There are many times when I feel I have failed Ethan, by the habit of parenting hearing children. I forget he is deaf. When is wearing his CI's he is part of everything. He knows how to assert himself if he is not understanding something, and he is a leader by nature which typically keeps him on top of things.
Every so often he looks into my eyes with such confusion and hurt and it dawns on me that I forgot in that moment that he is deaf. I have a habit of moving kids from one area of the house to the next, along with me. Although Ethan is very efficient with his CI's there are many times if I don't have his attention that he is not tuned in. He may be in deep creative thought building with Lego's or playing with his toys and even though he has an implant he still has the ability to tune out. Selective hearing can happen even with deaf kids.
This morning he had this look of your forgot about me. Okay he didn't just have that look he said it and he was right. I expected that he could follow us into the next event and he didn't. Which in my habit of parenting is no big deal, but it's a big deal to Ethan. I forget that he is limited in distance with his CI's. He can hear me easily from his bedroom upstairs, but if the door is halfway closed he can't hear me calling from downstairs.
I know I will not get it every single time, but the times that I don't it is typically related to how I parent hearing children and expect Ethan to seamlessly pass through with what is going on. It's a habit with having four hearing kids.
These thoughts area all kind of jumbled, but it made me sad to think of how it must feel for Ethan. Working on those habits of rambling with the expectation that everyone has their ears on.
Every so often he looks into my eyes with such confusion and hurt and it dawns on me that I forgot in that moment that he is deaf. I have a habit of moving kids from one area of the house to the next, along with me. Although Ethan is very efficient with his CI's there are many times if I don't have his attention that he is not tuned in. He may be in deep creative thought building with Lego's or playing with his toys and even though he has an implant he still has the ability to tune out. Selective hearing can happen even with deaf kids.
This morning he had this look of your forgot about me. Okay he didn't just have that look he said it and he was right. I expected that he could follow us into the next event and he didn't. Which in my habit of parenting is no big deal, but it's a big deal to Ethan. I forget that he is limited in distance with his CI's. He can hear me easily from his bedroom upstairs, but if the door is halfway closed he can't hear me calling from downstairs.
I know I will not get it every single time, but the times that I don't it is typically related to how I parent hearing children and expect Ethan to seamlessly pass through with what is going on. It's a habit with having four hearing kids.
These thoughts area all kind of jumbled, but it made me sad to think of how it must feel for Ethan. Working on those habits of rambling with the expectation that everyone has their ears on.