Good signs...

It's been a long time... again... I should improve on keeping the blog update more.
Because.. lot of stuff is happening... Lotte's days - and therefore her experiences - are mainly at school and the "SFO".. the organisation that takes care of the kids after school. (from about 13:30... )

Of course a lot is happening at home as well, but when you think of it, she starts fresh at school, and gets more and more tired during the day. When she comes home, she wants to play with friends, cycle do homework, talk to us... but she already had a long day...
But it's at school where she's doing the hard stuff. Interacting with other children. Paying attention in class. Mastering the subjects... Quite a challenge for a girl that was born deaf, and started hearing 2 years after she was born. There's a lot of catching up to do.
At times, we can see how well she's doing. Some times we can see how well she's doing despite her situation. Some times we can see how things are not in place.
For example, cognitively she is not at the level of a 7-year old. This became painfully clear last week when they had a performance on stage, organised by the "SFO". Lotte had mentioned that there was going to be a show. The show was late in the afternoon. Lotte's mother came to pick her up later so that Lotte could see the whole show.

Think of the surprise when she entered the school, to find Lotte on stage taking the second price.!!!

She and 3 boys had practised an act with hoola-hoops, but Lotte never mentioned that to us. She never told us to be there...

Another mother had seen Lotte perform and told what happened. What Lotte and the boys had done, so when Lotte came from the stage, full with pride, Lotte's mum could pretend that she had seen the show.

But it was such a painful moment. The first show - in front of public - of your deaf daughter that is working hard to keep up with her friends and you miss it.. (btw.. Someone made a video, so we will see her.. I'll post it here.. )

It just shows that as parents we have to make sure that the adults around Lotte know that not everything that is communicated to Lotte is understood. Lotte is great at pretending that she understands, but there's a lot that she doesn't get. This was one of those situations. It showed us that communication between SFO and us has to be done on paper. Actual, we know that, but the people at the SFO didn't realise it..

So, room for improvement..
(And... looking for a "hoola-hoop" picture... until then, the diabolo will have to do..)