Br1ght School 2

Kevin and I went to visit the Br1ght School, which is housed in R@yne Memorial Childcare Center. I was tremendously anxious on our way. I'm not quite sure what I expected.

Our first impressions weren't very positive. The school is actually a large, comfy classroom...5 kids, 3 teachers, one of whom greeted us with an expectant look, and "...and you are?"

Is it being raised in New Orleans, or by traditional Hispanic parents, I don't know. Maybe it's just common courtesy, but that was a BIG turnoff. If this had been a restaurant or other service, we would have left. But when your child is involved, you'll put up with anything.

As we spoke with the director, we (and they) communicated with greater ease...but I hate the feeling that someone treats you better because they approve of you. After finding out that I direct a childcare center, they were even more excited, as they are looking to expand. Despite the fact that the work they do there is good, the attitude did not scream "partnership" to me.

So yes, the work they do there is good. The program runs 5 days a week from 8:30-11:30. There are two special instructors and one speech therapist at any time. There will never be more than 6 children ages 2-5. Additionally, one volunteer and one nurse intern came to help while we were there. The children engage in free play with the teachers who sign while speaking, and assist with visuals. Each child has one-on-one time with the speech therapist when they are there. And it's free.

We decided to have Elliot go two mornings a week. He would get full advantage of the sign language and extra therapy. And continue in the language rich, warm and loving environment in his classroom at Abeona House. It's such a non-commitment (2 mornings, free) that if it doesn't work out, we can't lose. And if his hearing loss progresses, we can expand his participation, or re-evaluate.

So that's where we are with that. Tomorrow, we have an appointment with his ENT to take a look at his ears (and get the all-clear for the left-ear hearing test), and discuss the possibility of tubes to help relieve this pressure.

As our speech therapist explained before we knew of the right-ear hearing loss: If he has mild loss in one ear, and fluid in the other, that's affecting his language development, because he can't receive language well. It's like his underwater, esp. if he's had ear infections often.

Elliot's teacher, Gwen, is demanding that I DEMAND TUBES. She's the same one who demanded that I DEMAND A STEROID SHOT when I was sick. She asked me if I needed her to come with me. I said YES. Let's hope the doctor will guide us in the right direction, and that I have the information to back up our standpoint.