Ezekiel's speech

[Guest guest]

I'm curious if any of you has had this or similar experiences with your child's

speech developement:

Just a quick recap - Ezekiel has a moderate hearing loss - it progresses to

mod. severe in the higher frequencies. He is 20 months old, and was aided when

he was 14.5 months. All of his audiology visits have produced the same results

- aided, he is hearing at around 15-30 dec., better in the lower and worse in

the higher.

When he was aided he did not seem to understand anything except maybe bye bye

and ... maybe no. He now has a fairly good vocabulary in terms of

understanding - he knows a lot of animals and what sounds they make, most

vehicles, and things like tree, flower, moon, etc. Plus some food labels, and

basic commands, etc.

Initially he began to say words or at least make an attempt. He would say woof

woof for a dog, etc. though it wasn't perfect. Now, everthing is syllables.

He just does not open his mouth. Choo choo train is " mm-mm-mm " with the

correct emphasis and inflection. Same with almost everything. Only when he is

trying to get my attention will he speak - and try and say a word. His speech

however is really not good and no stranger could understand anything he says

except maybe " no. "

I think I've convinced myself, and his early intervention people are convinced,

that this is just his personality. He is very strong willed, and shows no

frustration with anything (including his inability to make himself understood)

but is just happy go lucky and independent for the most part. I just keep

hearing about how kids start to speak when they get aided, and wish he would

too! At least I know he is understanding at that the aids seem to be working

for that reason! But if anyone has any advice, or has had similar things

happen, I'd love to hear about it.

Kirsten

ps for those of you who know... Ezekiel has been seen by two audiologists, one

locally who is very good, and one in Boston - Marilyn Neault, also excellent,

who confirmed everything the local audiologist has done and said. so I feel

confident that he is well aided.

[Guest guest]

Dear Kirsten,

My daughter has a moderate hearing loss in the low frequency's. Her

highs are fine. The first week she got the first aid it was amazing. She

was making sounds and babbling away. When she would say words incorrectly I

would correct her and she woud say them the correct way. I was on cloud

nine. She is almost 4 and was just aided.

Then she got a cold with fluid. Then the aid was clogged with wax and I

didn't know it. It is so frustrating, It's like one step foward, 2 steps

backward, and her behavior is starting to suffer.

Last Friday she got her 2nd aid. Wow, what a difference. She is

definitely hearing sounds that she has never heard before. When she drops

something, she looks down, this is something she has never done before. She

is a lot more quiet now with 2. But when she talks I catch her mumbling

through whole sentences. The words are just sneaking through.

I think it takes them a long time just to learn to listen again.

Good Luck

Sheri

[Guest guest]

Hi Kirsten,

My oldest son, hearing, did not speak until after he was two years old. Up

to that point, he just was not interested. He would grunt or say single

syllables while pointing to get his message across. It sounds like

Ezekiel's receptive language is coming along well, and that is probably of

greatest importance at this stage for him. Perhaps as he gets closer to two

years old he will begin to want to talk more.

For what it's worth....

Dixie

-

>

>I'm curious if any of you has had this or similar experiences with your

child's

>speech developement:

>

>Just a quick recap - Ezekiel has a moderate hearing loss - it progresses to

>mod. severe in the higher frequencies. He is 20 months old, and was aided

when

>he was 14.5 months. All of his audiology visits have produced the same

results

>- aided, he is hearing at around 15-30 dec., better in the lower and worse

in

>the higher.

>

>When he was aided he did not seem to understand anything except maybe bye

bye

>and ... maybe no. He now has a fairly good vocabulary in terms of

>understanding - he knows a lot of animals and what sounds they make, most

>vehicles, and things like tree, flower, moon, etc. Plus some food labels,

and

>basic commands, etc.

>

>Initially he began to say words or at least make an attempt. He would say

woof

>woof for a dog, etc. though it wasn't perfect. Now, everthing is

syllables.

>He just does not open his mouth. Choo choo train is " mm-mm-mm " with the

>correct emphasis and inflection. Same with almost everything. Only when

he is

>trying to get my attention will he speak - and try and say a word. His

speech

>however is really not good and no stranger could understand anything he

says

>except maybe " no. "

>

>I think I've convinced myself, and his early intervention people are

convinced,

>that this is just his personality. He is very strong willed, and shows no

>frustration with anything (including his inability to make himself

understood)

>but is just happy go lucky and independent for the most part. I just keep

>hearing about how kids start to speak when they get aided, and wish he

would

>too! At least I know he is understanding at that the aids seem to be

working

>for that reason! But if anyone has any advice, or has had similar things

>happen, I'd love to hear about it.

>

>Kirsten

>

>ps for those of you who know... Ezekiel has been seen by two audiologists,

one

>locally who is very good, and one in Boston - Marilyn Neault, also

excellent,

>who confirmed everything the local audiologist has done and said. so I

feel

>confident that he is well aided.

>

>>All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post

is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

copyright restrictions.

>

[Guest guest]

Kirsten,

I'm sorry, I have no advice, just want to commiserate! My son, Ben, is 14

months, severe to mod.- severe, better in the higher frequencies, and aided

is hearing speech and music at 25 db. His speech development has really

lagged: he only (finally!) began babbling about six weeks ago, is now

making all kinds of sounds, including " mama " and " dada " (though not

necessarily with any meaning). He seems to understand a number of words,

and very simple commands, and I'm watching all the time for comprehension.

I also do some (very simple) sign with him, which he seems to understand.

To date, he has not tried to speak or sign any real words; I am anxious to

see the beginnings of expressive language.

For the longest time, all he said was " ah-ah-ah " and " mmm " , so hearing

actual babbling is a relief. And, as far as personality, his MO seems to

be to learn something, practice it for a short time, then put it aside for

awhile before doing it again. This has held true for language as well as

motor skills. So I hear something from him, get excited about it, then

don't hear it again for several weeks, until he feels like trying it out

again. I try not to obsess about it. He's been aided since three months,

but then had fluid in his ears, then tubes in at seven months, so he's been

a while without good sound.

So, I can't help you out, but I'm happy to let you know you're not alone!

Stefanie

[Guest guest]

>For the longest time, all he said was " ah-ah-ah " and " mmm " , so hearing

>actual babbling is a relief. And, as far as personality, his MO seems to

>be to learn something, practice it for a short time, then put it aside for

>awhile before doing it again. This has held true for language as well as

>motor skills.

I don't think this is an unusual pattern of development. My son, who is not

hearing impaired, could only seem to work on one thing at a time. There

were times when his language would just seem to go away. During those times

I noticed him making great gains in motor skills. Then suddenly he couldn't

seem to walk across the room without falling three times and I would see

gains in language. He had not been talking at all and I was concerned he

was losing the gains he had made and suddenly he started talking in full

sentences. I have heard this from others as well. It's like the brain is

just concentrating on one thing at a time.

Barb

So I hear something from him, get excited about it, then

>don't hear it again for several weeks, until he feels like trying it out

>again. I try not to obsess about it. He's been aided since three months,

>but then had fluid in his ears, then tubes in at seven months, so he's been

>a while without good sound.

>

>So, I can't help you out, but I'm happy to let you know you're not alone!

>Stefanie

>

>>All messages posted to this list are private and confidential. Each post

is the intellectual property of the author and therefore subject to

copyright restrictions.

[Guest guest]

Hi Kirsten:

Kirsten Elin wrote:

> From: Kirsten.Elin@... (Kirsten Elin)

>

> I'm curious if any of you has had this or similar experiences with your

child's

> speech developement:

>

> Just a quick recap - Ezekiel has a moderate hearing loss - it progresses to

> mod. severe in the higher frequencies. He is 20 months old, and was aided

when

> he was 14.5 months. All of his audiology visits have produced the same

results

> - aided, he is hearing at around 15-30 dec., better in the lower and worse in

> the higher.

>

My Daughter le is 14 months and has a moderate to severe loss

she was aided around 7 months of age due to brainstem inconsistency,

even though she was diagnosised at birth. She is hearing 20db aided also

better in lower worse in higher frequencies

>

> When he was aided he did not seem to understand anything except maybe bye bye

> and ... maybe no. He now has a fairly good vocabulary in terms of

> understanding - he knows a lot of animals and what sounds they make, most

> vehicles, and things like tree, flower, moon, etc. Plus some food labels, and

> basic commands, etc.

>

>

le just started talking about a month ago when the aids were in. If the

aids

were out she would just babble away. She has a good understanding to many

words also.

>

> Initially he began to say words or at least make an attempt. He would say

woof

> woof for a dog, etc. though it wasn't perfect. Now, everthing is syllables.

> He just does not open his mouth. Choo choo train is " mm-mm-mm " with the

> correct emphasis and inflection. Same with almost everything. Only when he

is

> trying to get my attention will he speak - and try and say a word. His speech

> however is really not good and no stranger could understand anything he says

> except maybe " no. "

le says dada, mama and yumyum pretty clearly. She has alot of babble

sounds

ba,ga,na,mmm,ah,goo, etc, and is very vocal when her aids are off. She just

started

talking a little bit when the aids are on and is talking alot lower. When the

aids are off

she is very loud. We have alot of down times with aids due to reoccuring ear

infections.

In 14 months we have had 15 infections. But usually they are not in both ears

and we

are able to wear one aid so she is getting some sound in. She doesn't say no

and the

therperist don't understand why she has a good n and o sound, we use simple

signs and

she like yells ahaha and signs no. She just started signing all gone. When

she started

saying Dada and Mama she said it for a while and then she stoped saying it for a

few

weeks and now all of a sudden again she is saying it hunderd times a day again.

>

>

> I think I've convinced myself, and his early intervention people are

convinced,

> that this is just his personality. He is very strong willed, and shows no

> frustration with anything (including his inability to make himself understood)

> but is just happy go lucky and independent for the most part.

le is also very strong willed but she does get frustrated. She is usually

very

happy go lucky, but she is far from independent I can't walk away for a minuted

without

her screaming. She will play and talk to her toys but I have to be right there.

>

> ps for those of you who know... Ezekiel has been seen by two audiologists, one

> locally who is very good, and one in Boston - Marilyn Neault, also excellent,

> who confirmed everything the local audiologist has done and said. so I feel

> confident that he is well aided.

I have heard so much about Marilyn and would love to take le there someday

and have her confirm what we have been told now. Take care.

Colleen