Help - my DS cannot tolerate the hearing test and he needs his hearing screened

[Anonymous]

I highly recommend the pediatric audiology group at Georgetown. My son was smaller than yours and they got him to cooperate when others could not. They were wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Try getting some cheap headphones/earphones and practice having your DS wear them at home. Maybe let him listen to something that he likes—music? TV show?
We had DS’s hearing tested at Gallaudet and the women who tested him were wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there now a pediatric SLP at Walter Reed?

MCPS speech therapy is a joke and waste of time. If you get approved, Tricare will pay for multiple visits a week and you have a minor co-pay depending on your status. Don't waste your time with the public services when you have tricare.

Yes her name was Covington. I really liked her.

Thanks, good to know. She must be newer as we had to go to Ft. Belvior years ago and were always told no SLP's for kids on base. Does she do therapy or just evaluations?

Don't worry about the hearing evaluation. The good docs always require a hearing test with a speech evaluation there. He'll do it - it may take a few visits, but it will get done. My kid was like yours and eventually we got it done and did them yearly/no issue for a few years. The staff is very patient and understanding.

She only does evaluations. So, his PCM(primary care manager) referred him to Walter Reed for an evaluation with the SLP. THe SLP made a report, and based on that report, the PCM today referred my son for private speech. I hope TRICARE will approve the referral.

Great- good to know she is now there. They should approve it and if they don't ask for a referral to developmental ped's and they can get it pushed through. We were give several time a week therapy. Hopefully you will get the same. It may help they have an SLP on staff now. The one at Ft. Belvior was really good when we went years ago.

Don't stress over the hearing test. Any good doc or SLP will refer you to them. They will keep working with you and him. We eventually got through it. Its normal to freak out the first time or two. Once we got our first referral approved, we got it approved for years with no issue. A few times the SLP had to do some testing or send a report but it always got approved. There is a good OT on base if you need one. He was helpful in teaching my child how to hold a pencil, which I couldn't do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd just start having your child wear headphones 30 seconds a day and then growing to longer when he is watching the ipad if you allow ipad use. Otherwise, you can put headphones attached to a boom box and he can listen to music that way

. He'l get used to it - I wouldn't start with candy, incentives, etc just get them, show them, put them on, let him take them off, put them on, let them be a toy for 2 days, then show him he can hear music or ipad with them. And when he takes them off, take away ipad or music so he learns the only way he gets music/ipad is that way, he'll be fine!

Many kids can't accurately do hearing tests with headphones because of motor coordination issues--because a child needs to physically indicate when they hear a sound. A booth is more accurate.

Walter Reed has several booths and uses the head phones. If a child hasn't used headphones before, it can be scary. At two, they have the child on the parent's lap. They have one audiologist in the booth and one outside doing the testing. They have all kinds of cool things to engage the kids in the booth but some kids are scare of it and it takes a few visits. There is no charge for the visit and the staff don't mind if you come back a few times.

Nice to know, but not relevant to what I am saying. I know how booth testing works. Motor coordination disorders often are go morbid with speech delays. The testing with headphones can often be inaccurate for these kids. Having a child practice getting used to headphones may be a fruitless task.

Motor issues can be subtle. Kids can have motor issues and still meet milestones. Parents are often unaware that their child has one until they see a developmental pediatrician for the more obvious speech delay. OTs, STs, and pediatricians can't diagnose motor disorders.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd just start having your child wear headphones 30 seconds a day and then growing to longer when he is watching the ipad if you allow ipad use. Otherwise, you can put headphones attached to a boom box and he can listen to music that way

. He'l get used to it - I wouldn't start with candy, incentives, etc just get them, show them, put them on, let him take them off, put them on, let them be a toy for 2 days, then show him he can hear music or ipad with them. And when he takes them off, take away ipad or music so he learns the only way he gets music/ipad is that way, he'll be fine!

Many kids can't accurately do hearing tests with headphones because of motor coordination issues--because a child needs to physically indicate when they hear a sound. A booth is more accurate.

Walter Reed has several booths and uses the head phones. If a child hasn't used headphones before, it can be scary. At two, they have the child on the parent's lap. They have one audiologist in the booth and one outside doing the testing. They have all kinds of cool things to engage the kids in the booth but some kids are scare of it and it takes a few visits. There is no charge for the visit and the staff don't mind if you come back a few times.

Nice to know, but not relevant to what I am saying. I know how booth testing works. Motor coordination disorders often are go morbid with speech delays. The testing with headphones can often be inaccurate for these kids. Having a child practice getting used to headphones may be a fruitless task.

Motor issues can be subtle. Kids can have motor issues and still meet milestones. Parents are often unaware that their child has one until they see a developmental pediatrician for the more obvious speech delay. OTs, STs, and pediatricians can't diagnose motor disorders.

Do you ever give it a rest with playing evaluator. You don't understand tricare and how it works. The hearing test will get done. Its normal at that age for children not to cooperate the first time. Yes, practicing with headphones works. You probably don't have tricare or a child with language disorder so you're not being helpful. Tricare and Walter Reed will provide everything they need at minimal or no cost depending on their status.

P.S. the tests aren't just done with headphones so no, you don't know what you are talking about. We've had multiple tests done there.