August/September 2008 Newsletter

Welcome back! I hope that you had a wonderful and refreshing summer. Mine was short, but productive. As many of you know, I had surgery June 13 to receive an Auditory Brainstem Implant. The surgery went well. I was out of the hospital in four days. That's far better than seven weeks last year! In late July, I had the implant turned on. And......It works!!! It is so nice to hear something again. Many people have asked me what I can hear. It is difficult to describe. Essentially, everyone sounds like a robot - very electronic. I can hear environmental sounds - footsteps, doors closing, dogs barking, typing on the keyboard, but it is difficult to distinguish differences in the sounds because I hear few pitches. For example, I played our piano, starting on the lowest pitched note, playing one note at a time going up the keyboard, and all of the keys sound like the same pitch to me. There are some differences in volume from low to high, but otherwise they all sound the same. I can hear that an announcement is being made over the PA system, but I can't understand what is being said. It is all very interesting...... So, practically speaking, here is what you need to do to communicate with me:

• I cannot discern what is being said without reading lips in addition to hearing sound, thus, if you say something to me when I am not looking, I may hear sound, but I won't know what you said. Be sure to get my attention before you begin speaking to me.
• This device does not work well when there is much background noise. Speaking to me in quiet settings works best.
• State your subject early in the conversation. If I know the subject, I do fairly well.
• Be patient with me. I am still learning to use this device. My audiologist said that people can improve with this device for ten years, so I will be working at it for a while.

We have added many new books to the DMS collection stop by and take look at them. In addition, we have added 15 sets to our Guided Reading collection. Keep your requests and recommendations coming. Please let me know how the Media Center can support your instruction. I would love to work with you to incorporate information literacy and or technology skills into your curriculum. I hope that you have a great year!