Amy Signs: A Mother, Her Daughter, and their Stories

15. Terrible Twos

92 15 Terrible Twos Rebecca “Mother,” John screams, “Amy is ruining my race track! She took all my cars. I asked her for them, but she won’t give them back. I even said please and told her she could have one.” I’m in the next room ironing, so I welcome a break, even if it is to referee a squabble between two preschoolers. John and Amy are so different. He’s a little gentleman, a diplomat, but Amy . . . she’s no lady, she’s a terrorist. “Amy! Stop kicking the race track!” I scream. Yelling is pointless ; she does not hear me even though she has on her aids, but I’m as frustrated as John. I grab Amy and spin her around to face me. “Amy, play with your own toys. It’s not nice to ruin your brother’s race track, he’s . . .” Midway through my lecture, Amy gives me an impish smile and covers her eyes with her hands, rendering herself deaf and blind. I shake my head at her cleverness. I return to my ironing, but before I can finish the next shirt, John alerts me to an overflowing toilet. “What next?” I mumble as I rush toward the bathroom. I know who is responsible for this, Amy. I’m trying to toilet train her, without much success. Her solution to wet underwear is to flush it down the toilet. This time, the plunger unclogs the toilet, sparing a costly visit from the plumber. Amy Signs Main Pgs 1-320.indd 92 6/27/2012 10:37:42 AM Terrible Twos 93 That night I write my frustrations to Nancy at the John Tracy Clinic. Two weeks later I have her response: “Amy doesn’t appear ready to be toilet trained. I suggest you try again in a few months. Don’t worry, she’ll be toilet trained long before she starts school. Ninety percent of all children, hearing or deaf, are toilet trained before they are three.” ) Today after group therapy, Bernice and Teena come to our house so we can discuss the bombshell Charmaine lobbed at us last week. “Now what are we going to do?” Bernice takes the iced tea I offer. “I don’t know.” My frown reveals my own concerns. “Teena was just getting used to Charmaine.When a new therapist arrives, Teena will be back at square one again trying to adjust.” “Didn’t Mr. Snyder tell you? They’re not hiring a replacement for Charmaine.” “Why?” Bernice sips her tea. “The program at Connell loses its federal funding in June.” I squeeze lemon in my tea. “Charmaine quit now, because she was going to be out of a job by the end of the month anyway.” “What about the summer program?” Bernice leans forward, anxious for my response. “There isn’t going to be one. Mr. Snyder said the Grand Island schools can’t provide any language therapy this summer or in the fall if they don’t get funding.” “If Grand Island doesn’t offer a program, what are our kids supposed to do?” “I’ve made some calls. There are no programs being offered anyplace in central Nebraska.The closest program is at the university in Lincoln.They offer speech therapy for preschool hard of hearing and deaf children three days a week. The kids get forty-five minutes of private therapy and thirty minutes in group. It’s not free, but I plan to enroll Amy.The Tracy Clinic material is good, but that’s not enough. This program is our only option. I don’t like the idea of driving 600 miles a week, but what choice do we have? I want Amy to continue therapy. If she doesn’t, how will she learn to talk? When I asked Jack, Amy Signs Main Pgs 1-320.indd 93 6/27/2012 10:37:42 AM 94 Amy Signs he said ‘Fine. Go ahead, but don’t expect me to help with the driving.’ Are you interested? Maybe we could carpool.” The anger on Bernice’s face is replaced with concern. “I’ll talk it over with my husband, but I don’t think we can afford it. How much is it?” I quote the price. “I don’t know. I’d have to quit my part-time job to go, and we need that money.” “Think about it, please,” I beg...