3rd Mapping!

Brody had his third and final "initial" mapping today. We were late (what's new), so the audiologist that assisted Dr. Scott last time couldn't do it. Brody wasn't too impressed with the one that came in the booth with us. So after a few attempts, Dr. Scott decided to stop the booth and go ahead and look at the programming. He does this by hooking each sound processor to the computer. Dr. Scott mentioned that he saw good growth again in the sound waves. This means that the auditory nerve is working like it should and the brain is getting the communication like it should. Not that any doctor or specialist has told us, but in my own opinion, I really think he is making such good gains with his hearing because he has them on (almost) all waking hours. He also wore his hearing aids whenever he was awake and not around water. We didn't see any benefit from the hearing aids, but they were keeping the nerve stimulated.

Dr. Scott felt that the last program (Program 4) from the last mapping was a good volume for Brody. He tweaked it some, but made this program the main program for him this time. So, with the four programs that are possible to be on the processor (the external part he wears on his ear), this time he has the same program in each spot. Technically it is P1, P2, P3, and P4. Adults and older kids usually have different programs in each, just like Brody did in the first two mappings. This time P1-P4 are all the same. This is pretty typical for young kids-or at least the kids I work with. We go back November 12th for our surgeon, Dr. Choo, to check the incision to make sure everything is still healing correctly. Then, we will go back November 22nd for another mapping with Dr. Scott. He mentioned that if we wanted to switch back to our Louisville audiologist, we were cleared to do so. I want to have Dr. Scott follow Brody for a little bit longer. Not that I am not comfortable with the ladies at our clinic here (I think they are great!), I just think that Brody is getting used to Dr. Scott right now and I don't want to change it up on him just yet. Plus Dr. Scott is from St. Louis and a huge ST. Louis Cardinals fan! Why would I not want him to work with Brody! (GO CARDS!)

After the programming took place, we went back into the booth. Dr. Scott pulled Joan, one of the LIstening and Spoken Language Specialists, into assist him. Brody really liked her and was showing off. They were able to get some reactions at 20 and 25 decibels. That's normal hearing folks! Pretty much that means that my baby is able to hear all speech sounds now!!! We still have to teach him to listen to them and what to do when he does hear them, but he is having access to them!!

 

Here is the speech banana. It is a representation of examples of things you can hear at each level. Brody was hearing at 70-equipment levels or 100+ with his hearing aids. As you can see, no speech and it had to be something extremely loud. The first mapping had him around 50-60. So getting better but still not around speech. The last map had him around 35 so most sounds. Now he is responding to sounds in the 20-25 range! So exciting! Without the processors on, he goes back to 100+. He is completely deaf without the external piece on and working. With it on, he has access to the sound.

Shelbyville has moved trick-or-treating to Friday night instead of tomorrow because of the predicted storms. Such a predicament- do I take him out because it's his first time, or do I hand out candy and look at all the creative costumes?!? I may take him down the street, then let Jordan take the cranky 16 month old around the neighborhood. Sounds good to me!

 

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My Little Pumpkin

We carved Brody's pumpkin tonight. Well...Jordan carved it, Brody got in the way, and Bear ate a chunk of the pumpkin. 

Brody helped me put the seeds in the bowl. Then he figured out that if he put it in his mouth I would tell him NO! Therefore, everything went to the mouth. 

So...Brody ended up in his high chair watching. 

And Jordan finished the carving!

And the finished product! Cochlear Implant pumpkin!

Brody learned how to sign "candy" tonight. I couldn't get it on video though. He is a little off on the placement of the sign, but he makes it cuter. :)

Brody is listening!

Brody is on the last program of the second mapping. He is responding to environmental sounds (knocking, Bear barking, the ice maker, the door slamming, clapping). He is also starting to respond to speech. Brody sometimes turns to his name. He signs more when you say more. He has even started putting two signs together ("eat more," "drink more," and "want more.") The poor kid is going to be obese but he's communicating!! We need to start finding other motivators.

 Another video by Grandma-Jordan wants a disclaimer that he isn't a fan of the overalls.

I went to a really good conference put on by Hear Indiana. It was very informational. I went to one session on iHear. It is through St. Joeseph's in St. Louis (a oral deaf school). They found a need for therapy services for kids who were not located in cities where there were therapists. They have started a Skype-type therapy session. They showed some clips of sessions. It is pretty interesting! Their main focus is to coach the parents on how to work with their student. I went to another session run by a special education attorney.  It was the most informative session I have ever gone to.  I posted a web page on Facebook that I found when I was looking stuff up afterwards. http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/iep.disputes.popup.htm

Working on turning to the phone ringing.

Grandma and Papa Brown bought Brody a corgi stuffed animal this summer when we went to Purina Farms. He became super interested in it this week and gave it a lot of hugs Saturday. 

He thought this was absolutely hilarious!

Trying to stand up. He hasn't perfected walking or even standing yet. He's almost there! He will walk just holding one hand and will stand if you have a finger on him. He took two steps between Jordan and I, but then decided he wasn't ready yet. :(

Brody gets the biggest kick out of messing with the tv. He waits till we call his name, then whips his head around. 

Just chilling!

We went to the VIPS trick or trunk on Sunday. Brody Monster perfected taking the candy from the bucket and putting it in his bucket. He was fine with his costume but wasn't too sure about the other people in costume. We found Miss Pyper at the party! 

We left VIPS and headed to Westport Road Church of Christ's trunk or treat. This is the church my parents go to and where I attended for middle and high school. We had a lot of fun!

Then, on the way home we passed another festival. I could tell Jordan wanted to stop and when I mentioned that that was the church Brody goes to Bible study with grandma at, he turned the car around. Most of the games were too old for Brody, but we walked around and looked at the cars. Brody loved one of the girl's (who was dressed as Dorthy) dog. He just smiled and laughed until we pulled him away. 

Is this not just the sweetest picture ever?

Oh and guess what?!? Brody is going to be a big cousin! Uncle Jake and Aunt Sarah (Jordan's middle brother) will be having a baby in March! We can't wait!

It's Fall y'all

Brody got a lot of time with Grammy and Papa Tom this past week. Friday night, Jordan and I went to one of my sorority sister's weddings. Such a beautiful bride!

Saturday was the Alabama vs. Kentucky game. Brody got in the spirit thanks to one of the first presents Aunt Sara bought when she found out we were pregnant. 

Also, against daddy's wishes, Brody channeled some "roll tide" spirit. 

Grammy and Papa Tom were camping at the Kentucky Horse Park. Brody had so much fun with them and their dog Sully. They met us Sunday morning at Gallrein Farms in Shelbyville. 

Just a country boy at heart!

Brody also got to hang out with Grammy and Papa Tom on Tuesday night and Wednesday. Grandma had a Bible study thing that Aunt Sara used to baby sit for. (Another reason we miss her).

He is continuing to turn to sounds. He is starting to react to them even when he is distracted by his book or toys. He used to just tune everything out. Brody is also starting to point to his ear more when he hears something. While point to the light is cute and funny, it's not very practical. :)

And for a laugh...our plumber!

On the 2nd program of the new maps!

We moved Brody to the next program today. Grandma had so much fun! She posted these on her Facebook earlier because she was too excited and couldn't wait :)

I really like the end of this video. Makes me feel loved!

2nd Cochlear Implant Mapping

I have been getting feedback from people about not doing a Brody update in a few weeks...I know I know! We've been busy!! Over the last week or so, Brody learned some new skills...

 

We attended two different Cochlear Implant picnics recently. One was in Louisville and was hosted by Cochlear (Brody's Cochlear Implant brand). We were able to meet Scott and Maggie, two reps from the company. Scott is deaf himself and wears bilateral processors. It is always neat to meet adults with them. They can tell you a lot more about their hearing than my students can. Scott is wearing the new N6 processors that Brody will be getting shortly. He was showing us a lot of the new features...very cool! We also got to see that the N6 fits in the aqua bags that help protect it from water so that Brody can go swimming. We were reluctant to go ahead and buy some not knowing if they would fit the new processor. When the processor is in the bags, Brody can still wear them on his ears. It is going to be great for his aqua therapy! The second picnic we went to was at Lexington Hearing and Speech Center in Lexington, KY. I had never been to the facility before even though I have heard good things. Brody has an evaluation with them this Friday to start the listening therapy. The picnic was designed to have the kids entertained while the parents had a "parent education" course. It was taught by their listening specialists and speech therapists. They talked about appropriate toys to build language in the kids and then demonstrated a few. At the end, they raffled some off. Brody got a Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head! They also had representatives for the three cochlear implant brands; Cochlear, Advanced Bionics, and Medel. They split us into groups so that we could visit all of the booths. In our group, everyone's child was already implanted, so they mainly discussed all that they have to offer in resource materials. SO MUCH STUFF!!! If you have a child who is deaf, I strongly urge you to take a look at the three websites. Pretty much all of the resources are free. I am not only going to start using them with Brody, but in my classroom as well!

We went with Grandma and Papa Brown to the Louisville Zoo for the Halloween trick-or-treating on Sunday evening. It was pouring down rain, stopped, and started again. Brody had fun though! He was such a cute little monster!

Giving Batman a high five...his new favorite thing to do!

He had the same picture last year :)

Today, we went back to Cincinnati Children's to see Dr. Scott. When they called to confirm the appointment, they gave me another audiologist's name, so I thought we would be with her. When we got there, she was just helping in the booth and we still saw Dr. Scott. We started the appointment with putting Brody in the booth to see what he was hearing. He didn't write down an audiogram, but was just kind of feeling Brody out. He did better than I expected. He was turning to things that were in the speech range on the speech banana that I posted previously. So although we weren't getting responses from him with us talking, when he knows he is supposed to be listening, he will give a reaction.

From there, we went back in the room where he had his initial stim (when they first hooked up his processors). Dr. Scott plugged them into the computer and created new maps for the processors. In the video you will see them connected to a black cord. This cord is what connects the processor to the computer.

This time, he gave Brody another four programs to work through. This might get confusing...so hang with me. In program 1, they kept the last series of programs program 4. That way, he can ease into the map with the last program he was in. Then, programs 2-4 are all new programs. Clear as mud? :) So if the new programs are too loud or he acts like he doesn't like them, we are able to switch back to a program we know he can tolerate. We are going to try to go up a program everyday like we did with the last round of them. We go back again October 30th for another mapping. We are also starting speech with Ms. Kristie soon!

Brody has been very interested in Bear recently. He loves to bring Bear the dog bone and try to throw the ball for him! Bear...not too much of a fan with the now more mobile Brody. :)