Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Terrible twos???

The past couple of weeks I have wondered if Harper has already entered the "terrible twos".
Harper has done a great job wearing her hearing aids---until recently. Now, if I tell her "no", do something she doesn't like, or try to challenge her while doing her speech therapy, she will pull both of her hearing aids out! She is basically saying, "I'll show you!" She realizes that this is one way that she can exert her independence and have control of the situation. In addition Harper has become increasingly impatient. For example, she wants her breakfast IMMEDIATELY after the microwave beeps. If there is a cartoon on tv/dvd player that she doesn't like, she'll point and scream at it until we change it to one she does like.
I have been worrying if this is "normal" behavior for a fifteen month old child or if this is related to her hearing loss and a sign of frustration. I had a long talk with her speech therapist today who assured me that although it is a little early, Harper's behavior is perfectly normal and very common with hearing impaired children. Thankfully, she gave me some tips to deal with Harper's new sassy attitude, but also warned that it will get worse before it will get better. I'm going to have my hands full!

2 comments:

  1. My son did the same thing around 10 months of age. I first made sure his hearing had not changed (he had a profound/fluctuating/progressive loss) and when I knew he was technically fine, I (and the daycare) had to just put them back in each time he pulled them out (like 20+ times a day) and without any facials. He was enjoying the fact we got frustrated, daycare would place him in his crib when he did it for about a minute but it only lasted about 2 weeks, and he finally caved. He decided that it didn't bother us anymore and it was over, never happened again. Some people wear those pilot caps, here's some that may be good and audiologically approved:
    http://www.silkawear.com/

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  2. Katy, I believe the "terrible twos" can happen at any age. I have a 3 1/2 year old who is there!! I think he is stuck there! ;) Just remember every child is different. I am so glad to hear that Harper is doing so well with her speech! She is a doll!!

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