Feeling overwhelmed

la79al

I've posted on here a few times.  DD was born with microtia, basically she has most likely no hearing on one side and normal hearing on the other side.  I took her to an audiologist a few times but by the time I was ready to take her back, the doctor had quit.  I honestly haven't been doing anything.  She goes to her well child visits, her speech seems to be a little behind the couple of other kids we know that are her age but right where DD1s was at her age (and DD1 is fine now) she doesn't seem to have any problems other than not always being able to determine where I am when I am out of sight and call her name.  But now I am starting to think ahead towards school and I'm feeling overwhelmed.  Obviously the first step is for me to take her to an audiologist.  The last time I did that, the doctor had no clue what services were available to us and gave no indication of what services we should be seeking out.  So I'm nervous.  Plus, I am waiting for a call from the audiologists office to set up an appointment once their schedule is out.  I'm giving them a week to call me back and then I'm going elsewhere.  This place was recommended but now I'm feeling like I should have been doing something a year ago.  Overall, I was going to go with the 'she is doing fine' approach, no intervention needed.  Now I am thinking that fine in the home setting might not equal fine in a school setting.  Just tell me to calm down.  The kids been doing fine for 3 years and has another 2 until she starts kindergarten.  I was going to send her to preschool next year but she only makes the cutoff by 1 day and she just seems so little (it doesn't help that she is my youngest/possibly last so I'm in no hurry to get her out of the house or growing up).  She'll probably still end up going but I think it's the whole public vs. private decision that started this whole panic.  Ahhhh!!!!!

Assembly_Reqd

Since you asked for it...Calm Down!!! Since you feel she is doing fine you have proably made the right decision. You really will not know how it impacts her educationally until she actually starts more structured learning. I think you are feeling overwhelmed because you have a lot of unknowns. Maybe it is time to pursue the microtia a bit more to help you feel you have addressed all those whatifs in your head.

Here's the thing. I have a good friend whose son is in the same situation and age as your DD. He attends our local school for the deaf in the family education department. She is also trying to figure out what to do regarding the ear and if they want to pursue a BAHA (bone anchored hearing aid) and/or open up the ear canal and do some reconstructive surgery. The opening of the ear canal and reconstruction they cannot start until he is 5 or 6 to give the structures more time to grow so they are easier to work with. Her situation may be a bit different than yours because her son is at a 24 month receptive and expressive level and he is 3.75. He is quite delayed speech-wise and also has been dx'd with ADHD. She suspects he also has auditory processing disorder. She sorta needs "all ears on deck" for other reasons.

My advice to her is to go on a fact finding mission about all the options and then make a decision based on those and her DS's school placement. If he get's placed at the School for the Deaf than it is sorta NBD about getting a BAHA since the hearing in his other ear is perfect. He would have access to a complete language for learning(ASL) However, he may want to participate in sports, theater, marching band or sing in the choir someday at a hearing school. Not having hearing on one side of your head would be a disadvantage in those situations, but I am sure he could still participate. The issues in the classroom you can accommodate for with an IEP. Seating in the front, hearing ear towards the teacher, etc

If it were me, I would find an ENT and go in for a consult about the microtia and reconstruction. We did this for Nate's abducted thumbs because I wanted to have a really good answer if he asks me when he gets older WTF is up with his hands and why didn't we fix them. ;P My friend's DS's conductive hearing test went really well, so she has hope that the structures inside her son's ear are working and it is just the pinna that is f-ed up. If he still has a hearing loss after the canal is open, it is possible that he could get one of those in the ear aids in lieu of a BTE aid and not need a BAHA anymore. I think she should get him a BAHA now so that his auditory nerve on that side is getting input. Someday he may need that nerve working well if the ear canal can be opened.

Most ENT's have an Audiologist on staff at large hospitals. You could kill two birds with one stone. Also, I believe a BAHA needs to be put in by an ENT. Going to a run of the mill audiologist who sees a bunch of senior citizens all the time is not gonna cut it. I am sure I muddied the waters more for you, but I just thought I would share what we were JUST talking about the other day....HTH somewhat??.....Hugs!

Assembly_Reqd

OMG that is soo long! Sorry for the novel.

Assembly_Reqd

Brandi Bee said:

Have you considered having her put into speech therapy?  I think that's what I would do.  Obviously you'd have to get your pedi to see her and refer it, but she would probably really benefit from that.

Does your states early intervention go until 4? If so, you may be able to get her evaluated for speech for free. Also, it is really hard to compare her to other kids you know since they could be really awesome talkers for their age or somewhat delayed talkers for their age. It would be better to get an experts opinion on how her speech has been affected.