16 Months

Shawn is 16 months old (yesterday). Today, he had a hearing screen at the Bill Wilkerson Center at Vanderbilt. The hearing screening is a requirement for speech therapy. It is not uncommon for children with Down syndrome to have hearing loss. I learned today about the positioning of the interal pathways of ear canals, and learned also a little about ear drums. I will forget it all by tomorrow....but here is what I know. Children in general have a tendency to get a lot of ear infections, partly because the positioning of these "paths" is more horizontal than vertical and allows fluid to build up. As chilren grow, the horizontal position becomes more vertical, thus better drainage. With Down syndrome, the horizontal position remains horizontal. Shawn has only had 1 ear infection. His hearing is very very good, but it seems there is fluid holding and he most likely will have to have tubes in the near future. Fluid makes hearing at low frequencies rather difficult. The Dr. said he is hearing well, but that the sounds may resemble what it would sound like if you were hearing noises from under water. Until his hearing is at its best....learning to talk may be difficult.....and this makes sense. We'll go to the pediatrician soon to get his opinion, and we'll go from there. As most parents know....tubes are minor...and life goes on. I'm thankful that this may be the worst case scenerio..... (more blessings).

I love to take Shawn out into the public. Everyone smiles when they seem him and give him tons of attention. He is a cute little bugger. We always take him to church, and I usually take him to Sams or to the grocery.....but until he gets accepted into one of the pre-schools (long waiting lists), then he spends the majority of time at home. I work from home. Joe gets 2 days off during the week. One of the grandma's usually comes over one day a week to keep the boys, and we have a wonderful babysitter that comes on weekends when I need her so that I may work. Shawn is home... A LOT! He really seems to love the excitement of new places. I'll be so happy when he can go to pre-school. There are 2 schools here that take a blended mixture of children with special needs and typically developing kids. Asher and Shawn are both on the waiting list for both schools. We're praying for admission by the fall. At that time, all of Shawns therapists from Vanderbilt will go to his school to treat him and do his therapies. That will be so nice for mommy and for Shawn. Asher too, is beyond ready for such an environment. I feel we have held him back a bit because we have been waiting for something so specific....but I also feel that Asher is such a healthy boy, with advanced everything....and having him home with Shawn has been the greatest gift to both of them. They are my sweet boys.