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Paula Rosenthal
123 Any Street
Anywhere, NY 10101
Phone: 123.456.7890 / Cell: 987.654.3210
August 4, 2003
Camp XYZ
Dear Director, Division Head and Group Leader,
I am sending this note to let you know about my daughter Jane’s special
needs at camp. If you have any questions, please call me at any of the
numbers referenced above. Jane is a bright girl and is generally capable
of managing for herself, however, I wanted you and your staff to be aware
of the following things so that the summer will go smoothly for Jane. Jane
wears a hearing aid in her left ear and has a cochlear implant and
processor for it on her right ear. Her right ear is her stronger hearing
ear due to the implant.
1. Jane takes off her hearing aid and her cochlear implant processor when
she is sleeping. Thus, she is deaf while asleep. She will need to be woken
up by a counselor each morning. She should be encouraged to put her
hearing aid and cochlear implant processor on when she wakes up. She is to
wear both devices during waking hours.
2. Jane has a Tupperware container to put these two items in when she goes
to sleep at night. The silver disc inside is a drying disc and should
remain in the container at all times. Please make sure the container is
tightly closed in order to keep out moisture.
3. Jane does not wear her hearing aid or cochlear implant processor during
ANY water activities. The items should be placed in the Tupperware at
those times. Although Jane will not be able to hear while swimming or
participating in other water activities, she is an excellent lip reader.
Please make sure she has a buddy at those times, someone who can alert her
to the instructions if necessary. The person must get her attention, face
her and speak normally. Speaking slowly or over-enunciating words distorts
what is said and makes it harder to lip read.
4. While swimming and showering, Jane wears ear molds in her ears to keep
water out. The ear molds are in a royal blue plastic container located in
her toiletries bag. She is able to put them in and take them out herself.
Please make sure she returns them to the container for safekeeping. They
are a clear color and are easily lost.
5. On Wednesday morning, please have Jane change the 3 batteries in her
cochlear implant processor. She should be able to do it herself. If she
encounters difficulty, please call me and I can walk someone through it.
The original batteries will die on Wednesday so to avoid any problems,
have her change them before going to breakfast. The hearing aid battery
lasts a full week so it does not need to be changed. Batteries for both
are labeled and are inside her toiletries bag. (This should be changed to
a specific battery changing schedule that is appropriate for your child.
Or, if your child recharges batteries, explain the procedure here.)
6. If Jane does not appear to be hearing as well as she was in previous
instances, ask her to check the setting on her processor. It should be set
preferably at number 6, though 5 ½ is acceptable. She is able to check and
set this but may need to be reminded.
7. Due to the internal components of the cochlear implant (inside her
head) Jane cannot be exposed to static electricity when wearing her
processor. This means that if she goes in a ball pit (plastic balls), a
foam pool, does gymnastics on mats, slides on a plastic slide (metal is
ok), or anything else that may conduct static electricity, she MUST remove
her cochlear implant processor and ask a counselor to hold it while she
does that activity. She should leave on her hearing aid as there are no
issues related to static with it. Thus, Jane will be able to hear while
doing these activities, but she will be at a reduced hearing level. She
should sit close to and face the instructor in order to hear better.
8. Jane must wear a helmet during all appropriate activities (e.g.
rollerblading, go carts, horseback riding, etc.) She has a helmet with her
rollerblading equipment that covers the back of her head where the implant
site is. She should use this helmet during helmet required activities
unless the general use helmet offers good coverage of the back and sides
of the head.
9. While she is generally very outgoing and affable, Jane tends to be shy
when she is in new situations and first meets new adults and children. If
she doesn’t hear something, she may not ask for a repeat. Just because she
is smiling doesn’t mean she knows what is going on. Whenever possible,
please make sure that she fully understands any directions that are given
by asking her a direct question about them or something similar.
10. Jane and Jill Doe in the Beavers group are first cousins. They have
grown up together and are as close as sisters. If Jane is homesick or if
you have questions about Jane, Jill may be able to help. I hope that they
will be able to spend time together while Jane is at Rookie Camp, they are
both looking forward to it.
Again, please don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions.
Thank you for taking care of Jane. She has been looking forward to Rookie
Camp for months! I look forward to meeting you on Visiting Day.
Best regards,
Paula Rosenthal
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