My little brother, Mario, who is 4 now, is like most boys his age: that is, he loves things like mud, puddles, toads, frogs, bugs, and various other creatures of that sort, toy cars and trucks, racing around the yard in his fancy "light-up" tennies (lights flash on the sides of his shoes whenever he walks or runs or jumps), wrestling with his brothers, and just having fun, in general.
But if you were to call his name or clap your hands, he would not be able to hear you--for he so happens to be profoundly deaf. He had meningitis as a baby back in his native Italy, and it caused him to lose his hearing. Because of his deafness he has to wear special hearing aids in his ears (these help him to hear at least a LITTLE), and he has to rely on sign language to make his wants or needs known. He CAN talk a little, but his speech is very difficult to understand; and it takes a trained ear to figure out just what he is trying to say to you.
But despite his disability, Mario is a very typical little preschooler. He loves his classmates, and he especially loves his teacher, Miss Helen. He loves to play in the sandbox during recess (which is why mommy ALWAYS packs an extra pair of socks, shoes, or shorts, as well as an extra t-shirt, before he goes to preschool), and he loves to eat cookies or healthy bars during snack period while Miss Helen reads her kids a story, and he especially loves to draw and feel the vibrations of the music whenever Miss Helen plays the piano. He is a very happy, contented little boy.
Mario is not one to let his handicap bother him. He just accepts it, and he acts as normal as possible; and he doesn't want people to feel sorry for him. He only cries whenever he gets into trouble for throwing sand in another kid's face or if he takes a toy from a classmate; but other than that, Mario is very well behaved whenever he goes out in public. People are always amazed at how well-behaved my little brother is whenever we go out to eat or go to a festival.
But he DOES have his "moments", especially if he is bored or hot. This is why mommy and daddy pack extra toys or picture books in his activity bag when we go on trips so Mario doesn't get into any mischief; and when he is hot they always promise him that he can play in the kiddie pool when they get to the hotel; and that usually calms him down.
When it comes to hot, bored, or whiny kids, mommy and daddy know how to deal with them, and they know how to keep them entertained. And Mario is certainly NO exception!
