Kevin is at a point where little accomplishments happen daily it seems. It is so fun to see him becoming a little kid. Things are somewhat normal for us now. After living with a deaf baby for 2 years, I don't remember well what my old 'normal' was, but with the whirlwind and chaotic life of the past two years, I think I can safely say that things are normal again. Yesterday, Kevin ran out of his room and said, 'Ethan, where are you?" (more like ee-an, where-r-ooooo?), but he said it and all 3 of us understood him! Ethan, told him where he was and Kevin ran there. They then proceeded to have a little conversation (mainly Ethan talking and Kevin saying 'yes' a lot) but it was happening. It seemed like such a normal sibling interaction. Can this possibly be happening???
This morning, the boys were watching tv while I was getting ready and Kevin was singing very loudly near Ethan's ear. Ethan said, 'not so loud Kevin' and the next thing I knew, Kevin was singing softly. The communication is really there!!!
Another 'normal' experience happened today on the way to his preschool. We listen obsessively to the Music Together CD in the car because both boys like it so much. I knew Ethan loved it and knew all the songs by heart, but I didn't exactly know how much Kevin got it. Well, I was driving and the last song came on that says 'good-bye everyone'. Kevin immediately said, 'uh-oh, bye-bye'. When I asked him if he wanted me to play it again, he said, 'hello', meaning he wanted the hello song which is the first one.
All of these experiences are normal interactions with a toddler! I can't believe it! I really hoped we would get to this point, but to finally get here is amazing. Now, I am not kidding myself. We still have a long way to go with full comprehension and speaking, but hey, this is a first step!
The crazy thing is that while I seem to try to do 'therapy' all day with Kevin and his progress is going well, I still find myself questioning if I am doing enough. I think that is something that all parents of CI kids feel. Can I be doing more? I don't ever want to regret that because I was lazy or tired, he didn't progress as quickly as he could have. I know that parents are only human and have to take a breath once in a while too, but until he has truly mastered the language, I think I will feel this way.
Oh well, for now I will enjoy this bit of encouragement that the boys seems to have quite a normal relationship!
Kevin John was born on April 6, 2006 and we quickly found out he was profoundly deaf due to the Connexin 26 gene. This is our story how we are going about raising him in the hearing world.
3 comments:
I can totally relate to wondering if you are doing enough. I feel that way frequently myself.
But, you are doing such an amazing job! Never question yourself. Kevin is an amazing little boy and your hard work is definitely paying off.
I think you are doing a great job. Just keep talking, singing, and playing and doing what you are doing. Your post made my day!
It sounds all so familiar what you are experiencing.. and to "warn" you, you will forget all the hard time before communication got started. Make sure you record all the problems and other specifics now, while you still remember.
I love it when the start speaking softly... Have you tried whispering... that's a blast.!! I have even seen hearing children whisper into Lotte's BTE.!...
And about doing enough... we all think we can do better. But when better just becomes "more", it might make us stress too much and the effect will be the reverse...
So, just relax. Looks like you're doing fine. Just look at your son !!
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