I must say I am overwhelmed with all of the concern and well wishes posted. Thank you, all of you, so much for staying invested in our lives. We just love good family and friends, I hope you feel the same comradery from us.
Lydia's appointment was a success! She reads in the normal ranges for both ears on a two year old level. Her left ear read slightly less than her right, but was still in healthy ranges. They did two inner ear testings where they stuck some tubes into her ear canal and measured all the internal workings (we had to be super duper quiet and that was really hard since Lyddie really wanted to rip out the tubes), then one sound test in a booth. That was pretty cool. I held her completely motion and emotion less while she would have to identify hearing sounds in their frequency, volume and intensity depending on where she would look, how intent her gaze, and the speed at which she would respond to those sounds. When she did something right she was rewarded by a cow that would light up and dance. Kind of like a conditioning response idea. I have to say, at times she did better than I thought I would have.
They wanted to do one more test to combine both methods, but Lydia would not have the tubes again. They said that was pretty normal for a two year old, so they gave me some tips on how to do it at home so the next time she comes in she will feel more comfortable with things in her ears. The next test will be between her 2nd and 3rd birthday.
As far as CHOP goes: I'd recommend it to anyone. The staff was incredibly nice and considerate. Those doing the testing went to great lengths to entertain Lydia in silence. You should see the funny faces they come up with. The only down side is that the speech department is backed up until February 9, 2009. I'm not waiting that long though, I've already made more appointments with Child Link, development specialists not involved so directly with MD's and hospitals and the like. They come on Oct. 7, which I guess is this coming Tuesday.
WHEW, well that's a mouth full. Thanks for listening.
I'm glad that everything went well at CHOP. Pete had a cousin who was in CHOP for several months and they loved the staff there. Guess that's why its ranked #1. We love you guys. And I am currently logged in as Pete, but I'm too lazy to change it. This is Amanda :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a relief. Now it's just figuring out how to help her. That's good you're close to so many other options to look at.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad the tests went well, I hope you can get to the bottom of things!
ReplyDeleteGlad her hearing is well. What an emotional day for everyone. Good luck searching out your other options. Your an awesome mommy! And you look great.
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