Grendel’s Kitchen

More unprompted words from the little one (she mimics word sounds frequently, but we’re distinguishing between those and words that she says on her own and in the right context)! I’ll have to find a way to keep a running list of things she now says regularly, such as “mama,” “papa,” “meow,” and “uh oh.” And there’s very little crying wolf with “uh oh” either, she uses it exceptionally well in context, like when she drops the yoghurt out of the bowl onto the dog’s head or closes the laptop down with a whole lot of play doh between the screen and keyboard, so I have to remember to praise her for excellent use of vocabularly before I address whether or not mama likes shampooing food off the dog or checking whether or not playdoh is mentioned in the warranty on the Mac as something that falls under normal use. And, given her new ability to hear and mimic new words, we now have to watch our own previously unfettered vocabulary — which can be pretty colorful when trying to remove marker from the television monitor, but not exactly what you want to list as accomplishments along with these other sweet words.

But we do have a few new words this week (and it’s only Wednesday!) : “Milk”, “Baby,” “More.”

And I realized I’d not yet shared Li-Li’s new map. For cochlear implant recipients there’s a ‘map’ of possible programs (for Cochlear Inc.’s Nucleus Freedom model with the BTE or Behind The Ear processor, there are 4 programs): a changing “hearing fingerprint” that’s adjusted by the audiologist (thanks, in our case, to Jill!) as the brain rewires to the implant and begins to use this new sense of hearing, and as the person’s needs change. We control these programs throughout the day from the processor, someday Li-Li will be able to shift from one to another herself.

In her previous maps, Li-Li has had ever increasing levels of volume, but now she has two very cool new programs with specific functions for different environments (I’ll rip off Cochlear America’s site for the exact descriptions of what these do) :

1. SmartSound ADRO soft volume, for home, classrooms, music
   ADRO (Adaptive Dynamic Range Optimization) is designed to deliver maximum hearing comfort and clarity by making seamless adjustments as the sounds around you change. The individual channels representing quiet sounds (like a soft violin) are turned up, while loud sounds (like a car horn) are softened, so you can enjoy a comfortable listening level in any situation.
2. SmartSound ADRO loud volume
3. SmartSound Auto-sensitivity activated, for noisy environments, crowds, restaurants
   When using Auto-sensitivity, the microphone sensitivity is automatically adjusted based on the “noise floor” of the surrounding environment. The noise floor is the level to which sound decreases during breaks in speech. Auto-sensitivity takes effect in a matter of seconds and adjusts the microphone sensitivity automatically. This softens the background noise making it easier to participate in conversations in noisy environments.
4. SmartSound Whisper activated, for bedtime stories, hiking outside, watching TV
   Whisper boosts softer sounds, such as someone speaking in the distance that would otherwise be too quiet to distinguish—like a pair of binoculars zooming in on a small object, making it larger and easier to see. Whisper brings the softer sound “closer” so that you can hear it better, while other louder sounds remain unchanged.