A Month of Gratitude - Day 13 (Shopping with Jude)

 Today was Jude's long-awaited audiology exam.  He had one when he was younger, but then when we were going through the speech re-evaluation process there were some questions that came up with his hearing - if it was processing, acuity, or both.  The doctor felt that if we could rule out acuity, that was as good as ruling in processing, at least at this age.  (The more formal auditory processing tests aren't valid until age 8 or so, and Jude is only 6.)   The good news - his ears are fine.  The bad news -- things are getting getting scrambled somewhere between his ears, his brain, and his mouth.  It's all good, though, because now it means we can revamp his speech goals accordingly.  Knowledge is power.

I promised Jude he could earn a prize for today, if he did the test well.  Normally, only blood on the wrong side of the skin earns prizes, but for this test, I knew he was way out of his comfort zone...and hey, I'm not above bribery.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  The exam included walking past ophthalmology (and being reassured it was NOT eyedrops day), new people, listening and following directions, different tones and volumes of beeping in his ear with earphones on...it was not his idea of a fun time.   Adding to my stress level was if he didn't cooperate, it meant we'd have to do a different test that required anesthesia.  We did have a minor meltdown midway through, but we were able to finally get on track when I reminded him of the reward waiting for him - a trip to Walmart with me and a Power Ranger.

We had a few errands to run, first.  I needed to run into Hobby Lobby for some craft supplies.  By the time I was done, his patience was wearing thin, his meds were worn off, and the silly was turned up high.

It's a shame you can't hear the silly noises he was making as he watched his face change in the mirror.

We finally got to Walmart, and he opted for a talking Optimus Prime.  He told me, "He's the leader of the Autobots, you know."  Dude...he's been the leader since the mid-80s.  I know.

Today, I'm grateful we had a successful test.  I'll take the good, we'll muddle through the not-so-great, and be happy that Jude survived another hospital day.  He's decided that it's OK if we have to visit the hearing people again, but has already declared that the day he needs to get eyedrops is going to be a "stay at home day."  I don't think so...Autobot, Roll Out!







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