Learning Your Name

(Malachi reading and signing a book) 

"Does he turn when you call his name?"

I remember being asked that when Malachi was 9 months and almost every doctors appointment since. When Brandon was growing up that never even occurred to me. Hearing children hear people calling them their name from the moment they are born.

Malachi didn't start hearing his name until a month or two ago.

Then I started thinking. How in the heck was I going to teach Malachi that his name was Malachi?

Before Malachi was implanted we would hit the floor with our hands twice, and that was his signal to look to see who was trying to get his attention. So once he was hearing our voices I started to call out "Malachi" and also hit the floor twice. Eventually, it started to seem like he was starting to turn to his name.

For about the last week Malachi has been consistently turning to his name being called.

Something that seemed like it was going to be so complicated wasn't at all. It just proved to me again that deaf children learn just the same as hearing children, just in a different way and different time frame.