In the process of clearing off my desk I am finishing things up, as well as throwing things out. Several weeks ago I wrote a long over due letter to a department chair at BYU. I emailed it. Still haven't heard from him... Today I put a copy in the mail. I showed K (13) and told him how when I was a kid this is how we wrote to people. I let him touch the envelope! He even chose the stamp.
An aside: About the same time that I emailed Dr. McP at BYU I wrote to ORSON SCOTT CARD! about a great article he wrote about Good/Better/Best Mormons. That is my title, his was "Heyborne in the age of Purity." Here is the link to the article in Mormon Times:
http://www.mormontimes.com/ME_blogs.php?id=1346
Mr. Card actually wrote ME BACK! Promptly! A lovely multi-paragraph email. Drat that I can't publish it here. He asked me not to, which is understandable. I'm not publishing my letter to him either lest I offend all the Mormons I know, that I know are so much better than I... neighbors AND relatives! (thin ice zone) Anyway, I haven't heard from BYU's Dr. McP.
Here is the BYU letter:
Since BYU’s Speech and Language Clinic director Lee Robinson told me last August that both of my deaf children were being dropped from BYU’s roster, I have wanted to write this letter. Now almost a year later I can tell a more complete story.
In short: Ms. Robinson called us last fall and left a message that there was no longer space for my children; possibly there would be space for the winter semester. She called again in January saying there wasn’t space for either of them. By the abrupt cut off of services it was clear that the clinic’s priority is not to provide consistent and fair services to children, but rather to accommodate the students’ changing numbers and needs. This practice hurts the children and families the clinic is meant to serve, especially since there are so few speech services for deaf children in Utah County.
Here is our story: My daughter M was implanted January 2007, she was just 3 and had been going to speech therapy at BYU for at least one semester. Ms. Robinson decided that since M would not be activated for a month there wasn’t any use in continuing therapy; she was abruptly dropped. I was not consulted, or even asked. When I asked the graduate student who called in January if I could talk to Ms. Robinson the student said that I wouldn’t change her mind.
This decision was not only rude, it was wrong. The first weeks after a young child is implanted and activated is crucial to her development. Also, during the time before the activation M could still hear with her very powerful hearing aid on the un-implanted side.
I had been told she would definitely be in for Spring term. She wasn’t. Fall? She wasn’t. This unfortunate situation was compounded by the fact that the Utah School for the Deaf and Blind (USDB) was asleep at the wheel and didn’t start promised therapy until May. Our insurance and the ENT surgeon didn’t offer any therapy or suggestions.
As M mother, not a doctor or therapist, I knew there was a serious problem. I spoke to the audiologist who mapped M's implant and he recommended that I call Dr. Susan Naidu at the University of Utah. She was very kind and promptly set an appointment for a diagnostic evaluation. I asked about their waiting list. They don’t have one. BYU’s is about 3 years I was told when I first applied. Deaf children sometimes jump to the top since the students need to work with deaf children.
M started speech at the University of Utah immediately. She looked forward the therapy and I watched each session. The students were professional, prepared and always happy to see and work with M. Perhaps the best part of the experience, aside from the promptness of getting the needed services, was that Dr. Naidu also observed the therapy, joined in as necessary and shared insights and gave advice about CIs and deaf children. The differences between the programs and the directors are stunning.
I noticed at BYU that even though the therapy rooms and observation areas had been recently remodeled the professors rarely spoke with me; they were down the hall, behind a locked door. Also, my other children were not allowed to watch or participate at BYU. This was often difficult and unfortunate since siblings are sometimes the best language teachers. The student therapists would talk to me and then talk to their supervisors for answers, which I would receive the following session.
My son N also has a cochlear implant. He is now 7 and was implanted at age 6 after about 11 months of not hearing due to a sudden drop in his hearing and a prolonged battle with insurance coverage during which time he received therapy at BYU.
He was not dropped from the BYU program until the fall. Ms. Robinson said he would have a spot in January. When she called again to say, “Sorry.” I was not surprised but I was disappointed. Her reason was that there simply weren’t enough students to provide the therapy. Is this another department that BYU (Provo) is doing away with? If I had known that there was a possibility that the services would be so inconsistent I might have weighed my options more carefully.
We were not the only family dropped, and there are other children that were kept on. I don’t know what the criteria for removal was. It wasn’t solely need.
Ms. Robinson came across as cold and uncaring every time I dealt with her. Once while discussing payment she scolded my son for touching the small action figures in her office, that were at his eye-level. Another time she hovered in the entry waiting for me, to see if we were late? She never spoke to me and I found that odd. I had told the therapist that I couldn’t pick up all the children from 4 different schools, travel and make it on the hour. Once the time was changed to quarter-after the problem was solved.
After N was dropped I called Dr. Naidu. She was happy to work with N as well. The students and Dr. Naidu went out of their way to get N and M on the same days, times and in rooms where I could observe both children at the same time. I deeply appreciate their thoughtfulness.
The cost is about twice BYU’s rate. It should actually be much higher but since our insurance doesn’t cover speech therapy we get a discounted rate. The drive (twice a week) is grizzly, not only the cost of gas and environmental concerns, but the time away from home (minimum 6 hours a week, verses 2 1/2 at BYU) is what is especially difficult for us. My other children need a parent at home in the afternoon.
The lack of options for deaf children in Utah County is a primary reason that I am writing this letter and have tried to create a foundation to help deaf children in Utah County. When I mentioned this problem to Ms. Robinson she expressed little interest and said that BYU students would most likely not be available to participate at a new Utah County facility.
I hope that this letter helps BYU improve its Comprehensive Clinic services. I welcome hearing from you.
Sincerely,
H ...
