Informative and fun website!

I have posted a link to where you can find information on hearing loss and play games so check it out!!!

Helpful Links!

National Foundation for the Deaf	http://www.nfd.org.nz/
Deaf Aotearoa NZ	http://www.deaf.co.nz/
NZ Audiological Society	http://www.audiology.org.nz/
Enable NZ	http://www.enable.co.nz/
Accessable	http://www.accessable.co.nz/
Ministry of Health	http://www.moh.govt.nz/
ACC	http://www.acc.co.nz/
Ear Nurse Specialist Group of NZ	http://www.ensg.co.nz/
International (see NFD site)	http://www.ata.org/ (American Tinnitus Assn)
American Speech Language Hearing Assn	http://www.asha.org/
Deafness Forum of Australia	http://www.deafnessforum.org.au/
Royal National Institute of the Deaf, UK	http://www.rnid.org.uk/
Self Help for Hard of Hearing People	http://www.shhhaust.org/

What is a Speech Language Pathologist?

Through the cen clear team my daughter had a very strong support system and this included a speech language pathologist, hearing therapist and a developmental specialist. If you curious as to what these are. I will begin by Speech Language Pathologist they are also known as speech therapist and here are many of the things that they are trained to do.

''' Communication includes speech (articulation, intonation, rate, intensity, voice, resonance, fluency), language (phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, pragmatics), both receptive and expressive language (including reading and writing), and non-verbal communication such as facial ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speech-language_pathologist

An individual with the necessary academic training and experience to be certified or licensed to diagnose and treat disorders of speech, language, and communication.
www.cleftline.org/parents/glossary_of_terms

professional that assists your child with his or her speech. This person can also help with the feeding and swallowing issues.
www.pierrerobin.org/glossary-MtoZ.htm

A speech language pathologist is a specialist in the diagnosis and non-medical treatment of speech and language disorders. An SLP obtains either a Master's or Doctoral level degree, and then completes a training fellowship prior to entering practice.
www.medel.com.ar/ENG/US/50_Resources/010_glossary.asp

a health professional trained to evaluate and treat people who have voice, speech, language, or swallowing disorders, including hearing impairment, that affect their ability to communicate.
www.chp.edu/CHP/P02036

An individual with a university degree, usually at the Masters level, who is registered with the College of Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists of Ontario, and is qualified to assess speech, language and voice disorders and prescribe and implement therapeutic measures.
www.oafccd.com/factshee/fact59.htm

is a professional who is trained to assist in speech production, and language skills. This may be verbal or non-verbal (pictures, computers, signs)
www.bloorview.ca/resourcecentre/communityresources/glossary.php

means a person who holds a master's degree in speech language pathology and is a member or is qualified to be a member of the Canadian Speech and Hearing Association or any provincial/territorial association affiliated with it, or in the absence of such registry, a person with comparable ...
www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dgcb-dgras/ps/hd-sd/psh-rss/definiti-eng.asp

a specialist in the evaluation and treatment of oral-motor and oral-sensory skill development. A Pediatric SLP pays special attention to the implications for feeding, speech, and language development. Often works together with an Occupational Therapist.
faculty.olin.edu/~jcrisman/Service/KWTWebNews/Decision/commonly_used_terms.htm

is also an essential member of the cleft palate team. Children with cleft palate, while having no trouble with normal language development, can often have delayed speech development due to their mouth's unusual anatomy. ...
www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Cleft-lip-and-palate

Cen-Clear Child Services

Cen Clear offers many services to children and parents some of the programs they offer are
-Early Headstart
-Early Headstart/Child Welfare Services
-Head Start
-Head Start Child care Partnership
-Head Start School Collaboration Project
-Family Centers
-Full Day/ Full Year Headstart
-Parent Child Home Program
-Pre-K-Counts
-Step by Step (Early Intervention)
and many more if you are interested in getting more information and see other programs they offer you can check them out at http://www.cenclear.org/

Team Work

I was dissapointed at the appointment because I thought for sure she was going to like this and wear her cochlear but it was just a fight everyday to get her to wear it. I do remember this one day though we were working with her so hard and finally she let it on for a few minutes and her older sister looks at her and says "Im your sister Haley" it was the cutest thing ever and brought tears to my eyes because my daughet didn't know what anyones voices ever sounded like. But with the help of the early intervention program and the Hearing Therapist and Speech Language Pathologist we were all going to work together as a team to get my daughter to wear this device so she could be on her way to hearing.

Its time to hear

The wait was over, we were headed back to pittsburgh for my daughter to get her implant turned on. What an exciting day for us it was. I remember the whole family was there with cameras and video cameras just waiting to see this special moment. The time came to turn it on and guess what they had it to loud and it scared her so she didn't want to wear it. What a day! They didn't force her to but I was dissapoited I was thinking to myself. Did I make a mistake? What am I gonna do now?

How is this going to work?

If you are curious as to how this all is going to work. I have posted a video to help you understand.