Clubs and Nolan's Road Rage

We have had a very active month with playdates and club meetings. We were very fortunate to get invited to Ben's playgroup, and it was wonderful to meet everyone and let the kids play. My kids were quite cranky from a lack of naps that day- I promise, they're not like that all the time! We are definitely going to try the playgroup again, on a day where both boys have had naps and are in chipper moods!

We had a Jr. Deaf Club meeting tonight at the Optimist Camp in Gerry. It was wonderful to let the kids romp around in the leaves and watch the bonfire, while the adults talked and scarfed down food. It is nice for Nolan to see other kids in hearing aids and cochlear implants, even though he's quite a bit younger than most of the other Jr. Deaf Club members.

One of the things we have noticed while traveling around this month is that Nolan is becoming an absolute beast in the car. He whines, cries, and screams for the duration of the car ride. He's becoming louder in general, having a tendency to yell rather than talk. The car rides are the worst, though, and there is no way to deal with the behavior when I'm behind the wheel.

Tonight, for example, Nolan immediately started screaming, "SURKEY! SURKEY!" when we entered the car. For those not proficient in Nolanese, this translates to "thirsty." He's not actually very thirsty, considering the fact that he just downed two sippy cups full of diluted juice. The cries of "Surkey!" soon change to cries for his shoe, or for a book, or that his ear is bothering him. All of this is at a volume of approximately 100dB. Even Matt starts covering his ears, and the ride is absolutely miserable for everyone involved.

I am at a loss for how to contain this toddler road rage. Taking out Nolan's hearing aids works some of the time, but other times it just makes him increase his overall volume. If anyone has any ideas, they'd be very welcome!

Nolan's Magazine Debut

Our local Jr. Deaf Club was featured in Odyssey Magazine, and Nolan has a picture in the article! The magazine is here. You'll have to download the PDF file and then scroll to the article (For Information and Fellowship, Deaf Club Eases Isolation)by Karen Lindeman (a local teacher of the deaf in our area).

Our Jr. Deaf Club

Nolan wishes he were big enough to ice skate!

We live in a rather rural area, which means there are few children who have a hearing loss. Most of the kids in our area are the only children in their entire school district who wear hearing aids or cochlear implants, so it is nice when we can get the whole group together. Nolan is (by far) the youngest of the kids, but he definitely enjoys all the attention he gets from the older kids. As he gets older, he will have the opportunity to socialize with other kids who have "ear gear."




Matt also enjoys the outings- he actually started ice skating all by himself last night!

In our area, we don't have preschools dedicated to kids with a hearing loss or school districts that are used to dealing with hard of hearing and deaf children. Thanks to a local Teacher of the Deaf, however, we do have a social group. And that makes Nolan a very happy boy!

Meeting New Friends

The Optimist Club in Jamestown sponsored a Jr. Deaf Club event at a local camp on Chautauqua Lake. It was absolutely wonderful to meet a group of parents who have "been there and done that." All of the deaf and hard of hearing youth were older than Nolan by at least 5 or 6 years, but it is nice to have the shared experience and collective knowledge in how to get the most out of our early intervention/special education services.

We had hot dogs, talked, and the kids all played wonderfully together. I didn't get any pictures because we were too busy just relaxing and talking to the other parents. There were a variety of communication methods used (all the kids were oral, but most also used some sign as well). We get to meet again in late August, this time at a park near our house.



In the meantime, we have been exploring various local places and learning lots of new vocabulary words (mostly for Matt, but Nolan picks this stuff up while in my front pack). Here are some new words for the week:


From Panama Rocks:

Matt: Slippery, boulder, roots, moss, fungus, streaming light, sharp, crevasse.
Nolan: Rock, tree, chipmunk, light, dark (and all the other words overheard).

From the zoo:

Matt: Rotate, tunnel, camouflage, exhibit, chimes, smelly.
Nolan: Ice cream, dirty, warthog, polar bear, mister.

From the Overlook Park:

Matt: Colorful, mushroom, poisonous, slimy, steep, drenched.
Nolan: Well, Nolan slept for most of this little hike!


We're having a great time exploring some local hiking trails and getting the kids introduced to the woods. Let's just hope we hold off the introduction to poison ivy for quite some time!