Mama Lere Hearing School

Hi Everyone. It's been a long, long, long time since I last posted. My apologies. The kids had a fun Christmas and I am happy to have a normal life again!

Anyway, Claire turned three on January 10th! I can't believe how old she is and how big she is getting. Claire is one of my greatest challenges (just like her mommy :), but she is also one of my greatest joys.

One of the perks of living in Davidson County (Nashville) is that they have some decent programs for disabled children. One of these perks is an early intervention program for the hearing impaired. This program allows children that are deaf or hard of hearing to begin school at Vanderbilt's Mama Lere Hearing School when they turn three. Believe it or not, the county picks up the bill. How awesome is that?

Well, Claire started school this past Tuesday. I hated to pull her out of the West End Church of Christ program and I was sad that Miss Elsie wouldn't get to spend as much time with Claire. However. Stephanie and I both knew that Mama Lere was the best thing for Claire. They use an Auditory Oral teaching method, which is a little different from Auditory Verbal, but I have seen the school's results and they do a great job.

We already know that we made the best decision for Claire. Before Claire started school, she would talk to her family, but not to people in public. After one day at Mama Lere, she was already turning in to more of a chatter box. Her teacher said that Claire engaged the other children and spoke without being prompted. We do the best we can with Claire, but I know that letting her learn from dedicated teachers of the deaf will be such a blessing.

It is our prayer that Claire will be able to " main stream" by the time she begins kindergarten. We would appreciate your prayers as well. Thanks.