Speech Therapy for Mariel

I know how frustrating it is if your 1-year and 9 -month old baby can't even utter the word "mama" but it would be easier to understand when you know that she is profound deaf. Basically, she can't hear so she don't know that sounds exist. She would look at our lips but she might just be wondering why our mouth is opening even when you are not partaking food. 

For her, she opens her mouth because she was about eat and that is the reason why she eats a lot - as in everything. 

  

But on May 15, I enrolled my Keiichi in Casa del Nino and inquired if they have an inhouse speech pathologist that could help Mariel in her speech therapy but unfortunately, they don't have one. They suggested that I contact Trails Center in La Marea, San Pedro, Laguna but they don't have any slot anymore to accomodate my child, unless I enroll her in their class perhaps. So I remembered taking note of Maria Lena Buhay Memorial Foundation, the only oral school for the deaf here in the Philippines which is located in Blue Ridge-B, Quezon City. I called the school and viola! I was give a call back on that night and we scheduled Mariel's first speech therapy. 

The first session was just a warm welcome and orientation for Mariel. She doesn't like to put on her hearing aid which made the session almost impossible to handle since she needs to hear us speak and label things. What we just did is to let her hold our throat as we say MAMA, MOO, AWW, KOKAK, etc or feel the air coming our of our mouth everytime we say PAPA. I know she was sleepy but what made the session a success is her willingness to see our mouth moving, coloring pictures when asked, trying to move her oral mechanisms even if no sounds are formed and her courage to try a lot of things - except of course at that time, wearing her HA. 

According to Mrs. Buhay, Mariel has a graet chance to talk because she makes sounds and she imitates our mouth movements. Just tonight, she started trying to say "mama" which she can sometimes say when she is crying. She also puts her little hands on my throat as I talk and feels the vibration. I do wanna cry but it is not the right thing to do. 

At least in our end, we have started a milestones that will surely made a difference in our lives. QC is indeed that far from Pacita but I did finished in Diliman so I can't see any reason for my child not to attend therapy sessions in Libis. 

I am now working in Convergys, Nuvali, Sta. Rosa and I am glad that my day off is on Fridays and Saturdays and I can accompany Mariel in QC. I will try to post more pics soon and perhaps, more milestones of Mariel. 

Cochlear implant is not a priority anymore since I don't wanna take the risk. If the speech therapy could do good to Mariel, then that is what we will have.