Activated!

I had to read my last post to see where I left off. Activation Day. I am so glad I'm finally writing all of this down, because there's so much I'm forgetting! I think we did write some of it down, and I'm searching my hard drive for those files. If they're not on the hard drive, I think there's a printed copy somewhere, or a disc w/it on. I'll have to find it someday and share. For now I'll tell you what I remember.

I think someone told me environmental sounds can have fewer variables than speech, and that the ear learns to hear those simpler sounds first. Matt seemed to sense sound when the car was starting, when he walked near the dishwasher, when a helicopter was flying overhead (we lived on a tiny navy base, helicopters overhead were common). But one of the first things he seemed to enjoy hearing was his "piddle in the potty". :) He thought it was the funniest thing! It only took me a second to figure out why he was laughing. THEN he flushed the toilet and ran out of the room! He didn't like that sound at first.

Matt did have problems with tinnitus in the past, and I think he was a little frightened when he started hearing sounds with his CI. I remember him walking outside and immediately looking confused. He told me in his own way that he was hearing "bad sounds" again. He was hearing a group of Canadian geese in the green patch across the street! When I pointed this out to him his face was immediately plastered with a HUGE smile and he shot off chasing the geese!

The same thing happened with a truck down the road. I could not believe he heard it, it was two blocks away! But he did hear it, and again looked confused until he could put the sound together with an actual truck. Way cool.

I remember he was never really interested in the television until he had his CI. I used to sit and translate the kiddie shows in sign language so he could understand them. To this day I have a deep disdain for Barney that most parents will never truly comprehend. I steered away from shows with singing, more towards Blues Clues and Sesame Street. Visually Matt LOVED Junkyard Wars and some robot fighting program. Can't remember the name. But post CI he seemed to be taking everything in with his "new ears". Or new ear, CI, however you want to look at it. I started to keep the TV on all the time. For him, and for background noise.

Matt used to describe his tinnitus like a phone ringing, baby crying, dog barking, train whizzing by (through his head), helicopter flying, depending on the type of tinnitus he was currently experiencing. These descriptions were based on what he learned to hear with his hearing aids. Imagine his joy when he heard those things for real again! Clearly!

He very quickly learned to listen for the microwave beep, when his chocolate milk was done warming. And for knocks at the front door. We started a game where he would sit on one side of the door, I would sit on the other. When I knocked, he would open the door, or maybe knock back. I also remember knocking on the underside of the dining table w/o him knowing I was doing it. He looked so shocked at first! What was that? Then when he figured it out, he would start knocking on the table, too.

About a month into his post-activation, he started to recognize voices. My voice was first for him, and I think it's because I spent the most time with him. He did seem to get female voices in general, before he understood Dad and other male voices. About two months post activation, something just clicked in him and it was like he woke up one morning and decided he understood certain words. I don't know if this is normal, he seemed to progress so quickly. But he did have a hearing history with his hearing aids, and a little speech in the past. I think this helped him tremendously. When we started using speech post activation, I would sign the words for him, too. Kind of a bridge into the hearing vocabulary. Once I saw he was recognizing words, I slowly dropped the signing, moving him from the visual to the vocal comprehension.

I have his notes from school, and I'll have to dig them up to give you more specifics. But I think something clicked by month three, like he was understanding spoken commands. Basic ones, maybe. And I think he was really vocalizing better by month four. But I need to find the notes to help me with that stuff. I know right where they are, and I have nothing to do this afternoon but go through paperwork. Yeah...

But I can tell you that when he started calling me "Mama", using his voice, nothing could have sounded more beautiful. :) I have to remember that good feeling because now he's almost seven, and he'll now call me Mom. "Mom! Chris erased my rainbow!" "Mom! Chris unplugged the game!" "MOM! I want more chocolate milk!" So now I'm at the point where I'm thankful for his speech, but it's just not so cute, ha ha!