I'm
an adult and have just had my CI activated. I want to practice by myself
with my new hearing to develop listening skills. Can you help me?
There are a number of
online sites with listening exercises - usually developed for those who
are learning English as a second language. Here are some to get you
started:
I also highly recommend a visit to
Web Sites for
Independent Listening Practice.
I
know that my son can use the patch cords with his 3G to plug into his
Gameboy and such, but just how do you do it?
My son does this all the
time. Here is a picture of how the cords go together.
Could
you please educate me on mapping strategies used? I have
descriptions of
some, but I don't understand them!
For some basic info on
mapping and SPEAK, visit
http://www.listen-up.org/ci/mapping.htm
This is an article that Dave Sindrey started,
and hasn't yet finished (I guess he's been
busy.) You definitely will learn something about mapping
from what's there.
You'll find a basic explanation of all the mapping strategies here, in
easy to understand terms:
http://clerccenter2.gallaudet.edu/KidsWorldDeafNet/e-docs/CI/CI-K.pdf
Or, is this not the type of info you were looking for, but something more
along the lines of how it's done, C & T levels, what each child is
supposed to report, using NRT, and so on, then
contact Cochlear Corp and ask them to send you
the video entitled: What to Expect at a
Child's Hook-Up. Even for children using the other devices, this video
still has some general information that can be helpful in
understanding the mapping process (though the
process may vary slightly).
My
insurance won't pay for maps for my child's implant. Do you have any
information that will help me convince my child's school to provide maps
for my child? My thinking is that if my child can't hear due to a bad map,
then he can't work towards any of the goals and objectives on his IEP.
Usually the
IEP team will tell you that maps for a cochlear implant are a medical
service so they're not responsible for providing maps. There is a Supreme
Court Ruling from 1984 (IRVING
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DIST. v. TATRO, 468 U.S. 883 (1984) came up with a simple test to determine if
something was a medical service or a related service - called the
"bright-line test". "First, to be
entitled to related services, a child must be handicapped so as to require
special education … second, only those services necessary to aid a
handicapped child to benefit from special education must be provided,
regardless how easily a school nurse or lay person could furnish them…
third, the regulations state that school nursing services must be provided
only if they can be performed by a nurse of other qualified person, not if
they must be performed by a physician." I don't know about you, but
my son's surgeon has never mapped his speech processor. You can read more
about this case on the
ideaLAW
Website and the Reed
Martin Website. In a similar case,
Cedar Rapids CSD v. Garret F, the U.S. Supreme Court again made a
similar ruling.
Maps for my son have always been done by an
Audiologist, and Audiology services ARE specifically mentioned in the IDEA
as a Related Service in
§300.24(b)(1). The Analysis of Comments, Discussions and Changes from
Attachment 1 goes on to say:
"As under prior law, the list of related services is not exhaustive and
may include other developmental, corrective, or supportive services (such
as artistic and cultural programs, art, music, and dance therapy) if they
are required to assist a child with a disability to benefit from special
education in order for the child to receive FAPE. Therefore, if it is
determined through the Act's evaluation and IEP requirements that a child
with a disability requires a particular supportive service in order to
receive FAPE, regardless of whether that service is included in these
regulations, that service can be considered a related service under these
regulations, and must be provided at no cost to the parents."
In
The State of New Hampshire Department
of Education re: Hunter P., the Hearing Officer found that
programming of a Cochlear Implant is a related service pursuant to 34
C.F.R. 300.24 (b) (1).
This case was won on appeal. Click here for the ruling.
Check our Guidance page for
more cases.
My
insurance won't pay for aural rehabilitation following implantation. Do
you have any information that will help me?
Almost all of the
supporting documentation I could find uses the words "best" or "optimal".
Insurance companies, as well as schools, don't respond well to this
wording. They will only provide what's "medically necessary" (or in the
case of schools, "appropriate"). I've been able to find one excellent
document, by someone with the right credentials, to support aural rehab
after the implant.
http://www.asha.org/about/ethics/ethics-education/response/koch.htm In it the author
states:
-
"Cochlear implants
work. However, without rehabilitation, sound can be meaningless.
Professionals need to provide effective rehabilitation programs that
foster integration of listening, while minimizing cognitive and
linguistic delays."
- and
-
"Because
understanding of sound occurs in the brain, the cochlear implant can
only be effective if followed by a comprehensive rehabilitation
program."
Another supporting document from the National Institute of Health:
Other things to think about:
- Does your insurance cover maps? If so, it's the same billing code
for both. 92510 is the "CPT" code insurance companies use for "aural
rehabilitation following cochlear implantation with or without speech
processor programming". If they approve the speech processor
programming, they've kind of already approved the aural rehabilitation.
- Aural Rehab is NOT the same as Speech Therapy! For further
discussion of this and supporting documents, please
click here.
Write to the manufacturer and see if
they have a sample letter you can use for your appeal to the insurance
provider. I know that at least one of them does, and it puts everything
together for you.
