Andrew-isms....

Thought I'd better play catch-up here. We have been well immersed in RDI over the past few months. I have been spending my time framing activities, doing these with Andrew and pulling my hair out. I really should give a good overview of what we are doing but for now I just wanted to share with you a few great 'Andrew-isms' and other super sentences that have come out of his mouth. I used to keep track of all of his new words. This is just as much fun.

• Sometimes I just bloom with good puns.
  
• This little piggy went to market. But he did not get the ham because he did not want to grieve for his friend.
• There was a curious man named Roy who invented Teflon. Did you know that mom? When things go wrong, don't give up. Maybe you'll find something interesting like Roy did!
• Holy Cow! That's the most beautiful moon I've ever seen. (This one is significant for those of you that know RDI!)
• I hope the guy that left them (puppies) on the side of the road would fall on his coccyx.

Part of my reason for posting this is to give encouragement. I was in the waiting room at the Cochlear Implant center when a family walked out of AVT with a 3 year old who had just been implanted and were looking at the road from the other end. We are all on different journeys. Andrew has other 'stuff' in addition to the hearing loss. At his annual evaluation (the reason we were there), he scored above 100% on everything (and then some) as compared to his hearing peers. But it hasn't always been thus. After implantation we worked..and we worked..and nothing. But we kept on working and it paid off...eventually. Even still, I am not oblivious to the fact that some kiddos just don't work as well as others with implants. But don't be discouraged right from the get-go because many are late bloomers. KNOW going into it, that even with early implantation, it is work. Also know that there are so many options to choose from....implant type, which ear, bilateral, sign, avt, etc... And that is a great thing. Don't be afraid to move to a different option either! We have shifted gears many times over the past 9 years. Do what you know in your heart is right. We do a ton of praying on direction and when we do, it pays off. Remember too- that just because 'everyone else does xyz' doesn't mean that is the right thing for your child. It might be..but it might not. Sometimes the Road Not Taken by anyone else makes all the difference.