It has been five years since I stopped writing books. Recently I met with two friends, one an author/editor and one an author/book agent. When they asked why I stopped, the answer wasn’t clear. Was it burnout? Work and family stuff competing for time? Lack of interest? After one of these friends prayed, I felt … Continue reading
I recently finished teaching a lip reading class in the Kansas City area. One of the questions I asked attendees was, “When it comes to lip reading, what is the most visible speech sound?” Several hands were raised. “The /M/ sound,” said a gentleman who lost some hearing in the military. “I think it’s the … Continue reading
If you would like to order copy of my second book Confessions of a Lip Reading Mom, the publisher will be discontinuing distribution and sales of the book very soon. You can order it on Amazon through the next few days. It will not be available for purchase after that and will be considered “out … Continue reading
The past month has been filled with holiday and birthday celebrations, time off from work, snow, and special memories with family. We were excited to have my parents come for Christmas. After hugging each other for dear life Christmas morning, we said our goodbyes to mom and dad who left to visit other family members. … Continue reading
This past weekend, I joined more than 100 people with hearing loss or deafness at Kansas City’s first-ever Hearing Loss Summit. The crowd included fellow lipreading moms, individuals who were born with hearing loss, those who are culturally Deaf, and adults who are late-deafened. I saw several young children wearing cochlear implants or hearing aids. Sign … Continue reading
I love to communicate with my hands. In fact, one of my favorite things as an early childhood special education teacher is using sign language while I speak. Talk. Sign. Pause. Repeat. My class is learning about ways to give and be kind to others, so I showed them how to sign “give” (see photo). … Continue reading
Read my lips: Lipreading is tough. A while back, a producer with the Wanda Sykes Show emailed me, asking for help in understanding a news video clip. The idea sounded enticing: Come to California and watch a video blurb that had the speaker’s moving lips but no audio feed. The truth is, many words look … Continue reading
One of my classes as a new teacher is for preschool-age children with deafness or hearing loss, also known as an early childhood D/HH program. One of the key areas we work on is receptive and expressive vocabulary development. If bystanders were to walk by our classroom’s open door, they may hear the sound of … Continue reading
It is official: This summer I earn my Masters in Early Childhood Special Education… and I have been hired as an early childhood special education teacher for a public school district for 2017-2018. A huge thank you to all my blog friends who have been so supportive as I went back to school. As a … Continue reading
My first experience with hearing loss occurred in kindergarten. When the teacher asked the class to listen to and respond to questions through headphones, all I heard through them was garbled speech. The audiologist later told my parents that I could hear normally, but that I just needed to pay attention. From the age … Continue reading
