Interesting having to go through what to now has mostly existed in research I've done on CI.  That is, that there is a strange, audist bias out there with audiologists and A/V speech therapists all out to "get me" and Michael and force him to exist only in a hearing world.  I thought I was going to be doing battle on this front just this last Monday, with a pre-IEP meeting with a couple of women I've never even met before - -who apparently came in an observed Michael and have declared that he will be just fine with an FM -- so I had to do a little tiny bit of fancy-talk in the meeting regarding my position on bi-lingualism and how Michael's facility in ASL has aided, NOT impeded his emerging literacy.  I just want an interpreter in the class with him.  So he can catch things he misses -- and so he doesn't lose his sign.  Our official IEP with the CSE (and how many other acronymns do I need to know) will be in early June, so I guess I'll have to remember I have a blog and actually write something about that!! I have to figure out a way to get this page out there for other moms.  I have felt so alone in this process aside from brief instances of sharing with other CI moms.  Hopefully this will be changing :)

There must be something wrong with me.  I completely forgot that I'd started this blog....my account has just been sitting here since 2009!!!!  Holy shit!  Well, what's happened since then... let's see.  Oh, I'm too tired to go into it now.  Especially to an audience of one.  I'll put it in twitterish terms:  Michael: doing GREAT - mainstreaming and going to the school for the deaf for kindergarten.  I will have to put up a video of him for "you."  I am also trying to work again on my book proposal for a CI book.  I"m teaching  a class on it, right now, actually -- it's been a great quarter.  We heard from Harlan Lane, had Peter Artinian (from Sound and Fury) visit our class and talk about his experiences making that film, and we had Michael Chorost last week talking about his memoir of CI, Rebuilt.  I'm on a new little think tank like group that is putting together ideas for creating a kind of CI cooperative here at RIT.  All kinds of exciting things.  I long for community.  Facebook hasn't worked out.  CI moms don't want to talk to me.  I have a hard time making friends so maybe something in my demeanor is turning people off.  Maybe CI moms don't want a community.  I'll have to talk to Laura Mauldin about that on Monday!!! (another CI expert)