Frustrated with the lack of progress with my cochlear implant, I contacted the person who has been working with me on the MAPping for advice. She responded with two suggestions:
1. Come in for a re-MAPping session
2. Speech and listening therapy
She said she can provide recommendations for therapists and I requested them. One was in Arlington, so that was a quick rule out. I took a chance on one of them and we hit it off in our first session. It turned out the therapist’s husband is from the same small town where Paul (my husband) grew up. Her husband’s father and Paul’s father knew each other as both retired from the same company. Too weird, eh?
That’s not the end of it. The therapist grew up in a small town outside of Wichita Falls — where my mother grew up. They didn’t know each other as my mom already moved to Fort Worth before the therapist was born.
Anyway, in the first session, she asked me to share my background (also an opportunity to see how I talk normally) and then she had me read six sentences while she marked my problem spots. Wasn’t surprised that “s” or “st” made the list. I always thought that making a hard “s” (with lots of air) would sound funny. Then I listened to a CD with the script in front of me. Followed along without a problem. I never had trouble following audio when I have the transcript… it’s not having a script that’s the problem.