How can something so filled with joy be so hard sometimes? Parenting is tough and parenting a little one with hearing differences presents new and never before heard of challenges! We learned our son has profound bilateral hearing loss when he was about 3 months old. We were connected with lots of resources and professionals who helped us navigate our journey. We went through hearing aids and lamented how that ridiculously expensive equipment seemed to be of no use except as something to chew. It was a full time job to keep them out of his mouth. We learned about cochlear implants and hoped a CI would provide him access to sound. He had CI surgery at age 1. Our journey to listening and spoken language was amazing! That child loved to listen! What a relief! “No” was one of his first words and what joy it brought to hear “no” come out of his tiny little mouth. Around 18 months old, he used that word frequently and thoroughly. We felt unmitigated joy to hear that word and all the others that followed.
Benefits of ABC Parent Coaching
Beginnings SC Parent Education Specialist and ABC Parent Coach Lisa Jolly shares why parents should participate in ABC Coaching.
Lisa Jolly • 06/08/22
One day, I came upon my beautiful boy emptying the soil of a gorgeous plant that was also just a bit temperamental. I said “no” and received the strangest look from my sweet almost 2 year old cherub! Next thing I knew, his cochlear implant was on the floor, not his head where it belonged and he dumped that plant right out of its pot with a grin. At that moment, I knew we were in for the ride of our lifetime. He was so small, so smart, so fast! Having a child who could not hear was one thing but having one who could literally take off his “ear” just because he didn’t like my words, well, that frightened me.
Oh, I had great people in my life who coached me about developing language through consistent use of technology, Learning to Listen strategies and activities, all kinds of things related to language development. But, I truly believe it would have been helpful to both of my boys to have someone coach me on matters of the heart with both of my children. That’s what brought me to Attachment Biobehavioral Catch-Up Parent Coaching. That’s a mouthful, so let’s just say ABC.
ABC is a brief program that takes place at your home. The goal of ABC is to support children in developing strong relationships and self-regulation, two areas that are so important for succeeding in school. A parent coach will come to your home for an hour a week for 10 weeks. The coach will share some information about common parenting challenges of infants, but more importantly will support you in your parenting during the visit, particularly helping you notice all the great things you are doing to care for your child. The coach will also video record the visit. The video is used so that supervisors can make sure the coach is doing a good job, but the coach will also show you back video from previous weeks. Do you know how sports players sometimes watch game tape from previous weeks to notice things? Video is used like that in ABC as well. A montage of all those wonderful video clips is given to you at the end of the 10 weeks as a gift.
We have openings for families whose children are 6 months to 24 months old. We would love to share this well researched program with you. The benefits for all children include strong attachment, less anger, improved executive functioning and increased verbal abilities. Our children with hearing loss will face challenges in this hearing world, but ABC can help.
If you're interested in participating in the free ABC Coaching program with Lisa Jolly, email her at lisa@beginningssc.org.
Parent Testimony
"Our names are Robert and Gisela, and our baby Liam is our blessing. Liam was born deaf in his left ear and is missing part of the vestibular system in both ears. In our search to learn more about Liam’s condition and how we could cater to his needs, we got a call from Mrs. Jolly and are so happy we did. During our first conversation with Mrs. Jolly, we just knew we needed to schedule an appointment with her, and we are so happy we did.
Not only did she take the time to fully explain the anatomy of Liam’s ear with proper terminology in a way we could understand, but she also took the time to explain her personal life and shared her own real-life experiences that we were able to connect with. Mrs. Jolly also recommended the ABC Parent Coaching and explained how it would help better equip us to soothe and reprehend our baby with love and patience.
In every class, we were able to analyze and reflect on our old ways of punishment and learn new and better ways to reprehend our children. We had to self-reflect on things we held onto from our own childhoods and let go of the things we were raised on, like yelling and spankings. She simply opened our eyes and helped us realize that babies communicate sometimes with frustration, and how attentive we need to be with our children.
Mrs. Jolly is a sweet and very wise woman. She teaches with love and conviction which makes attending her class easy to attend, even over the course of ten weeks. After speaking with her you begin to think differently about how you raise your children. The key is to parent them with more love, patience and understanding and doing so will only bring you even closer to your children. Mrs. Jolly Is truly amazing and I would recommend and encourage anyone to take her class."