Category: Uncategorized

Today was nuts. I went food shopping at 2:45 and picked the youngest kiddo up at 3:30. Together, we put the food away and Steven tossed dinner in the oven while I hopped in the car to pick up Lauren at school. She stayed after school to play volleyball.

As soon as we arrived home, I sent her upstairs to pack a bag for her sleepover. Her friend was on her way home from the Illinois School for the Deaf and we planned to meet her at the bus stop about 40 minutes from our home. We encountered a lot of traffic on the highway and we pulled in the bus stop a half hour late. Fortunately for us, the bus was also late in getting there.

I said goodbye to Lauren and headed back into the traffic to meet my friend Beth at a local restaurant. We grabbed some appetizers at Friday’s and took off for the high school to see who our kids were hanging out with. David and Aubrey stayed after school to play volleyball with deaf kids from another high school and they all had a pizza party afterwards.

I ran into my friend Carol, who was coaching the kids from the other high school. Carol and I go way back– we played volleyball together for many years, traveling to tournaments in different states. It was so good to see her again, but it sure made me realize how the many years have gone by in a flash. I will be refereeing at the tournament that my son is playing in at Harper College next week and it will be good to see a lot of my old teammates there.

Tomorrow is more of the same traveling, except Joe and I will be going in two different directions. He’s heading to the high school to drop off David for practice and then up north to pick up Lauren from the sleepover. David has a birthday party to attend tomorrow night and I’m heading to a 50th Anniversary party. On Sunday, we are heading to a meeting to rally for insurance coverage for hearing aids in Illinois.

One year, at a meeting, a seasoned mom was telling a new mom to prepare herself to spend a lot of time in the car– she wasn’t kidding. We have deaf friends scattered all over and it isn’t uncommon for us to drive 45 minutes to over an hour each way for get togethers. Now the same thing is happening with our kids and many times we find ourselves juggling driving times into the schedules. We’ve been fortunate to work it out so that we have a lot of halfway meeting points to transport the kids back and forth.

I’ve figured out what I want for Christmas–one of those fancy back massagers that you can plug into an AV outlet and get a massage while you drive.

Honey, are you reading this?

When Ben Lachman graduated from California Polytechnic State University with his degree in English, he learned it was difficult to land a job with very little work history. With the assistance of a job counselor at the Anixter Center, Ben began working at the Commerce Clearing House testing web links. “It was a very basic job and not my ideal situation, but it jump-started my motivation– which is a key thing for a deaf person in a business environment,” said Ben.

Ben’s next job adventure began as the Director of Marketing for a team of financial advisors at Northwestern Mutual. “It was my job to handle client issues and come up with ways to market the financial advisors. I did an excellent job of coming up with marketing strategies however, the customer service was very time consuming and repetitive and a lot of it was over the phone,” Ben explained. As someone with a large amount of ambition, this customer service job was a fine stepping stone to the next level, as it taught Ben the intricacies of salesmanship and building relationships with clients.

Ben moved out west and began working for a small real estate development company but that company went belly up. The owner was arrested several times, and Ben ended up managing one of his restaurants for four months. It was a challenge to communicate with multiple vendors, but Ben was able to adapt to the situation by using his Sidekick phone or through the good old pen and paper from time to time.

Ben is back in Chicago and now works as a Project Manager for Builders of Chicago. He is currently studying for his Real Estate Licensing exam and has plans to become the premier realtor for the Deaf community in Chicago.

Ben has some advice for deaf and hard of hearing individuals who are starting out in careers: “Make a road map – there doesn’t have to be a particular destination, but a road map with goals, both large and small, is a very valuable thing to have because it provides you with something to work towards and you wont feel lost and aimless if you have goals.”

Ben can be reached at: ben.lachman@gmail.com

It’s another week and Marlee Matlin is still kicking up her heels each week on Dancing with the Stars. I missed Monday’s show as I was on a plane coming home from California. Last night, I spoke to a group of parents up north and came home just in time to see that Marlee and Fabian made it through another week. Just then, the dish went out due to a storm.

Last week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Marlee in her spare moment between practices. I asked Marlee a question about facing discrimination and she had this to say:

That’s the reason Marlee gets my vote each week along with her amazing dancing talent.

The entire interview can be seen here:

Marlee Matlin Kicks Up Her Heels on Dancing with the Stars

Two years ago, my family had hearing aid coverage by our insurance company up to $1,000 per year, thanks to my husband’s employer. We now have HMO insurance that doesn’t cover hearing aids. I am hoping that my current hearing aids continue to work for several more years.

My cousin recently purchased hearing aids and was so shocked to find out that her insurance company wouldn’t fork over a penny and that she would have to foot the bill herself.

That “shock” seems to hit people over and over, as parents write to me and share their dismay of finding out that their insurance company doesn’t consider hearing aids a medical device or prosthesis.

So those of you in IL, come and join the rest of us to bring forth some change. We are working with our local senators and representatives to provide hearing aid coverage in Illinois. The time is NOW to make some changes. Tell us your stories of struggling to pay for hearing aids and send it to: parentsofdeafhoh@aol.com (Limit to one page). If you wear hearing aids, or want to purchase them, or know someone who uses hearing aids, join us at this meeting:

Town Hall Meeting
Sunday, April 13th, 2008
1:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Hinsdale South H.S.
7401 Clarendon Hills Rd
Darien, Il 60561

Hearing Aids Insurance Coverage Legislation

What’s the latest on HB5598 and HB5600?

What can we do to encourage Illinois Legislators to pass Hearing
Aids Insurance Coverage??

We need to raise awareness of this growing problem of many people
not being able to afford to pay for expensive hearing aid(s). Many
deaf and hard of hearing people have gone without hearing aid(s)
because they cannot afford it. There are some deaf and hard of
hearing people that have gone with cheaper hearing aid(s) that are
not suitable for them. There are many parents that could not afford
to buy hearing aid(s) for their deaf and hard of hearing children.

Local State Representatives and Senators will be there to hear our
stories.

Those who wear hearing aids, Parents of deaf and hard of hearing
children, and ALL people who SUPPORT Hearing Aids Insurance Coverage
are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to take the time and attend.

Interpreters and Cart will be provided.

Spread the word to all those who care !!!! The more bodies we have
at the town hall, the STRONGER the message we send to Illinois
Legislators will be !!!

See you all there….

To those who wish to subscribe to HearingAids2008 Yahoogroups
Send an email to this email address, HearingAids2008-
subscribe@yahoogroups.com

In there, you will see already other people in this group sharing
their stories about financial hardship of paying for expensive
hearing aids, will see Hyperlinks of several articles about hearing
aids insurance coverage legislation. Much to read in there.. Come
on and join us there.. We could use your help !!!!

HearingAids2008 group

When I first started working in early intervention, I didn’t really have much exposure to children with autism. I grew up with a friend who was diagnosed with Aspergers as an adult. So today, I’m sharing my journey of discovering Autism as part of the Blogging for Autism Awareness month.
When I received the paperwork for a little girl who was nearly three, my heart sank. I knew I wouldn’t have much time to work with the family, as the early intervention program ages kids out when they turn three.

I’ll call this little one, Sarah. By the third visit, I knew there was something else going on, not just a diagnosis of hearing and vision loss. My first clue was the fish tank. Most kids love watching a fish tank and show some interest. I brought Sarah over to the colorful fish tank and attempted to introduce some signs. Her mother remarked that Sarah never did look at the tank, or even the family dog.

Sarah often became easily frustrated, banged her head repeatedly and if I took a toy away to move on to another one, she self-soothed herself using the same pattern over and over at each visit. She became fixated on certain toys and her mom mentioned that she could lie quietly in her crib for a long period of time.

Autism.

The word crept into my mind as the visits went on. The problem is, I knew so little about it. So I contacted Bonnie Sayers, a fellow writer that I knew from another website. I knew she was a mom of two boys with autism and she knew a lot. She runs the Autism Spectrum Disorders website at Bella Online.

Bonnie directed me to a checklist that parents could use to rate behaviors that their child was demonstrating. From the little that I knew, it seemed to me that Sarah ranked high on the scale.

So I found a way to have a conversation with the mom to see what her thoughts were. She explained that Autism crossed her mind and she brought it up with other therapists, but none of them agreed that it could be that. One did suggest that she explore it further.

I told her about the checklist that I learned about and I asked her if she would be interested in looking it over.

She said yes.

So the following week, I brought it over and explained it. I suggested that she sit down with her husband and look it over together and share some thoughts.

The following week, nothing had been completed. I didn’t say anything, for it’s a hard thing for any parent to seek out answers or explore the possiblity that something different is happening with their child.

But the next week, she opened the door and said simply, “I think she has Autism. She scored high on the checklist for that.”

Sarah was eventually diagnosed with Autism. The parents and I explored a nearby classroom together and they transitioned her there.

Here are some links that Bonnie shared:

CDC Growth Checkpoints

Autism Symptoms Checklist

Checklist for Autism in Toddlers

A special thank you to Bonnie for helping me to help that family.

I’ve given this a lot of thought lately and this morning, I woke up from a dream and realized what I need to do:

It’s time for me to stop blogging and start living.

I haven’t seen the bottom of my kitchen sink since I cleaned it as a New Year’s resolution last year. The time that I cleaned it for the television reporters doesn’t count, as I shoved the dirty dishes into the oven.

I haven’t made my bed since I started blogging. Oh wait, I can’t blame blogging, because it started when we got our first computer nearly ten years ago.

I’ve neglected my compost pile–it’s time for me to pay some attention to those hard-working worms in my backyard.

Oh, and my kids– just the other day I noticed that my oldest towers above me. The middle kid has grown into a woman. The youngest kid is now negotiating to stay up until midnight. And the youngest kid needs a haircut– I can’t see into his eyes.

So, my blogging readers, it’s time for me to hang up the blogging shingle and go clean my kitchen sink and get to know my kids once again. And oh–the hubby too! Thanks for hanging out here in the last year and half– it was great getting to know you!

D-Pan has released a new video based on Christina Aguilera’s song, “Beautiful.” Kylie Sharp, the co-director of Michigan Hands & Voices has a daughter in the video–check out the girl in the pink:

The lyrics for the original song:

Don’t look at me

Every day is so wonderful
And suddenly, it’s hard to breathe
Now and then, I get insecure
From all the pain, I’m so ashamed

I am beautiful no matter what they say
Words can’t bring me down
I am beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can’t bring me down
Oh no, so don’t you bring me down today

To all your friends, you’re delirious
So consumed in all your doom
Trying hard to fill the emptiness
The pieces is gone left the puzzle undone
Is that the way it is

You are beautiful no matter what they say
Words can’t bring you down, oh no
You are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can’t bring you down, oh no
So don’t you bring me down today

No matter what we do
(no matter what we do)
No matter what they say
(no matter what they say)
We’re the song inside the tune full of beautiful mistakes

And everywhere we go
(everywhere we go)
The will always shine
(sun will always shine)
But tomorrow we might awake
On the other side

We are beautiful no matter what they say
Yes, words won’t bring us down, oh no
We are beautiful in every single way
Yes, words can’t bring us down, oh no
So don’t you bring me down today

Don’t you bring me down today
Don’t you bring me down today

And finally, you can view Christina Aguilera’s original video with subtitles:

Beautiful

“How’s Matthew doing?” a reader recently asked me. You may remember Matthew from earlier posts: Matthew Gets a Cochlear Implant and Matthew’s Cochlear Implant Activation. I have gotten several emails from readers wondering about Matthew’s progress with his cochlear implant and what he’s doing today.

From the very first day of activation, Matthew instantly took a liking to the sounds he was hearing through the implant. It took a while to get used to the sound, but his brain learned to adjust and the sounds became clearer over time. Keep in mind, Matthew has Auditory Neuropathy and had many moments when he could hear normally when he was a young child. During the last several years, Matthew had great difficulty having conversations with people who didn’t sign and was struggling to pay attention in school.

The summer before Matthew obtained his cochlear implant, he attended a sports camp at the Illinois School for the Deaf. He told Sue, his mom, “I want to go to school down there.” Sue couldn’t imagine sending Matthew away to a residental school. In fact, just two years before that, Sue sat on a panel with other parents and declared that she would never send her kids to a residential school. “I want my kids at home with me,” she said.

So it may surprise some readers to learn that Matthew and his brother have been attending ISD since January, 2008.

Matthew took an instant liking to his new school and it was easy to see that he was very happy there. I asked him how ISD was different from the school he attended at home with a handful of deaf and hard of hearing students and he said, “At my old school, I didn’t participate much. I felt left out of a lot of conversations, like I wasn’t even here. At ISD, everyone signs and I participate in everything. I’m involved in a lot of activities. I’m on the track team. I have lots of friends at ISD. We go bowling and play video games.”

Sue explained that Matthew receives auditory training each week to practice listening with his implant. Matthew described the sessions as fun and enjoyable. He is in sixth grade and is being challenged with seventh grade work.

“It sounds like ISD has changed your life,” I remarked to Matthew.

“Yes, it has, but so has my implant,” he said with a huge grin.

Stephen Hopson over at Adversity University has a series of interviews that allow readers to get a deeper glimpse into the life of bloggers all over. I’m really honored that Stephen chose to interview me and share a bit more about my life.

Stephen asked several questions that made me pause and think before answering. Of course, after completing the interview, I thought of many more answers that I wanted to share. If anyone ever attempts to write an autobiography–interviews by another person would be a great way to jump-start the writing. I was surprised as some of my own answers that came up and it brought out some faded memories. I very much enjoyed this interview and I hope you do too:

Adversity University, Karen Putz Part I

Adversity University, Karen Putz Part II