The Day After

I worked from home most of the day today and Ian had his first speech therapy appointment, meaning it was an oddly arranged day for both of us.

Ian was up several times last night with teething pain, although he put himself back to sleep within a few minutes each time. Shawn did numb him once, which only made him madder, but we had to do something for him. He was frustrated...and wouldn't you be if you had razor sharp teeth sinking into your gums and tongue just as you're drifting off? Poor little guy. It makes me wonder why teeth aren't worth more when they fall out, considering all the grief they cause on their way in. I don't know the going rate these days, but I'll have to make a mental note to really make it worth his while.

He was in great spirits this AM (although I was up at 4am and already half way through a day's worth of work), but he was not interested in breakfast at all. He and Polli ate toast at the dining room bench and then cheese and crackers a little before 11, when the speech therapist arrived, which he accepted OK.

When she arrived, it was actually the therapist, who is deaf (I asked and it's an OK word to use), and her interpreter. It was interesting. I have to say that I've never had a lengthy conversation with someone who is deaf. I found that at first I looked at the interpreter when she was translating, but by the end of their stay, I was making eye contact with her completely while the translator spoke, and speaking in more natural sentences instead of half a sentence and then waiting for her to catch up to finish, which I was doing at first.

She pointed out that Ian is a prime candidate to incorporate signing (the basis for this therapy approach). She said he makes and holds excellent eye contact while you're talking to him, which I had already noticed. She also said that he is inquisitive of people's hands, which I also knew. All this adds up to a good foundation for speaking a word with good eye contact plus a sign for it right before and after speaking it. She reached out and tickled his foot, he laughed and then stuck his foot out for another tickle, and she signed more and then tickled him again....to which he responded with the 'more' sign...over and over again. It ran chills up my spine to see him remember and comprehend the meaning of a sign after seeing it once. We've been lazy about incorporating signing so far and I can see now how beneficial it can be with just a little diligence.

He also learned 'book' while she was here, and we almost had him signing 'thank you' when they left. He already signs something similar to 'all done', which I think he must have learned at school. They had a great time playing with Ian and didn't want to leave, but needed to get to another appointment.

We will review one more program, less sign intensive, and then will decide which program we want to continue with. I like the signing segment of this program, but also want to make sure they don't spend the entire time focused on his hearing loss and also address his speech delays from a orphanage delay standpoint. Whatever he needs is what he'll get, but because he auto-qualifies due to his ear, I'm afraid he will now be labeled a hard of hearing child...nothing wrong with that, but I just want to make sure we're not overlooking other resources by focusing on his ear. Also while they were here, the translator commented to the therapist about how accurately he turns to sounds, even those out of the room. She got very wide eyes and signed "so smart". Yeah. I know.

Before I talk myself into a ton of flaming comments, I'll move on. Regardless, we've heard nothing but positive things from those who have met with Ian so far, so I have nothing but good things to say.

He went straight to nap after they left, but only slept for about an hour, not giving me much time to work. When he woke, he was in horrible tooth pain and inconsolable. He had giant tears and just wanted to be held. I can do that, no problem. For lunch, I even gave him some jarred baby food from the "old days" when he was newly home. He was just not interested in chewing and seemed relieved at having an easy meal.

Pics below are misc. from our morning. The basket hasn't been forgotten yet!

Hanging out in the basket...sharing toys (and apparently some Cheerios) with his sister-dog.

When I'm working...this is what I saw every 5 minutes...so much for getting something done!

Snack time! They don't have snack buddies like this at school!

So, let's see... If I touch the power button, what will happen with this unsaved document you have open?

I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be letting him play with these, but he's a smart kid...he'll make good choices, right?

I think he's figured out what this basket is for... although he spent most of the afternoon with it on his head (camera conveniently missing at the time).