crossed our path. This was my first time seeing a REAL LIVE SNAKE. I saw Mommy making the snake sign and heard her making the sound...and I repeated it back to her. Silly Mama--I don't know why that made her cry, right there in the middle of the campground. She says that she has been presenting that sound to me for a year and this is the first time I heard it and first time I ever said it back. I guess that is a pretty big deal. She says this CI thing has changed our lives. I dunno. I 'spose she knows what she's talking about. :o)

Next, the following week when we were swimming at Desert Aire I was asking her for a snack...and she started smiling, yelling and jumping up and down. What's the big deal I asked and signed to her "more candy". I just wanted more candy. She told everyone there that it was the first time I ever said two words together in one phrase. Man, she really over reacts to things. Again...she thinks this is some big deal. I'll tell you the big deal.... getting all the candy I wanted the rest of the day! Mommy is so cool sometimes.

This month, I went in to see Miss Stacey and Miss Kim. The called me their "hearing rock star". Mama was pretty proud, so I guess that's a good thing. They put me in the hearing booth again, and more tears were flying out of Mama. What's the biggie?...I've done this test a zillion-billion times. I guess that my old tests were hearing from 45-85 (which means I couldn't hear from a restaurant to a lawn mower...or so) and now with my implant I can hear from 15-25. Miss Stacey says thats from a whisper to regular conversation....They all think this will make a life-sized difference for me gaining speech.

Mommy is amazed that I am so good at keeping my processor on my head. I have even come up to mommy two times and asked her to put it on by signing an "I" for implant by my ear. You should have seen her smile. It was as big as Texas. I know I used to fight so badly with her when she put on my hearing aids. This CI thing is so much better, I am learning to like having it on. Of course, I don't want to ruin my rep with the other toddlers, so I make sure to wiggle, run, bounce, jump and all other manners of play so that it is a constant job keeping the magnet on my head. After all, I have mentioned a cool thousand times or so how wiggly I am. That is not about to change. Mommy says I will be able to have a stronger magnet once my implant has time to calcify to my bone and isn't possible to wiggle out of place. I hope that's soon. It is so agonizing to sit still the 0.01 second it takes to reapply the magnet. But, its a fun game seeing the adults chase after me trying to stick it back on my head. Ahhh... the small things are so entertaining, huh?

Here are my July highlights:
Real Age: 19 Months
Hearing Age: 2 months
-Speech: 15 spoken words; FIRST TIME STRINGING TWO WORDS TOGETHER! "More Candy"
-Signs: 100 expressive (signs that I can make)

Thanks again for keeping up on my progress!

love,
Audrey Ellyse

Yikes! Where has the time gone??

June 2008

Hi friends....so I have been nagging and nagging mommy to give you an update on my progress.
My CI is working and I am learning to hear!!!

I am working on the following skills: "Learning to Listen sounds". This is taking a toy or picture and giving it one special sound. My main ones are mmmmm for ice cream, ssssssss for snake, oooooo for owl, ee ee ee ee for Monkey, shhhhh for baby and aaaaaah for airplane. I have been practicing these since I was 9 months old...and I have never repeated sssssss or ssssssh before (meaning that I have never heard them either). I try these 3 times a week or more, and have gotten up to 4 of them at once--but my results are usually all over the place. It is soo hard to concentrate sometimes. :o) If I can get these 6 sounds, that means that I am hearing all the sounds in the speech range--- which will prove the major improvement with the Cochlear Implant.

Mommy is saying lots of things to me and also signing them. I am learning more signs--she says I have about 75 now and my first goal with speaking will be to be able to recognize and repeat all 36 Learning to listen sounds. Mommy says these will quickly turn into words!

We are having a busy summer between home, therapy, audiology appointments and Desert Aire for swimming....

But....I said my first word! More!!!!! I also now have Mama and Dada! Yeah! This talking thing is sooo fun!

Here are my June highlights:
Real Age: 18 Months
Hearing Age: 1 month
-Speech: FIRST WORDS: More, Mama and Dada
-Signs: 75 expressive (signs that I can make) We don't know how to count the ones I understand.... lots more than I can make, of course!!

Thank you all for keeping up with my progress!

Hugs,
Audie Lou Wilson