Brody is loving school!

I am getting really bad at updating this blog...if only my husband liked to write more (because he's much better at it than I am)! Brody has been staying super busy lately. He has added a day to VIPS (Visionally Impaired Preschool Services) in Louisville. He is now going on Monday and Thursday mornings. Side Note...my mom took him on Monday to the ophthalmologist, Dr. John Franklin. Dr. Franklin said that Brody's eyes are looking really good right now! He gave him a series of tests that included identifying pictures. Not only was Brody able to hear and understand what to do :) he also was able to see what he needed to see to pass the tests. We don't have to go back to see Dr. Franklin for a year! Although Brody's vision is okay right now, he gets to go to VIPS because of his diagnosis. Our goal of him being there was that he would learn skills to help him later with the vision loss. He is also around peers his age that talk! Brody has been feeling the books to see if there's Braille. He has also been using sticks like white canes. Clearly our goal is being met!

Brody also attends the hearing impaired playgroup that is at Heuser (where I teach). He goes there one day a week for 2 hours. He walks in like he owns the building. It just confirms that he never needs to be in my classroom! Jordan and I took Brody to Cincinnati for his year post implant appointment. We saw Ms. Bridget, the speech therapist that has been following him. She gave him an evaluation and based her answers off of what we reported and what she saw. Brody scored around 22 months. He's only 27 months. Being 5 months behind and only a year of hearing...I'll take it! Then we went and saw Dr. Micheal Scott, Brody's audiologist. Dr. Scott (who we love and I highly recommend to anyone and everyone) put Brody in the sound booth. Brody did awesome with his listening tasks. First they did some "conditioned play." This involves holding a toy, waiting until you heave the sound, then doing a task with the sound. They switched it up a few times because Brody would get bored. They put rings on a stacker, cars down a track, balls in a bucket, and pegs in a board. Then, dr. Scott gave Brody the WIPI. It's a speech perception test. It looks at Brody's understanding of words he hears. There are four black and white pictures on a page. Some of them rhyme, so you have to listen carefully. Brody only kissed a few! He finished the whole booklet too. He missed school (which when he was asked what it was, he said house.). He switched coat and goat. He missed gun and gum (we don't have accessible to him). He missed another one that I can't remember. Over all, Brody was a star patient! While Brody is listening and doing these tasks, the audiologist is plotting where he is hearing. Brody is hearing between 10-15 decibels (dB). This is normal hearing. Like he can hear leaves rustling and birds chirping. I LOVE TECHNOLOGY!

Brody is also attending Bible Study Fellowship with my mom on Wednesday mornings. So he has the hearing impaired kids, vision impaired kids, and typical kids. He is exposed to a little of everything. Hopefully, it will keep him well balanced. 

His speech is improving little by little everyday. At the store, a lady was able to understand him! His speech still isn't the clearest, but when you are around him and know the context, you know what he's saying! He has learned the "I want..." phrase. He is carrying it over and using it for a lot of different objects. "I want a book." "I want nanana (banana)." "I want ink (drink) ease (please)." "I want ew (shoe)." He is also searching for hints and people. He will say "ear-cha (where'd ya) go?" If he finds you/it, he'll say "Ear (there/here-we aren't sure which) you are." He's using mama and dad (some times dad-o). He knows Papa (Brown and Tom) and grandma. He is starting to say Sara as well. 

He has always loved to sing songs. He is starting to fill in the words now!