Survival

.... techniques.... She has so many of them.
Lipreading is well-established, but I have a feeling there's not that much relying on it. She hears well and is more able to understand sentences... Without CI on she will use it, and will still amaze us with how well she can lipread.

Last week I saw another survival technique that we know for long, and avoid automatically..
The speech therapist asked Lotte this question "Lotte, after school, do you go home by yourself, or will daddy or mommy pick you up.?"
Alarm-bells rang with me... Too long a sentence.... Lotte wouldn't get it.. I kept quiet.. since Lotte sometimes has a way to surprise us.
Lotte looked as if she was thinking..... and then said "Yes".
The speech-therapist interpreted the answer... "So your walk home alone".... and Lotte said "Yes".
She really didn't get the question. It was too long, too complicated, so by answering "Yes" she made the adult happy, and as far as Lotte goes she got the right answer. (btw... It was the wrong answer, she never walks home alone.)
But it shows how she sometimes survives.. and people should be careful with how they ask questions...

Sort of the same in the classroom. The teachers are very good and Lotte is doing very well. They look at the children when they speak (Not to the blackboard) and there are more things that help Lotte. And the rest of the class.
One is that a message given to the class, is repeated to Lotte. To make sure she understands what's ahead.
Normally, Lotte will closely look at the other children and figure out what to do, but sometimes extra guidance is needed.
I told them that they should NOT repeat the message to Lotte personally. In no time she will ignore the first message to the classroom. After all, why bother when you know it's going to be repeated just for you.
I suggested to the teacher that she would not repeat it, but that she would ask Lotte what just had been said. That way Lotte will focus on the first message in order to make sure she can repeat what has been said..

In all, these survival skills are OK. I guess we use them as well at times...
But for Lotte it's important that she learns to listen well... So, at times we let it slip, being aware how much she does and does not understand, at times we make sure that she gets it.

But also the people around her should be aware of all of Lotte's survival skills..