at least for Steve and me it did but for Derek it seems it hasn’t been too loud and a lot muffled for a long time. October 20 we found out that Derek needs hearing aids. WHAT A SHOCK!!!! I knew there were hearing problems but what did I expect, I am not sure and miracle cure and quick fix this time, not an assisting device to help him for the rest of his life. Thank god I have some one to turn to who knows how Derek hears the world, Kate, has given me lots of hope the last two days in letting me see that his life can be “normal.” Kate is one of the smartest and most compassionate people I know. Still we feel a little bit of a sense of loss on our son’s behalf, shoot he doesn’t know the difference right now. The picture perfect healthy child we thought we had nearly 4 and half years ago has faded. But we have vibrant children and a son full of life and experiences that most of can never even imagine having in a lifetime and yet he has without missing a breath or taking a moment for granted.
Derek’s vocabulary is EXTREMELY large for his age and hopefully with the hearing aids he will be able to work on his speech and not rely on reading lips as much. I can’t imagine the coping and learning skills he has developed on his own trying (forced by us) to learn to communicatete when no one knew the “quiet secret” inside of him. I know once this is addressed he will go a long way fast and probably speak and learn even faster. We have very smart children who are going to change the world some day-just sit back and watch them.
