I think something is wrong with Violet - Page 3

[RileysMom]

Originally posted by indiegirl
By all means, please post your experience here! I'm so glad the speech therapy went well. I don't think you posted, but is your child hard of hearing?

What do they say about delayed speech when hearing isn't a problem? (Causes, treatment...etc.)

Jesse

No, she was 3 months premature, but her hearing has tested fine. (as has everything else, thank goodness!) Just slow to talk. I can definitely live with that! She communicates really clearly to dh and I...just non verbally.

[lilyka]

Sorry I havn't read all the posts but I just wanted to say my dd hardly uttered a word until she was 2 1/2 years old and then everything was on a need to say basis until she was about 4. now she never stops talking. It was just her personality not to do things until she could do them confidently. When she did start she could speak at an age appropriate level. Laer we found out she had roblems processing language and that was probably oart of the delay. Speech therapy probablky wouldn't have helped in her case.

I say give it a while before panicing.

[lisamarie]

Sending just hugs, healing for you (please try to be gentle with yourself. I know easier said than done) and guidance. She is such a wonderful spirit!

Keep me posted and many hugs~

Lisa

[cattrane]

i don't know that this will help you feel better but i hope so! ~ i work in an animal hospital and the majority of people with deaf cats don't know they are deaf until we tell them, because the cats don't act much differently than a hearing cat then they realize that oh yes, my old cat used to run to the kitchen for food, this cat never has, but we thought it just wasn't food crazy

~ it's impossible to know what is "normal" when you don't have an experience to compare to, so when our kiddos are very young, it's SOOOO hard to know what is appropriate developmentally, ESPECIALLY when our kids are so in tune with us that they find ways to compensate (and thus hide the underlying problem) ~ you RAWK mama, hang in there!!

[veganmamma]

I'm sorry you're going thru this!! ((hugs)) Could it be her hearing? My dad had speech difficulites and didn't startle and it turned out to be his hearing. Can you have that tested? I have a friend who is a speech therapist for children, I'll ask her if she knows anything.
Stay strong and remember that all children are different and develop at their pace.
Blessings,
Lauren

[indiegirl]

Update!

She got to the Speech, Language and Learning for an eval on March 11 (Tuesday). Quick, huh? Her hearing eval is scheduled for March 20th. I'm going to have to pump for Zoe and hope she'll take a bottle. Ack!

Weird thing happened yesterday: V was playing with the radio. She changed it off of my favorite station and I asked her to turn it back. She did. She found the correct radio station--granted, she could have remembered how many turns it took, but she did it. The volume was on 2 of 10--not very loud. It blew my mind.

Again, thanks for the support. YOu guys are incredible.

Jesse
Mama to Violet and Zoe
Born at home

[Lucky Charm]

Jess, i am so glad you got the appointments. let us know what happens, ok?

hugs to you, Lisa

[indiegirl]

UPDATE

We saw the speech therapist today for her evaluation. Good news and Bad news...

The GOOD news is that her cognitive and motor skills are right on track or advanced. Often speech problems/delays are indicitive of other developmental problems but that doesn't seem to be the case with Violet. In fact, the therapist said that she has never had a kid problem-solve like V did with a broken toy.

The Bad/Challenging news is that Violet's receptive speech (what she understands) rates at the 20 mo. old level and her expressive speech (what she says) is at the 16 mo. level. So that puts her about a year behind overall. A year behind is a big deal at this stage because they are learing new things so quickly.

We still go in for a hearing eval next week (Thursday). The therapist said that she didn't see evidence of a profound hearing loss but that she might have what is called a "transitional" hearing loss created by fluid in the ears. Violet's ears have always looked okay but if they are completely fluid filled then it would be hard to discern if they are or not. If they are fluid-filled, then she would get tubes and I imagine this process would go much quicker.

So that is the update for now. I'll keep you posted. We are on a waiting list for speech therapy. V will most likely go once a week. She said it should be within the month that we get in.

I'm doing okay. I feel like I'm at the bottom of a long hill that we have to climb. I'm just gearing up and trying to prepare for the rocks ahead. We're gonna help our girl get on track. Whatever it takes.



Jesse

[mimmy]

Wow - I am at a loss as to what to say, but Violet has been and will continue to be in my prayers every night.

I had hearing loss due to fluid in my ears as a young child, I was lip reading and my parents didn't know - when I started school the teacher sat me in the front of the classroom so I could hear her. Once I got tubes it all cleared up. If that is Violet's problem, I would guess that her speach would catch up relatively quickly once the fluid is drained, especially since her cognative skills are so high.
Please continue to keep us updated.

[lisamarie]

Its good to hear from you! Sending your family BIG HUGS!!!

Warmly~

Lisa

[carmen veranda]

Thanks for the update on Violet. The good news sounds terrific and the bad news not terrible. Heart tugging for sure. Our thought continue to be with you as you love and support your baby through this. Way to go Mamma. You are doing everything you can to help your baby!!!

[indiegirl]

Well, the month-long wait for speech therapy has turned into week-long wait~ Got a call this morning that they can fit her into the Thursday 9:30 time slot. Her ST sounded really nice. She'll start either next Thursday or the following.

Oh, and I was wrong about her hearing appt. Its TUESDAY, not Thursday of next week. I'm so interested to see what the results are! I pumped 2 ozs. last night and will try to get at least 2 more before Tuesday so that I can leave Zoe (ack! No! But I have to!) with my SIL.

Jesse

[Lucky Charm]

Jesse,
Thank you for the update. good luck on the appointment.

You are a good mom, listening to your gut and your child. Give yourself a hug from me to you, ok?

Lisa, aka sweetbaby3

[Cygnet09]

I'm so sorry you are going through this, indiegirl. I wanted to chime in and let you know my experience.

I am hearing impaired - I was probably born with the loss. But it was not discovered until I was in kindergarten and was given a hearing test along with all of my classmates. And my mom is the best! So please don't beat yourself up about this! My grandmother was just about to say something to my mom when I was given the hearing test - since my loss is relatively mild, it was pretty sneaky. I consider being hearing impaired to be one of the "invisible" disabilities. No one can tell by looking at me or even by superficial interaction. But sooner or later someone will notice something "weird" or will wonder where my accent hails from. I wore hearing aids until I became too self-conscious (early adolescence) - I am considering getting another pair now that new technology means smaller aids with less annoying feedback, etc.

I don't know that I was behind in my speech - but if V has some mild hearing loss, it seems like it would fit with her expression and understanding being a bit behind. If you don't hear a lot of general conversation, then it means that you don't pick up as much as other kids. Also, from personal experience I usually need to "tune out" background noise and chatter because I find it to be very distracting. I work too hard at trying to understand the flow of conversation and at trying to fit in blank words or phrases that I missed. So I just tune out and it can sometimes take a bit more than usual to get my attention - more than is explainable by the amount of impairment I have. Does that make sense?

Anyway, I truly hope you don't need to deal with any congenital issues. Hopefully it is just fluid build up and she will catch up so fast your head will spin! Also, I really liked my speech therapists! They were great!

Good luck and keep us posted!

[indiegirl]

It is a hearing loss.

Normal hearing falls between the 0-25 decible range. Violet is hearing at around 55.

If its structural they can do surgery. If its nerves, its a life of hearing aids.

She'll be referred to Children's Hospital where they will do further testing to determine exactly what the hearing loss is and where the problem is.

It's not fluid; her ears were clear.

Jesse

[mimmy]

Oh mama, I am so sorry. Your family is in my prayers. Please keep us posted.

[cameronsmom]

I'm glad you finally have an answer. Hopefully it will be an answer that will be able to be dealt with head on. Did they happen to say if it was both ears or just one, or could they even tell? I just wonder because of my own hearing loss. My "good" ear has had to compensate for so long that I have issues with low tones now, so I am curious. You are in my prayers.

[MamaOui]

See indiegirl, that Violet is a smart cookie. She is lucky that she has a mama like you to help her deal with her hearing loss. I am glad that you are getting the answers you need. My positive thoughts are with you and Violet as you face this new challenge.

[Pom]

(((hugs)))

[lisamarie]

Its good to hear from you~thank you for the update!

Yes, Violet is so lucky to have the two of you for parents!!! Please continue to keep us posted on how things are going!

Take Care~

Lisa