I have worried we would lose my son's IEP since he is 2 grade levels above. They told me he will never lose it because he will always be hearing impaired. Your son is pretty hearing impaired, so they really must always give him an IEP. That is on the list of conditions that can really affect a child's education. So just keep reminding them of that. He must have an IEP!
I would push for trying a hearing aid in that one ear. The only downside to a hearing aid is the cost. My son has a conductive loss, which is a "better" kind of loss than a SNHL (nerve) loss, which is presumably what your son has (?). He has a Phonak hearing aid, which cost $3500. Our insurance paid $500 and we paid the remaining $3000 out of pocket. Oh well. The county paid for the FM system, which is $1500.
ASL can be great- if you are thinking about it, you should try to get you and your family in ASL classes too. Even if you have to pay for that yourself.
Personally, I would favor being in the public school GATE program. Often deaf programs have lower academic standards (so I've read). Other things you can work with the school- trying to have your child's classroom carpeted, which really reduces noise. Our classrooms are. Or at least putting tennis balls on all of the legs of the chairs, which is easy to do and cheap, and really reduces the noise in the classroom for your child. Preferred seating is also very helpful.
I wonder also if kids exposed to CMV can have other issues (learning disabilities) besides the hearing loss. I don't really know.
Thanks!
Yes, he has sensorineural hearing loss. I am glad to know that they can't really take his IEP away, what a nightmare that would be!
Thanks for the tips on carpet and tennis balls. We can do the tennis balls ourselves with no cost to the school and I will push for him to be in one of the carpeted classes. I am also pushing for him to be in a class far from the gym and music classes.
I am astounded to find that our insurance doesn't pay for hearing aids. Seriously, what is optional about hearing for a 5 year old boy?
CMV is the leading cause of cognitive disabilities. He wasn't supposed to be able to do pretty much anything. We're so delighted by his development, he is truly a miracle. So far we haven't met with any learning disabilities. He reads and does math alongside his 1st grade sister. I guess we'll just have to keep taking everything one step at a time with his learning.
Thanks again for the kind words. It's been hard on us trying to figure out everything on our own and it is so nice to be able to ask questions and hear others experiences.
