April 3^rd 2008

By Lindsay Day,

Intervenor for Deafblind Persons

I had the pleasure of working with Lauren for a two week period in March 2008.  The place Lauren was when I met her, and when I left were drastic opposites, in this report I will share the progress Lauren made, and what Lauren needs from here on out.

When I met Lauren she was not signing, nor receiving sign.  Lauren was not willing to give me her hands to talk to her, which told me that she was not receiving sign language on a regular basis.  Sign language is Lauren’s primary mode of communication at this time and must be used in all environments.

During our first few days together Lauren slowly began giving me her hands, asking for my hands.  She just wanted to ‘talk’ to someone.  She wanted to know what was going on in the world around her.  On day 4 I signed ‘time to eat’ and she walked instantly, independently to her high-chair.  I was amazed.  When I would sign ‘eating is finished’ she would sit in her chair for a minute to process what had been told to her, then she would get out of her chair by herself.

Prior to getting in her high-chair I had Lauren get her own bowl and spoon.  She was very resistant to this at first as she had never had to do such a task at home.  After our first week Lauren was walking over to the cupboard where we kept her bowls and spoons and would independently pick up one of each and place them on the table before getting into her high-chair.  Amazing.

When I started Lauren was drinking out of a bottle.  Due to her age, I felt this was inappropriate.  Mom and Dad said that they had tried having her drink out of a cup but she would make noises as if she was choking, so they kept her on the bottle.  Also due to her small size, they knew she was taking in calories through her bottle, which was understandable.  On day two with Lauren I signed to her that her bottles were finished, and we threw them out together.  I gave her a sippy cup with juice in it and she drank 2 glasses in one sitting.  I told Mom and Dad that if she is thirsty enough she will drink out of anything.

One struggle we faced was Lauren’s eating.  She was always spoon fed, so she hadn’t learned how to feed herself.  By the end of our first week together Lauren was completely feeding herself independently. 

If Lauren continues to attend school she must be provided with a one-on-one who is fluent in sign language.  Lauren is deaf, therefore this should be mandatory and it is surprising to me that Lauren has not been provided with such, up until this point.  Ideally Lauren needs a trained Intervenor.  This is an individual trained specifically in the field of deafblindness and has the skills and mindset to alter all academic material to meet the needs of the child. 

Lauren is a very smart little girl and needs to be encouraged to use her communication more often.  Sign language must be used with Lauren consistently.  Braille can be introduced by labeling things such as cupboards, toys, books etc.  Lauren should be encouraged to use her hearing aids on a regular basis in all settings.  I realize she will resist this, but now that she is realizing what communication can do for her world, she may slowly be more willing to make use of her hearing aids once she realizes how beneficial they are to her.

Lauren’s progress in two weeks was astonishing.  In all the children I have worked with I have yet to see a child come so far in such a short period of time, this tells me that Lauren is ready to learn, ready to communicate and ready to show the world who Lauren is.  This will take a team of people working together with the same goal in mind.  I will be more than happy to come down to Texas to help train any and all staff who will be working with Lauren from here on out.

It was a true pleasure working with such a wonderful little girl.