I added cute pictures my Dad has taken of Cole for fun...this one is of Cole at 5 months dressed up for Christmas...it's weird to think that we didn't know he was deaf yet...the other picture is of the boys watching TV at my parents house when we visited in May. There weren't any pictures taken while he was testing, so I thought I'd add some from the past to give us perspective. He's come a long way!!!
As you're looking at his scores keep in mind his actual age (2) and hearing age (how long his implants have been activated)...
ACTUAL age: 2 years, 2 months
HEARING age: 9 months
Our goal is to close the gap between his actual age and hearing age. We are trying to "catch him up" in the time he lost before his CI's were activated. We are so encouraged by the following scores that tell us that he is making progress and has learned so much in the past 9 months! I realize that for some of you, you may not be interested in the detail of the following scores. I've outlined it as precisely as I can for those who are (like our family!)
LittlEars auditory questionnaire: (listening)
This auditory questionnaire is designed to assess the auditory development in children with normal hearing and children with hearing loss who have CIs or Hearing Aids.
Auditory Development: 19 months
Mac Arthur Communication Development Inventory:
This is a vocabulary checklist that is divided into categories such as animals, vehicles, clothing, outside things, action words and descriptive words. Parents are asked to check off words their child uses on their own (without prompting) in addition to words their child understands but does not use independently.
# of words understood: 180 words
Estimated age equivalency: 1 year; 4 months
# of words said: 58 words (isn't that awesome!!!)
Estimated age equivalency: 1 year; 5 months
Preschool Language Scales 4:
This tests language use and understanding using objects and pictures. Developed for children with normal hearing, the PLS-4 covers a wide range of language skills including use and understanding of language during play, vocabulary development, direction following, question answering, speech development, logical thinking and use and understanding of sentences and their grammatical components.
Language Understanding age equivalency: 1 year; 9 months
Language Use age equivalency: 1 year; 10 months
Social Skill Development Checklist:
This test tracks social skill development across the following three domains:
Interactions with objects: 2 years; 8 months (higher than his actual age!)
Responses to Others: 2 years; 3 months (again...higher than his age!)
Initiated Interactions with Others: 1 year; 11 months
So there you have it! Cole is making great progress and learning more rapidly than ever. It's hard not to have the mentality that "as soon as he catches up to wear he needs to be, he'll have arrived and no longer need to be taught to listen and speak so intentionally." One of the things our audiologist said that will always stay with me is that even with his CIs, he will always have a hearing impairment. It's easy to start thinking that his CIs somehow cure him of his disability, but they are merely the devices he uses to listen....he will always be deaf.
With that said, I was also asked during our evaluation, where I see Cole in 5 years...10 years. My answer was always the same. Our vision for Cole is that he makes choices and participates in activities without thinking about how his hearing impairment will limit him. Sure, he may come across rough patches here and there, but don't we all? All of us have areas of insecurity that we have to choose overcome in order to accomplish our goals and dreams in life.
I was a very shy 3rd grader who feared being put into situations and groups that were unfamiliar. I think I cried everyday of school that year since we had recently moved to a new state and was behind where the other kids were in their studies. I couldn't read the cursive my teacher wrote on the board but said I did out of embarrassment. After a while I made friends and got through, but insecurities tend to linger. I still have a hard time with unfamiliar situations....I don't even like to call for pizza because I always feel like they're in such a hurry and I'm afraid I won't be able to spit it all out fast enough...I know...It's ridiculous, but it's my thing. Thankfully God doesn't leave us to ourselves. Through different friendships and studying what God has to say in the Bible about His promises, I've learned what it means to really believe God for who He says He is, what He says he can do, who He says I am, and that I can do ALL things through Him because He is my strength.
Without a belief in these truths, I wouldn't be in Illinois today. We came to IL, believing God had something for us here. Talk about working past your insecurities. Leaving everything familiar and believing God had something we could trust Him for in a place very unknown was strangely easy....proof to me that I had grown. I stepped out in faith against the pattern of insecurity and fear of the unfamiliar in my life up to that point, and I trusted God when He said, "Go." Because of this, Cole is being cared for by people who genuinely care for him...therapists who celebrated alongside us the progress I shared with you earlier. And I believe with everything in me, that if God can do that for me, He'll do it for Cole and anyone else who chooses to believe Him for their life too.
Something the director at Cole's school says often gives me great perspective and encouragement as I walk this tiring but incredible journey with my boy. She often reminds us, that "90% of what typically hearing children pick up incidentally, children with hearing impairments must be explicitly taught." When I feel myself getting lazy or tired in explaining every step of every action to him...or when we see good progress and are tempted to relax for a bit and not be so "on top of things, " these words remind and encourage me to keep pressing on. Cole has a bright little mind that is eager to learn, but where Ryder picks up things said even say in passing, it takes Cole explicit teaching over and over to understand and make the same connections. It is important to remain intentional and to be devoted to the process.
We are devoted to this process with Cole...it hasn't been smooth and easy by any means. In fact I remember a point where I felt like we were doing SO much and seeing very little progress. But then, right when weren't thinking so hard about it anymore, he had a growth spurt and began imitating or attempting to imitate everything we said....okay more like the last word of each phrase, but it was amazing! He's become our little parrot. This is one of the reasons it's hard to assess what he understands, since he may say it but it doesn't mean he knows what he's saying, especially if he's imitating one of us. For example, I may ask him if he wants a drink and he'll always say, "booee (drink)" but I'll bring it to him and he'll say "no" and shake his head. He's still making those connects of meaning, but I can't tell you how encouraged we are by his progress. It's so much fun to feel like we're actually having a conversation with him as he uses words to make requests now or share information (like when he hears Cora crying in her crib as she wakes up from a nap he says, "o-ah") We love it....every bit.
Thanks for being interested....because if you're still reading, it must mean you really want to know and we thank you for being on Cole's team! If I could make a request of his team members it would be to keep praying. Put him on every prayer list you know of and encourage others to pray for God to continue opening his "ears" to hear, his mind to understand and his mouth to speak more and more each day. Pray that our family and his therapists would have great insight to teach and encourage him toward growth and that we would trust God to do in the unseen places more than all of us "seen" members could do combined. Thank you for your interest in Cole's story and for the way your prayers are the most important piece of the puzzle. May God bless you too as you give to Him whatever your "thing" is...He already knows, but it's good for us to give :) Maybe that's part of what He meant when He included these words in His Word...."It's more blessed to give than to receive..."
Danice, This was such an encouragement to read. We are so excited to hear about Cole's progress! Praise the Lord! We will continue to pray for him and watch in anticipation what the Lord plans to do with his life.
Love you all!
Wow, Danice! That is great to hear! I'm so glad you're able to see good progress in Cole right now. I know you're an amazing mommy - what a blessed group of kids you have!!
Way to go Coley!!! You are our rascal :)
Love,
Grammie & Papa
Danise, I was so touched by your writing! It is so great to hear how God is working in your life and your family. I was also so encouraged to hear how well Cole is doing! I have just started in a master's program for speech-language pathology and it is so incredible to see you talk about the exact things I am learning and to see it working. Thanks for sharing!
:) this post put a smile on my face. It is so exciting to see Cole making such great improvements. I know this really thrills you and your family.