Saying Yes

So somebody from church (okay, it was the Bishop) asked me to accompany him for a trombone solo in sacrament meeting on March 13. That's in two weeks! Well, it was when he asked.. now less than two weeks. My mouth said, "Sure," which is what it always says.

He said he wanted to play "The Lord's Prayer." I said I wasn't really familiar with it. He said it has a lot of flats and is kind of hard at the end.

Yesterday, the Bishop emailed the music to me, and this is what he sent.

I'm actually fine with the five flats. I think well in flats for some reason. If you know music, you're probably thinking that it doesn't look so bad, and I thought the same thing. It says lento, which is 56-60 for the quarter note.. slow. But there are few quarter notes. It's all triples, which are three to a quarter note.. math.. 168-180! What killed me were the simultaneous arpeggios on the first two pages. And the jumps in the middle of the last page, where it's down-up-up and up-down-up so quickly, and with 4 or 5 notes in each chord.

The first few times through were pretty painful. Laynie thought I had lost all musical skill--she actually looked worried. She's only seen me play familiar pieces and regular church music; for example, the choir director also gave me a piece of music on Sunday, which I took home and played right through with nary a missed note. I explained to Laynie that the process I was going through with the music from the Bishop is normal, and I'll get better as I build muscle memory for that piece. I used to go through this process regularly in high school, when I did a lot of accompanying and when I was motivated to learn hard music. Just because you can't play something the first time you see it doesn't mean you can't play it. I'll learn it, but it's going to take a lot of work, a lot of time.

I don't know that I'll be so quick to say yes next time.

Oh, who am I kidding... Of course I will.

My inability to say no affects me at work, as well. Despite being busy with my own caseload, I can't help but say yes when others ask me to consult on their cases or observe a kid or whatever. Case in point: Today I went with one a resource SLP to visit an adorable little boy with hearing loss and cleft palate. The resource gal is a friend of mine, but I didn't know the SLP assigned to that elementary school, the one who was working with the child regularly.

As I listened to the child's speech and language errors, which were many, it was immediately apparent to me that the speech errors were mainly due to issues related to the cleft. Hearing loss seemed to be impacting his language to some degree, but the articulation errors were classic cleft palate speech. He reminded me of a couple of kids I worked with in the past.

Following a consult visit like this, it's customary to discuss observations/findings/recommendations with the SLP working with the child regularly. Typically they give lip service to agreeing with you, argue a few points, thank you for your time, and go back to doing what they were doing. Not so in this case.

She argued with everything we said. Not politely disagreeing but becoming quite agitated. The things she said were absolutely off the wall. All I could think was a. Is this person for real? and b. Why did she ask for help and then reject everything we said?

And there's more to the situation.. I'm not even going to get into it. Sometimes fighting for the best interests of a child involves fighting a powerful machine. And I HATE educational politics.

I don't know that I'll be so quick to say yes next time I'm asked to consult.

Ack. Yes I will.

I was going to close the post here, but I was just thinking about another time that I said yes. Last year, an SLP posted a question on the conference about two tough preschool articulation cases. I emailed some suggestions to her, which began a dialogue about how to work with a problem like the little boys'. It happened to be a specialty area of mine. At the next speech meeting (all the SLPs get together for instruction and once a month), she found me and somehow convinced me to come out to her school to see the boys for myself and give suggestions. As you might imagine, I wasn't difficult to convince.

I went out and had some suggestions. She didn't argue with a thing; she took notes! She thanked me profusely as I left and seemed quite genuine. I felt great that I had helped her and that the boys would make more progress now.

Months went by. This past fall (so probably six months later), she tracked me down at a speech meeting again to tell me how the boys were doing. One was doing great, and the other had made little progress. She understood what to do with him now, which was progress, but she still couldn't get him to say the sounds he needed to say next. Of course I agreed to go out and see him.

The first time I went out, this little guy was so shy that he wouldn't speak directly to me. The other SLP ran the session. The second time, I ran the session--I brought fun toys and games and was EXTRA fun and SUPER silly, and the little boy was willing to play me and try what I asked him to try. I was lucky, because I got him to say one of the target sounds. The other SLP, who was again taking notes, nearly cried. She had been working on that since the spring. He said it about a dozen times for me, and I passed the baton to her.

After that visit, she and I talked for a long time, about work and also about her personal life, some of the hardships she'd been through in the past few years. This time, we didn't part with a "thank you" and "oh no problem." We parted with a hug, as new friends.

Which goes to show that saying yes is a very good thing.

"Sister Hasting Taught Us.."

I've was out of Primary last week and the week before.. but back in today. Playing the piano! Fun times. The music leader was introducing a new song today, The Books of the Old Testament. I may have mentioned this song before.

Right, so the music leader had me play the first line, and apparently no one recognized it. Well, my kids have never actually heard the music--just my lousy voice. As I looked around, only four of the eight kids in my class last year were here: three girls and a boy. And one of the girls only comes to church about once a month. But I would think that one of the other three would recognize it! Oh, well.

Then the music leader asked if anyone knew the first book of the Old Testament. One hand--one of my girls. Then the light went off in the other three kids' heads, and they about leapt from their chairs to answer the rest of her questions: "And what comes after Genesis? Does anyone know how to say this long word? And what comes after that?" Four hands up after every question.

Then one of my girls said (with typical 10-year-old patience), "We already know this song."

Poor music leader. She stuttered for a minute. I know exactly what was going through her head: This is all I have planned for today! She asked how they knew the song, and the same girl responded, "Sister Hasting taught us in class."

The music leader was visibly relieved. She still needed to teach the song to everyone else.

She had them sing the first line (four books) and stop... and naturally my smart alecky class didn't stop but softly sang as she told them, "We're not ready for that yet!"

So then she decided to challenge them. This was mainly directed at two girls. My boy (my favorite student) was also singing, just not so obviously showing off that he knew this wordy song. He's a respectful kid. The music leader said that they would sing that first line again as a group, then she would have me play until she didn't hear anyone singing. They would be on their own, singing for as long as they could last.

We haven't sung this song since probably November. I thought they might get lost at Lamentations--they've certainly never sung it on their own. And it's a difficult song, because you're basically just memorizing words in isolation, without the benefit of context.

But wrong me! (Yes, I speak ASL sometimes. So?) Those little angels got all but the last two books.

About a minute later, I heard one say to another, exasperatedly, "It was Zechariah, Malachi!" Hey, at least she knew where to find them, even if she didn't remember every book.

This was a big reminder to me that kids really do listen and remember what you teach them, so make sure it's something worthwhile! Of course I was very, very proud of them.

And a wee bit amused at a certain non-Hasting-fan-club adult's slack-jawed expression as my kids rocked what is arguably the most difficult Primary song.

I Heart Brandi Carlile

Y'all know I love Brandi Carlile.

I got to see Brandi play in Norfolk this past weekend, and it was the BEST SHOW EVER!! I went with my sister, Katie, my friend, Laynie, and my aunt, Megan. Aunt Megan and Katie ditched Laynie and me to hang out at the bar and walk around drinking.. whatever. Losers. ;)

I enjoyed this show so, so much. It's the fourth time I've seen Brandi (so I'm a little obsessed), and it was definitely the best one. The crowd was really into it. People were yelling out requests, so I yelled out mine, and she looked at me and played the song I asked for as the next song! Yahoo! I am not thinking I'm so special or something. I know it's the ASL: I'm pretty noticeable in a small crowd, when I'm interpreting all the songs for princess deafie. I do try to sign small, so I won't be too distracting to the performers.

I'm beginning to understand Phish Phans.... I would follow Brandi on tour!

Wicked Good Weekend

Last Friday night, Laynie and I drove up to New York, because we had tickets to see Wicked. This was Laynie's big, fancy, admittedly somewhat self-focused birthday gift from me. I figured she would like Wicked, but I knew that I would--I've seen it before. I love musicals!

We stayed with Maureen and Eric, the lucky parents of the inimitable Morgan, Carson, and McConn, of Port Discovery, Jersey Shore, Donut-Making, Take-a-Break, Photogenic, Rock Band, and Laynie-Loving fame. We were really lazy and didn't get any pictures of people (except for ourselves at Wicked), but I did snap a picture of the pool, which is still under construction. Can't wait to try out that slide next summer!

Me, outside the theater.

Layniebug, in front of the awesome Wicked set. We were in the front mezzanine, second row, center section. Laynie likes the front mezzanine better than the orchestra. She says that it is better visually.

Waiting for the show to begin. Oh boy!

Laynie got a great shot of the curtain. Check out those little jewels.

Laynie with her captioning device.

The captioning device was so cool! Only three of the shows on Broadway have these (Wicked, Mamma Mia, and Jersey Boys) so far. It works based on the lighting cues, so it stays reasonably in sync with the show, which is difficult given the timing variations inherent in a live show. Applause breaks alone could make a show 10 minutes shorter or longer. Laynie felt like she could really follow the words to one of the songs: No Good Deed. It is sung with very distinct timing. Laynie really enjoyed the show, although it was a little loud for her delicate bionic ears.

I loved the show, and I felt like I got more out of it the second time around. The standby Glinda performed, and she was just ok, but the Elphaba was great. This could be a show I see a dozen times, like Chicago and Jekyll and Hyde. Oh, and Scarlet Pimpernel. And Putting It Together! I just love the theater, especially musicals.

It was a great weekend. We took the kids out for a sort of late dinner on Friday. To Take-a-Break, where else? The patio has now been enclosed, so they are open year round. When I lived there, it was just an ice cream shop with a few grill foods (hamburgers, hot dogs), but now they are doing big business in pizza, and they just introduced homemade donuts. McConn recommends them.

***BEGINNING OF SLP NERD-OUT***

Carson (age 6:9) has been in speech therapy since around April, and he is sounding so good! His R is over 70% in conversation, and his L is really coming along, as well. This is a huge improvement since I saw him in August, when he was still at the word level with these phonemes! I advised Eric to have Carson evaluated when he turned six last February, thinking they would work on his L, since he's a little young to work on R. But he turned out to be stimulable for R, so his SLP (who comes to his private school from the local public school, nice of her) went for it. Of course, I told Carson how good he sounded. I made sure to whisper it to him, since he's weird about compliments. He seems to view compliments about things he's just learned as reminders of mistakes made in the past. I do miss his little-boy speech though, especially widow (little), yeddoh (yellow), and Wex (Rex, the dog). White, light, and right are now three different words. But he hasn't worked on TH yet, so I get to enjoy dare (there) and fink (think) a little longer.

***END OF SLP NERD-OUT***

Laynie and I went to Chef Central on the way down to the city on Saturday. LOVE THAT STORE. I stop by there every time I'm in the area. If you ever find yourself in Paramus, NJ, GO. There's also a store in Hartsdale, NY, but I prefer the Paramus store.

OH, I almost forgot. I got stopped by a cop on Saturday morning! I drove past one in the park (Tuxedo Park, the village where my friends live), and I didn't think anything of it. When I was out of the park and on Route 17, he pulled up alongside me at a stoplight (good thing I didn't squeak through the yellow as it turned red) and asked me to pull over at the next parking lot. Brother. The cops in the park are so picky, because there is no crime there and they are always bored. Turns out I had a taillight out. He said he was going to write me a citation for it, but that I could come back after I fixed it and probably get out of the ticket. Uhhh....

I cheerfully explained that I was visiting from Maryland and was only here for the weekend to see Wicked with my friend, who has never seen it before. He asked when I got there. Um, last night. When are you leaving? Tomorrow morning. He asked who I was staying with in the park. I told him, and of course he knew who they were. His whole demeanor changed, and that was the moment I knew I was golden. He gave me back my license and advised me to fix that light as soon as I could and have fun at the show. Hooray! I went straight to Ramapo Auto Parts and fixed it myself. Well, with Laynie's help. And one of the guys who worked there might have helped a little. Still, I felt very capable. So capable that when my headlight went out two days later (weird coincidence), I fixed it that very day. With Laynie's help.

It was a great, though short, weekend.

I Heart Brandi Carlile

Brandi rocks. Laynie took this cool picture.

Katie and I are waiting for the show to begin.

Laynie and Katie are waiting for the show to begin.

Katie (my sister), Laynie (my friend), and I went to Brandi Carlile's show at the Ram's Head in Baltimore Thursday night. It was awesome!! Laynie blogged about it here, but I will give you my version.

First off, Ram's Head Tavern and Ram's Head Live are so different. In March, we saw Brandi at Ram's Head Tavern in Annapolis, which is a sit-down place, like a large jazz club. Tables, servers, etc. It was fun, and the music was great, but it was rather sedate compared with Ram's Head Live. Ram's Head Live is basically just an open, three-floored room, bare bones. There's a bar and a large open area in front of the stage. On the second and third floors, there are catwalks where people stand at the railing to watch the show. It had a completely different vibe: fresh, energetic, now.

We staked out a spot about 10 feet from the stage, right in the middle. That was because we got there about 45 minutes early. :D Amy Ray from the Indigo Girls opened for Brandi (funny that Brandi opened for the Indigo Girls a few years back). Laynie hated Amy Ray, and Katie and I assured her that it wasn't just because Laynie is deaf. I think Amy's music is pretty boring, and the audio mix was horrible. The electric guitars and drums drowned out her voice. I understood maybe three words that she said. Nothing about her music was distinctive. Brandi came out and sang a couple of songs with her, and I couldn't hear her voice very well either. But it was what Amy was looking for, because she brought her own sound guy, whom she thanked from the stage. Oh, and Amy's show was so LOUD that I had a temporary threshold shift. Good thing there was about an hour-long break between Amy's and Brandi's shows, because my ears were able to recover somewhat. At least it didn't affect our communication, because we were using ASL anyway. The one thing we like about Amy was her drummer, who seemed to be on happy pills. Reeeeeeally happy pills.

On to the good stuff--Brandi! A letter to Brandi Carlile:

*****

Dear Brandi,

Your live shows are awesome, especially the one in Baltimore on October 8, 2009. You sounded amazing, your sound was perfectly mixed, and the light show added so much to your songs. Thanks for playing "I Will," which is quickly becoming one of my favorites from the new album. "Dying Day" unplugged was awesome! People actually shushed each other as the song started, desperate to hear you.

"That Year" was touching. I think my sister might have teared up a little.

I have loved the song "Before It Breaks" for several months now (I know the album just came out on Tuesday, but I've sort of been YouTube stalking you), so I was happy to hear you play it. And Laynie, my videographer, recorded it with her little camera. Unfortunately, the audio crapped out with every drumbeat. Still fun to have.

It was fun to do "Turpentine," and wasn't the audience in Baltimore much better at it than those old fogies in Annapolis? Yeah, we sounded great. No video of that, but you've done it before, and here's someone else's video.

The Swiss rock, huh? Hey, so did Baltimore. Anyway, it was a great show. Can you come back to Baltimore next week. Thanks!

Love, Annie

p.s. I noticed you staring at us when you first came onstage to play with Amy Ray. We were chatting in ASL, not paying attention to Amy. You must have wondered why deaf people would go to a concert. Well, Katie and I can hear. Actually, so can Laynie.

*****

We had such a great time. I was pleasantly surprised that Laynie LOVED IT, given that she hated the Brandi concert in March and was totally bored. At this week's show, she kept turning around with sparkly eyes, making comments, and asking questions. More experience listening? Being bilateral? The addition of drums (Alli rocked!)? The electric guitars? Last time was pretty must acoustic. I don't know, but I'm glad she enjoyed it. We all had a great time.

Musical Training for Children with CIs

Yucel, E., Sennaroglu, G., & Belgin, E. (2009). The family oriented musical training for children with cochlear implants: Speech and musical perception results of two year follow-up. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology, 73, 1043-1052.

This study included a group of 18 children who received Advanced Bionics cochlear implants and were activated with the HiRes strategy. All were enrolled in an auditory verbal learning program. Nine of the children made up the experimental group; nine made up the control group. The two groups had similar audiograms in three conditions: unaided, aided (hearing aided), aided (CI). The experimental group may have been a little older, but there seems to be an error in the age of the control group, so I don't know. They were about the same age (no significant difference, anyway).

The experimental group participants were given a keyboard and instructions for a music training program. The parent-led training was supposed to take about 10 minutes each day, and it involved pitch and rhythm tasks.

All of the children were evaluated pre-implant, and post implant at 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months. They used several assessments: the Ling 6 sound test, a word identification test (spondees), a sort of open-set measure involving Mr. Potato Head, and a sentence test. At 12 and 24 months, they administered a musical stages profile, which covered detection of and reaction to environmental and musical sounds, exposure to music, participation in a musical environment, melody and dynamic changes, pitch differences, rhythmical changes, and emotional aspects of music. The parents also completed the MAIS or IT MAIS and the MUSS, which look at everyday functioning with sound and speech, and with their listening devices.

At 24 months post implant, the MAIS/IT MAIS, MUSS, Ling, word identification, and Potato Head results were pretty similar between groups. The music group children did better on the Potato Head task early on, but the control group caught up by 12 months post implant. Although the music group appeared to do slightly better, there were no significant differences on the sentence scores.

At 12 months post implant, there was a significant difference between the groups in the area of exposure to music. No differences in the other areas of the musical stages profile. But at 24 months post implant, there were many significant differences. There were differences on 20 of the 26 questions. This included better reactions to sounds, more exposure to music, better skills with melody and dynamic changes, better skills with rhythmical changes, and increased reaction to the emotional aspects of music. Some children in the control group did well on all of these, as well as the music group. But the music group as a whole did better than the control group as a whole.

So this shows that music training can help children with cochlear implants increase their reactions to and skills with music.

But I have a problem.

OK, the listening/speech measures were fairly objective. The child either repeated the spondee correctly or he didn't. The child either picked up the correct Potato Head body part of he didn't. But the music stages profile was a parent questionnaire. The parents answered questions like "Does your child react to lively music?" and "Does your child ever spontaneously clap hands to music?" Of course, the parents would not deliberately falsify information (I hope!), but knowing your child is in the music group could introduce bias. Maybe an "occasionally" becomes a "frequently."

This research would have been much stronger if someone actually evaluated the children's musical abilities rather than having the parents think back on how their child did with these things. Also, having filled out the questionnaire at 12 months post implant (when there were significant differences only in exposure to music), the parents would have known what the researchers were looking for the next time around, even if they didn't remember specific questions (and there were only 26 questions). Some of the questions rely on the parents' own musical ability (such as "Does your child sing the correct tune and all the words to any song?"), which was not evaluated. Rhythm, which kids with CIs pick up well, can fool you into thinking that the pitch ("tune") was correct. I can't figure out why these researchers went with this weak questionnaire, which doesn't even appear to be norm-referenced. It looks like the researchers made it up, because it says to write feedback beside unclear/difficult questions so that they can improve the questionnaire.

I went into this article very interested, and I was excited to see those significant differences on the music stages profile results, but then I looked at the actual music stages profile questions and was disappointed.

On the other hand, children in both groups got 4s and 5s (out of 5) on the questionnaire. So children with CIs that do not provide fine structure information can develop some musical skills, from their parents' perspectives. That's worth a big old YAY to them!