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The nursery is supposed to welcome children with disabilities, and the admission of Chloe was no problem for the team, because apart from the fact that she was wearing hearing aids, there was no care. particulars to set up for her.
Chloé’s adaptation to the nursery
At first there were some concerns, Chloe was very agitated and screamed a lot, the team wondered if this behavior would last. But his excitement was only due to finding the crib, the jubilation of being there, and it never happened again. Chloé has integrated very well, apart from some difficulties in adapting to naps.
The nursery staff learned sign language
To better communicate with her, the nursery staff learned sign language during group training. A “light” version inspired by the one deaf people use. The signs adapted to toddlers concern their daily life: drinking, eating, going out, playing, washing their hands, blanket, sleeping … Everyone is careful to put themselves in front of Chloe to talk to her and sign, but apart from these precautions related to her deafness, she follows the same group activities as the other children, at the same pace.
Sign language for all children
Enthusiastic about communication in sign language, Catherine Pillon is convinced that the other children in the nursery will also benefit from it: “ Classic finger games captivate little ones, it’s the same with sign language, it works great with babies. When we add the sign to the word, we must be at the child’s level, we put ourselves in front of it, we look at it, suddenly, the child pays more attention, looks at us, is silent. It creates a special relationship, a more intimate exchange. »Around 2-3 years old, the words are purely abstract, signing is more concrete. The nursery nurses explain to the children the course of the day, the signs add visual to the landmarks in time, they materialize the morning, lunch, nap, snack, and toddlers better understand what is going to happen. And when they have acquired the language, some continue to sign playfully, in complete freedom. Those who don’t hook stop.
Chloe’s progress thanks to the placement of a cochlear implant
If sign language allows Chloe to communicate well, having a cochlear implant changed her life. Chloe’s disability manifested itself from motherhood. Doctors diagnosed profound deafness in the left ear and severe deafness in the right ear, with possible recovery. His deafness being progressive, his hearing capacity deteriorated very quickly, justifying the installation of a cochlear implant. Chloe had 18 months. The result was extraordinary, recalls her mother, Valérie with emotion: “Over the months, she progresses enormously, the hearing is put in place and she“ oralizes ”. She has always been happy to go to the nursery, but she is even more so since she manages to pronounce the names of her friends, we feel that there are more exchanges. She tells us what she eats at noon, what she plays. You have to come back to the same things several times, talk a lot, repeat with the same words so that these words are acquired. But his progress is extraordinary. For the moment, she pronounces small structured sentences like: “Chloe eat bread”. It is now necessary to introduce the article and the conjugation. It’s wonderful for her! “
Chloe remains at the center of concerns
With his friends, things are going well. They ask questions because her implant is very visible, there may be disputes and you have to explain to them again that she does not understand what they are saying to her because she does not hear like them. But as a rule, they are quite attentive to her, and the group dynamics are positive. As Catherine Pillon points out: “Her implant can easily move, if it moves, she signals it to us and we put it back. I have never seen a child, even a very small one, try to tear it off! ” Chloé is followed at CAMPS, in speech therapy and psychomotricity. The crèche is in contact with the psychomotor therapist and the team very often talks about her development and integration. The little girl is at the center of concerns.
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