Teaching Right from Left and yet another reason to go bilateral

How *do* you teach a child the difference between Right and Left?

There's this way:

Step 1: Draw an "L" on the child's left hand and an "R" on his right. If you're at home, do the same with his bare feet. Make sure the letters are legible and facing the right way.

Step 2: Stand next to your child and demonstrate this while she follows along: Put both hands in front of you with palms facing away. Point both thumbs toward each other. The hand that makes the "L" is left.

Step 3: Some kids find it easier to learn just one--right or left. If he has already shown a preference for, say, writing with the right hand, he can learn "right" this way. By default he will learn that the hand he doesn't write with is left.

Step 4: Play the hokey-pokey to reinforce the concepts as they are being learned. However, have everyone playing stand in a line rather than a circle so that they do not get confused trying to mirror the people across the room.

Step 5: Throughout the day, ask your child to state which hand she is using, which direction the car is turning, which side of the plate the fork is on and so on. Ask these questions with a sense of fun, not in a testing manner.


Or, if your child is bilaterally implanted, you can verbally label each processor "right" or "left" and make sure to use the words consistently when speaking of individual processors. CI Kids are so in tune with their equipment, it is a very effective way to help them understand this somewhat difficult concept.

We called Erin's processors "This side" and "Other side" for the longest time. But recently we started calling them "right processor" and "left processor".

For example, in the morning, we put on one side and say "Good morning! I just put on your right processor. Now I will put on your left processor."

She picked up on it almost immediately and now she has her right and left side pretty much down pat. Bonus!

One processor arrived today.

For some bizarre reason, the replacement for Erin's second fried processor arrived today. But the first one (which is a different color) won't be here until tomorrow. Apparently they canceled the first order and placed a single order for both, thus delaying the whole process by several days. Lovely.

Erin went 6 full days without sound on her left side. That is a long time for a 3 year old.

Long enough to decide she doesn't need to have two processors.

We had screams, we had tears, we had "No left processor, Mommy! It's still broken!" I actually got to the point where I was concerned that maybe there was something wrong with the map.

So, I put it aside, waited a bit, then used the time honored tradition of bribery to get her to allow me to put the processor on. (Amazing what a Princess Gummy Vitamin means to a little girl.)

I set the program on P1, her softest setting, and put the coil on. She was not happy, but she tolerated it the rest of the evening.

I almost feel like we're starting from scratch! I am not looking forward to the morning routine. I think we'll leave her on P1 for at least another day to let her ease back into it.

Unilateral Sucks

Early last week, Erin's left processor died.

No big deal. I grabbed her other left processor, put that one on, and called Cochlear.

After assuring them I already confirmed it was the processor that was malfunctioning, they said a replacement processor would be shipped after getting the map from Erin's audi. We were told the replacement would be shipped within 48 hours.

Normally, replacement parts are shipped right way. But processors are a different story. The processor portion of the CI is what holds the program (map) that deciphers the sound and sends it in to Erin's auditory nerve. (How's *that* for a layman's explanation, haha!) And programs not only vary from person to person, but from ear to ear.

When Erin was first implanted, a fried processor would mean a trip to the audi after receiving the replacement processor so the audi could download the map to the new processor. But now audis are able to upload the map to Cochlear via the internet, so the processors can be sent out already programmed. This is especially helpful in areas far away from the nearest CI Center. But I love it because as a working mom, it is one less errand to run. ;)

Anyway, I was expecting the replacement processor Thursday or Friday.

Then Thursday morning Erin's backup processor wouldn't turn on. I went through the swap out process and confirmed we had another fried processor! Two in one week!

I called Cochlear as soon as they opened and they agreed to send out the replacement. They confirmed they had received the map from Erin's audi and said they were hopeful they could get the second replacement sent out with the first.

Well, I think this may have held things up. Because on Friday we still did not receive a Fed Ex from Cochlear. *sigh*

So, Erin has now been without sound on her left side since Thursday morning. 4 full days. And I have to say, I have noticed a huge difference. Beyond the normal 3-year old tendency to not listen, I am finding Erin not following direction unless I really make sure I am speaking to her on her right side. It has been a trying 4 days and she very much misses hearing on that side. She repeatedly says "Left side broken!" and pats her left implant site.

I have also noticed she is extra cautious and unsure of herself in new situations. We went to a Spoken English/ASL story time event at our local library on Saturday AM and I couldn't get her to leave my lap. At the zoo today, unless I kneeled to her level and spoke directly to her, she didn't even know I was speaking to her. I honestly can't get over just what a different little girl she is with one CI versus two. It makes me so glad to know that bilateral CIs are becoming the norm instead of the exception. The value is immeasurable.

I really, really hope to see a Fed Ex box on the porch when we get home tomorrow evening.