When Ez was first fitted with his hearing aids, we let him choose his path. He never wore hats or bands that forced his “ears” to stay in place. If he wanted them, he left them on, if he didn’t, he pulled them off. He pulled them off pretty much every minute for months. He… [Read More]
Adoption: Language Deprivation and your MCC
While perusing adoption Facebook groups, I regularly come across a particular type of post. “My husband and I are starting the adoption process, we are looking for a young, minor needs girl ages 0-3. What are some minor needs that you would recommend that don’t require surgery or life long care.” Inevitably someone will ALWAYS… [Read More]
Early Literacy in ASL (Retelling a Story)
Recently Ezra has been blooming in his language acquisition. He is on target with hearing peers for typical developing children. He regularly uses two word sentences and has mastered the “question” signs, WHAT, WHERE and WHO. We often see sentences like: Where paci? Who (index)? What (index)? *normally referring to a sound or something he… [Read More]
Book Praise & Giveaway: Noah’s Noisy Zoo
Disclosure: I am a Tommy Nelson Mom. I receive discounted and complimentary items from my connection with this group. All opinions and experiences are entirely my own. Contains affiliate links. One of the most significant concerns in the world of raising a Deaf child is literacy acquisition. Early and consistent exposure to books and other… [Read More]
Disney World Sign Language Interpreter Services
Disclosure: My family was invited to the 2015 Disney Social Media Moms Celebration. I paid a conference fee to attend and received discounted and complimentary items from Walt Disney World as part of the experience. I was not asked to write about the conference or our family trip. All opinions and experiences are entirely my… [Read More]
My Deaf Child is Not a Tragedy
My Deaf child is not a tragedy. As Ez has gotten older and more communicative, my decision not to tell strangers that my child is Deaf doesn’t really work. When he was little, I always let the little old church lady, the waitress or that nice neighbor down the street go all goo goo and gah gah… [Read More]
Sign Development – 12 to 14 Months
Ever have one of those conversations about something that you wish you would have approached differently or that it might have gone a little more smoothly? I had one the other day with a random mother at a birthday party. I was caught off guard when I saw a little girl swimming in the pool… [Read More]
Baby Signs: Expanding the Use of MILK
A couple of weeks ago I shared a video showing Ez’s first intentional sign – MILK. For several weeks he was only using this sign when nursing or just prior to nursing. In the past week, he has started to use the sign to also mean Mom, anything in a cup and when offered other types… [Read More]
Response & Update: Is a Cochlear Implant Right for Our Son
I am deeply humbled and surprised by the massive response to my January 13th post: Is a Cochlear Implant Right for Our Son. I have been blogging here at Sunshine Praises for almost 4 years and have never had such a passionate response to one of my posts. (Nor have this many men visited, really,… [Read More]
Dear Dr. Finnegan, You Were Right, Sometimes I Will Grieve
Our class was in Kenan Hall, in one of the little rooms off the stairway. It was a bright room and the class was one of of my favorites. The assigned book for the class was a pale yellow book entitled, Psychology of Deafness. Despite the fact that most of us showed up in our flip flops… [Read More]