I received Nolan's language scores today. He is holding steady with his expressive and receptive language scores, with results nearly identical to his former scores (by percentile rank-there was a very slight/insignificant decrease in scores). He is currently 2 years, 8 months old and his expressive language score is at 2 years, 11 months. His receptive language is at 3 years, 6 months, so his receptive language is definitely his strong suit!
His articulation scores, however, have taken a bit of a dive. He has lost sounds that he used to have, so I was afraid this might be a "problem area." With his pesky conductive hearing issues and amplification that hasn't been adjusted since last June, his hearing level and amplification level aren't exactly well matched.
Nolan used to test with a very mild articulation delay (bordering on normal), and now has a moderate articulation delay.
The upshot of the regression in skills is that we shouldn't have any problem qualifying for an IEP and maintaining our speech therapy services. Though his language scores are well ahead of his chronological age, he is barely maintaining his expressive/receptive language score percentiles. His articulation scores have decreased, likely a product of chronic hearing fluctuation in conjunction with his permanent hearing loss. Hopefully the articulation scores will improve once the conductive component either disappears or we can adjust his hearing aids to suit his loss (he is currently aided for a 30dB loss in the high frequencies, even though his hearing level is 60dB with the conductive component). We have a hearing test on May 20 to get a better idea on the status of his current hearing levels.
I also scheduled Nolan's TB test for the John Tracy Clinic Summer Session today. We'll have the test performed tomorrow afternoon and read on Thursday afternoon. I have a call into our "grown-up" doctor to have the same test performed on Dennis and me. I hope to have the health forms completed and mailed into John Tracy by the first week of May.
7 comments:
I wish you guys best of luck!!!!!
Uggg... TB tests. Thanks for reminding me! I used to be so on top of the JTC stuff, but I've been a bit distracted lately.
Sorry to hear about the articulation issues. Do they anticipate this new set of tubes to help/fix that?
The hope is that the tubes will correct the issue. When we had his last hearing test done, there was a significant conductive component, but no fluid. There was a small (microscopic) hole in the left eardrum and some negative pressure in the right ear, but nothing that should have caused that level of conductive loss.
We'll see what happens with this next test. If the loss proves permanent (he would be classified as a "mixed" loss), then we'll increase his amplification.
But we really, really hope this set of tubes and the adenoidectomy clears out the problem!
Are they going to reprogram his Hearing Aids? You'd think that would help, even if they need to re-re-program them in a few weeks/months?
Julie, I don't know... everything will depend on what happens with the next hearing test. If his hearing has gotten better, then I suppose we just need time and therapy to get those sounds back. If the loss is still there, I hope they do something. Even if it is conductive, the kid has been under-amplified for nearly a year.
Articulation is rough. We still have random issues even after graduating from speech therapy and may always have oddball things lingering around. Hopefully you'll get his fluctuations figured out so he can hear the sounds consistently. Good luck!
Not to mention your little man has really been through quite a bit this past year and I think still coming along amazingly! I can only imagine how difficult it can be with a conductive and/or flucuating loss. It's almost as if you need your own personal audiologist by your side for constant hearing aid adjustments. Best of luck with the hearing test and getting prepared for JTC! So excited for you all!
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