I will make sure to update this post as soon as we get home. By the way, my Evan goes by many, many, MANY nicknames and this one seems to be his favorite. I asked the lady at the bakery to write "Happy Birthday Evan" and my son quickly corrected me and told her to put "Happy Birthday Goob" so that's what was written :).
Evan was born with mild to moderate bilateral hearing loss and he has had the best intervention and education since he was diagnosed at 3 months of age. None of that has hindered his development...he has progressed above and beyond despite his hearing loss. I was told he would have difficulty hearing the softer sounds with words that start or end with "h", "s" or knowing the difference between words that have "sh" or "ch" and so on. At age 3 months the H.O.P.E. Infant program gave him hearing aids and worked with him 3 times a week for his first year with them. By the time he was 2 they were decreased to once a week then every other week because he was responding so well. It was hard for me to see my little baby boy wearing hearing aids, but soon I was calling him my "RoboBaby". When he started crawling and walking around it became a challenge for me to keep his aids on his ears. One time I found them thrown in the toy box! We learned a few tricks like using eyeglass holders around his aids and pinning the string to his shirt.
Journaling reads:
You truly are my Boy Wonder. When you were born you were diagnosed with bilateral mild to moderate hearing loss. Look at you now...sometimes I think you can really fly. You've soared through pre-school and kindergarten. You're in 1st grade who does 2nd grade math and reading. You have this thirst for knowledge that is so remarkable to me. You never quit anything you start. Keep flying high, baby.............
When he turned 3 he had to leave H.O.P.E. and he was enrolled in a hard of hearing pre-school. The first day of school was difficult for me - I had to leave him for 3 hours Monday through Friday. I cried as soon as the class door closed. His teacher knew I was nervous for him and she came out to reassure me. The 15-minute drive home felt like an eternity. After his first day he was so excited to tell me everything he did in class and right then and there I knew he would be just fine. His class didn't use sign language, but instead they focused on using what hearing he still had and worked with his speech and listening skills.
So now here we are at age 7 (starting 2nd grade in August!)and he rarely uses his hearing aids. He was mainstreamed in kindergarten and has been blazing through school! There is no stopping my Goober and he knows no limits. I will forever be grateful to those who have made sure he had the best start possible: Ross Adams from H.O.P.E. Infant Program, Mrs. Lynn Shasky and Mr. "Frank" from Vista Square Elementary and Mrs. Hall from Morgan-Kincaid
Elementary.
Your son is just adorable and I'm so happy that he has progressed the way he has! All the best to you and your family!
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