We went to Boston Children's Hospital today for Sam's assessment for a communication device. It went great! He started trying out a series of pictures to make choices like he has now, but a little more advanced with more complex choices, and then the SLP tried him with a "high-tech" device that looked like a thin computer monitor and it had pictures of things like toys and music, etc. and it uses eye gaze to see the choices Sam is making. He has his eye gaze calibrated to the computer and then it can read where he's looking. He has to look at a pic for a certain amount of time and then it highlights it and says the word out loud. It can go from category to category when he makes choices, so he can choose, say, the song category and then it brings him to a page that lets him choose what song and then whether he wants to sing it or watch the song play in video form. it's SO cool and Sammy started using this without us really explaining how to. We have pay to trial it with a SLP recording his progress in order to get ins. to pay for us to actually get one. They are very expensive to rent by the month, but the hospital has a cheaper loan program we can use, which is great. Our new ins. sucks big time....if anybody out there is looking at getting Unicare...do not do it!! They SUCK!! So we'll have to see what happens...we may be maxed out with getting his new gait trainer... we'll see....
Either way, the SLP at the hospital was so encouraged at how great he did today with the device that she said she was impressed and can absolutely see him using it. He loved it too! My big smart boy! God has blessed me with two beautiful, smart and sweet kids and I am thankful everyday for it! God is good! :)
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
.com/
A way to keep everybody near and far updated on the happenin's in the Hibbard/Huber household.
Click to feed the shelter animals! It's free! :)
Followers
God Chooses A Mom for A Disabled Childby Erma Bombeck
Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth; son; patron saint, Matthew.
"Forrest, Marjorie; daughter; patron saint, Cecelia.
"Rudledge, Carrie; twins; patron saint.... give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."
The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But has she patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independance. She'll have to teach the child to live in her world and that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't seperate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, there is a woman I will bless with a child less then perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.
"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see --- ignorance, cruelty, prejudice --- and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in midair.
God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."
Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures, and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen? Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth; son; patron saint, Matthew.
"Forrest, Marjorie; daughter; patron saint, Cecelia.
"Rudledge, Carrie; twins; patron saint.... give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."
The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."
"Exactly," smiles God. "Could I give a handicapped child a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."
"But has she patience?" asks the angel.
"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wears off, she'll handle it. I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independance. She'll have to teach the child to live in her world and that's not going to be easy."
"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."
God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."
The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"
God nods. "If she can't seperate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, there is a woman I will bless with a child less then perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her blind child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.
"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see --- ignorance, cruelty, prejudice --- and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."
"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, his pen poised in midair.
God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."
About Me
- ellen :)
- MA
- I'm a wife of 8 years, a mom of 2 gorgeous boys, one who has CP, and a lover of turtles! :)
6 comments:
How neat! Sounds like an awesome device and I'm glad Sammy likes it. Sorry that the insurance co. is giving you crap! Hope it works out.
Wow! That's high-tech! Way to go, Sammy for figuring that one out! You are a real smartie! I hope it works out that your insurance will cover it. Isn't insurance grand? We're going to be maxed out on therapy visits (private, since the schools are just so-so) by the end of the month. So what now? Malayna simply doesn't need PT and OT for the rest of the year? How ridiculous! We asked if we could appeal it with doctor's notes but were told no. Ugh!
Oh, wow! We are looking at options for this too. Emma needs the eye gaze thing, but I don't know if her eyes are good enough. She has some visual issues. WOW! I knew Sammy was a smarty pants!! This is so EXCITING!! Can you tell us more about the kind he tried out?? I pray Emma can use one like that!!!
Dawn, thanks for the words of encouragement....i'm sure it will work out somehow! :)
Sheila,we are going through very similar stuff with therapy visits right now, too. I even switched to a new ins. co. and they just denied us because the school is supposed to be doing it...well, yeah,that's fine when he's well and going to school! God forbid they expect more from our kids!
Amy, We tried out the Tobii P10. it is truly amazing! I'm not sure if it would work with vision issues, but they calibrate to each child individually. It is absolutely worth looking into as soon as possible. really, don't wait! It takes so long for the trial and the ins. crap that it is worth getting info about it right away! It can't hurt to check it out! Emma would be great with this device if she is doing great with the rudimentary motoric one she has now! She is such a smarty I can see her taking off with it! :)
Go sammy who did u guys see at boston childrens we saw alycia Berg Shes absolutly amazing,
Post a Comment