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Monday, Dec. 28, 2009

Learning to sign brings family closer

HILMAR -- Zak Cozine is a bubbly, gurgly, 9-month-old bouncing baby boy.

On the ground level of his family home in Hilmar, Zak rolls around the living room floor, pulling on this toy and that, guided by his big brother, 2-year-old Zane.

And while the shining lights of their toy train steals his gaze every now and then, all Zak hears is white noise and loud rumbles or crashing sounds that others would find jarring, even alarming. Born deaf, Zak's childhood is both typical and extraordinary.

When his mother Patty first learned Zak could possibly never hear her voice, it was unbelievable. The news wouldn't sink in.

The extended Cozine family felt the same reaction: disbelief, hope that prayer and faith could wipe away the diagnosis.

That was then.

Now, the family has rallied around young Zak, with more than a dozen family members enrolled in sign language lessons.

Home help

Zak is a victim of sensorineural hearing loss, which means his cochlea, a hollow bone in the inner ear, is damaged, said Diane Pappas, an infant care provider with the Merced County Office of Education's deaf and hard of hearing program. Zak is clinically deaf, and with two hearing aids in place, might hear the thunder of a lawn mower starting up.

Poking out from underneath Zak's curly, deep brown hair are those two hearing aids: his high-powered auditory last hope.

Zak's immediate family also gets instruction from Pappas, who teaches deaf children in their homes before they reach school age.

The classes will help Zak -- and Pappas' 20 other client families -- build a vocabulary before entering preschool.

"The parent is the first and best teacher for a child," Pappas explained.

Pappas deals with children younger than 3 throughout Merced County. There are children without ears, children who aren't deaf, but need to communicate without speaking. She's worked in Hilmar, Los Banos, Le Grand -- nearly every town from the far Westside to the foothills.

The Merced County Office of Education is notified each time a child in Merced County is born with auditory issues. The family is also referred to MCOE. Pappas provides home help to the families who want it.

"When I get a child, I don't make any decisions for the family," Pappas said. "I just give them information and anything they need."

With the Cozines, Pappas was a crucial ally to Patty during their first few weeks of instruction, when Zak was just 4 months old. Once a week, Pappas visits the Cozine home to answer Patty's questions, check on Zak's development and help Patty turn everyday routines into signing lessons for the family.

"In the beginning, I thought my world was coming to an end," Patty recalled. "Poor Diane -- I cried at all of our first meetings."

One recent week, Pappas came to Patty with information on street signs alerting drivers to Zak's presence and a plan for introducing more signs to Zak.

On that day they learn a few words: cereal, bowl and spoon while Zane looks on (two older brothers and father are at school and work, but will catch up later).

To teach the lessons, Pappas brings along her "auditory learning bag." From it, she pulls out animal figurines and other toys. First, she pounds the toys on the table, the noise and vibration intended to grab Zak's attention. Then she shows him the sign, and sometimes moves his tiny hands to do the sign as well.

"You can do this every morning, right?" Pappas encouraged Patty.

Pappas' help means a lot to the family because caring for Zak is much more difficult than for a hearing child, Patty explained.