For the first year of Sam's life, my wife Teresa and I worried about his place in the hearing world. The promise of a cochlear implant offered hope, but we did not know what to expect. Now that Sam approaches his third birthday and his second year with a cochlear implant, we. No longer about what the future take care of him We are confident that Sam's deafness is not only its possibilities.
Our family ritual to visit the hospital twice a week for therapy sessions will soon come to an end. Sam's speech therapist recently delivered the news: Sam, she said, no longer required to participate regular therapy sessions. Once a week for the rest of the summer, and then when Sam might say, "All done."
The reason? Sam speak and understand spoken language, to hear him at least as well as his colleagues. It's time for him to go.
Getting to this point should be difficult. With over 200 outpatient and enabled in-home therapy sessions since his implant, it has not been easy. But as different as life seemed at first to participate in therapy and support Sam's language development at home was just part of our routine. We gave our child opportunities to grow, and Sam took it.
Sam's First Words
Was activated from the day Sam implant until now, Teresa has faithfully carried a purple composition book in her pocket, to follow the listing of the Notes of each therapy session to listing pointers for us and our son chronicle progress. There is one page black ink, with one notable exception. On 20 January 2007 they used red ink to write, "Sam said his first word today -. 'Uh-oh" Yes, Sam! "
In less than 3 months, Sam went from sound consonant to his first word, 4 months later, on top of the list of words and sounds that we kept 30 As the numbers grew, he learned concepts, objects identified, understood action verbs and adjectives began. Tests given on the anniversary of his first therapy session showed Sam on par with 2-year-old children to be heard.
Today Sam has to list too many words in his vocabulary. He often begins his day by getting out of bed and pointed to his right ear and said, "my implant," which he without sleeping. During the day, Sam and Teresa speaks uncurls fingers into her cupped hand one at a time to count the words in his sentences and phrases. They always have both hands free for the task.
Help from Big Brother
Our oldest son, Jack, now 4 years old, playing a major role in Sam progress. Like all older siblings, he is a role model for Sam. He was also exposed to the implant and therapy for a good part of his life, allows him the helpful big brother wants he can be.
Jack says he sounds off therapy for Sam repeated, and learned with the help of audiologists standby noise - "bop, bop, bop" - trying to get a response from Sam when he, to ensure the implant will work. In the morning Jack helps his mother assemble the parts of Sam's implant, and at night, he presses the start button on the machine that dries the day moisture from the device.
Teresa and I, who are technically challenged, that we still have to receive as a gift the iPod we use three years, the implant components can strip down and again the device with military speed and precision. We remove the external components, when Sam takes a bath, swimming, or sleeping. Help messages on the screen implant in identifying low battery voltage and other problems that could occur, and the manufacturer has to quickly send a replacement if parts are worn.
Just One of the Boys
Have on road trips, Jack and Sam out hydrants, school buses, Dunkin 'Donuts restaurants and other objects of interest in each other. They giggle, they fight, and if it is too sharp, Teresa and I eye contact and smile. Before I reassure them, we make it a point to recognize the irony in shushing Sam, whose ability to speak was once a major concern for us.
You can not just talk Sam, but he can also show the subtleties of language, such as intonation and emphasis. His listening skills are equally impressive. On a recent visit to his grandmother's house, Sam, Teresa heard asking her mother in a normal speaking voice where he was. Separated by a wall with a door around the corner, a little voice from the living room said, "I'm here."
It is difficult to distinguish at Sam's performance from the typical hearing child his age, but sometimes we note it to determine where a sound came at work. We were told that the localization of sound could be a challenge, but at this point it was not a big problem.
Thankful for every moment
Teresa and I think that the cochlear implant is amazing. We really enjoy turning a curious strangers stare at the little apparatus Sam wears a chance to educate someone else about the incredible device.
The implant was introduced to us as a prosthetic with potential that could be realized fully only by commitment. That was no problem for our family. We have been very happy. We have received excellent service, generous flexibility of my employer and valuable insights from other parents of children with implants.
Sam's journey is far from over. Every event - from dressing and eating a meal at a trip to the store or on the playground - presents new opportunities language for him. Teresa and I will examine education and the latest research on the potential benefits of an implant for his other ear, but we are so with a confidence that we can not imagine, if we have set in this way. We will continue with a sense of wonder and gratitude that we value our experience as a family that helps a lot more.
In the course of Sam's therapy, he saw the doctors at the hospital who performed his surgery. From these two different occasions, he said: "Thank you, Doctor." From the first person who introduced the cochlear implant to the doctors, nurses, therapists, friends and family who have touched our lives since we also send our sincere thanks.