greet with Valerie James
Abbott, who I am pleased to call a
friend of mine. I encourage you to
keep your videos on during this time.
It's okay if you have kids running
around. We welcome the distraction.
Just make sure your microphones are
muted so we can try to eliminate that
audio distraction. Everyone knows me
here. I don't need to go through the
whole introduction. I do have my two
children here. One is over here eating
a cookie. And Layla is over here
eating a cookie also.
And my son Tristan is probably
watching
Pokemon on TV. We
have Dessie helping cohost,
and we have Valerie, our presenter.
We want to thank Megan,
our ASL interpreter, and our
captioner, Caitlin. Thank you,
everyone, for being here. Before I turn
this over to Dessie to go over some
very quick Zoom rules, I just want to,
again, thank you all for joining us.
Valerie, I am proud to call her a
friend. We met by chance at a
Hands & Voices leadership conference
in 2016 in Colorado. And I had no idea
that a couple months later my family
and I would be moving to Virginia. And
Valerie was my first friend here. She
was the first person I knew.
And was instrumental in starting
our Hands & Voices chapter here.
Valerie and I met on a cold,
snowy day with $50 to
open up a bank account and hope that
we would be successful at getting a
chapter off the ground. And we did it.
She has rolled off of the board, but
she is a 136 family educator
for the Center for Family Involvement,
Co-chair of the EHDI Advisory
Committee, and now an author. So, we
are so happy to have you.
With that, I am going to mute myself.
I'll turn it over to Dessie and we'll
just keep on rolling with
everything.
>> DESSIE BERRY: Thank you, Teri.
Hello, everybody. And welcome. We are
so excited to have Valerie here this
afternoon. But before we get to her, I
just wanted to go over a few quick
tips for using Zoom. I'm
fairly certain that most of us know
how to use Zoom by now, but just in
case, one thing I really want to stress
is just to keep your cameras on.
We want to see the kids, to see you --
Valerie wants to see you. We want to be
able to interact with you, so keep your
cameras on, but mute just
in case there's extra noises in the
background so that we can hear Valerie
reading the story. You can pin the
interpreter if you need to see the
interpreter side by side, your screen,
Valerie's screen. So if you just
toggle over the three dots in
your box, I believe you can
pin her.
And then she will show up. Let's
see. You can turn on the closed
captioning. We do have a captioner. So
if you go down to the bottom where it
says CC, you can click on
turn on captions.
And I believe -- the only other thing
I was going to talk about was the
different views. Up in your upper
right-hand corner you can click on
gallery view and see everybody, or
just see the presenter in one big
screen.
So if you click on the view, you have
speaker view or gallery view, and you
can also move your speaker view either
to the right-hand side of your screen
or to the top part of your screen just
by using your mouse to move the box
around. And I think that is about it.
So, one exciting thing we have to
announce is that Valerie has a box of
goodies that she is going to give away
at the end of the presentation. And so
we will be taking down names. And when
I say we, I mean Teri. We will put
the names in a hat and at the end of
the presentation we will draw names
from the hat. And that person will win
the box of goodies.
So, with that, I would like to turn it
over to Valerie. Thank you so much,
Valerie, for coming. And we're excited
to read Padapillo.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Thank you so much. I
am so excited to be here. And I think
there are a few kids that came that I
didn't get to personally say hello to.
Hello. So if you are a kid, if you can
raise your hand and put it in the
screen so I can see it. We've got one
there, we've got -- there's one. We've
got one there. Anybody else? Yep. I see
some kids over there. Sweet. I'm here
for you today!
This is a children's book and I am here
for you. And so what I am hoping we'll
do is we'll read the story and
then when you have questions
about things that we'll talk about
them. So you can either ask Mom and
Dad to type your question or your
comment in the chat, or you can
write it down on a piece of paper, or
ask ask Mom or Dad, don't forget I
want to ask this question or I want to
say this thing.
But if your question cannot wait,
I don't want you to wait. I want you
to take yourself off mute and I want
you to say, can you stop for a second?
I have a question. So how about we do
it that way. We can do it a couple
different ways. Does that work for
everybody? Okay. This is my first
virtual book reading, so I am so glad
that it's with you all and I can just
be myself and be relaxed, and not worry
about it, and then you'll tell me
how I did at the end.
Does everybody have a copy of Padapillo
with them? Okay. All right. Awesome. So
, we're going to start on page
11, which is where the story starts.
Okay? And we know the book is called
Padapillo. And by now if you've read
it you know why, but some of you have
not read it yet, so don't spoil it for
the people who haven't read it yet.
We're going to jump in. Here we go.
Everybody's on their page, page 11?
I thought I knew everything about my
little sister, Bridget. After all,
she's little. I knew her favorite
song, I knew her best friend's name. I
even knew how much she hated broccoli.
But there were things I didn't know
about her, like why she did weird
things. She never answered the door
when the doorbell rang. She didn't
notice when a phone would ring. And she
always made me repeat myself. That was
annoying.
Sometimes she just ignored me. That
made me mad. But then there was
the strangest thing of all. This is
weird. Everybody go on
to the next page. One
day, Bridget and I were playing on our
favorite tree. Look, she said. A
Padapillo! I looked around, but I
didn't see anything. What are you
talking about? I asked. What is a
Padapillo?
Yep. You found it. She pointed to a
branch on the tree. I still didn't see
the Padapillo. Bridget moved closer.
She pointed at a chubby green creature
the size of her finger. Padapillo, she
said again. I rolled my eyes.
That is not a
Padapillo. Who knows what it is? Take
yourselves off mute for a second. Who
knows what it is? Shout it out.
>> Caterpillar.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: I wonder why she
said that. Why did she call it a
Padapillo?
>> Because
she couldn't hear anything and
she didn't know some things.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: That's right
. Eventually -- we're on this page now.
Eventually my parents caught on to her
weird behavior and silly words. I don't
know when they noticed, but once they
did they wouldn't stop talking about
it. Suddenly, Dad was on his phone all
the time. Mom was always on the
computer. They started talking to
people about the same things I had
seen.
What do you think it could be, asked
Grandma. We're not sure, said Dad.
Wonder that they're thinking it could
be. All right. We're going on to this
one. One day, my parents took my sister
to see a special doctor. It wasn't a
regular doctor. It was a new one. No
kids in the waiting room, either. Most
ly grownups and grandparents. Dad, I
said. Yes, honey, he replied.
Are these people sick? No, honey, Dad
answered.
Is Bridget sick, I asked
. No, honey, I don't think she's sick,
Dad answered. Then what are we doing
here? I asked. Just then, a nurse
called us into the doctor's office. Mom
held Bridget's hand. She could never
follow directions, anyway. The doctor
asked my parents lots of questions
-- too many questions. He looked into
my sister's ears.
What do you think he was looking for?
Anybody know?
You don't have ladybugs in there, do
you? The doctor joked. Ladybugs? I
think I know what might be going on, he
said. I'd like you to meet Dr. Anna.
She is an audiologist. What's
that, I asked.
An audiologist
tests hearing and helps people who may
not hear well. Dr. Anna asked Bridget
if she would like to play a game. This
game wasn't like the fun kind we have
at home or at school. It was a
listening game.
Bridget wanted to play. It looked
pretty boring to me.
All right. I have a question for the
group. Has anyone seen a room that
looks like this? If you have, show many
me your hands. Has
anybody seen anything that looks like
this? Bridget sat on Mom's lap in a
little metal room with a window and
toys inside. I watched as Dr. Anna
placed long tubes into Bridget's ears.
Hey, are you hurting her? I asked.
No, these are soft
rubber tubes. They don't hurt. They're
like headphones, Dr. Anna explained.
Dr. Anna came out and closed the door
to the little metal room. She sat in a
chair near the window and waved. She
spoke to Bridget through a microphone.
Listen for the beep, she said. I
slumped back in my chair. This is going
to take forever! I grumbled. When
the game was over, Dr. Anna sat down
with me and my parents.
The inside of Bridget's ears don't work
like yours and mine. The test shows
that she needs something to help make
sounds louder and clearer to help her
hear better. Bridget needs hearing aids
.
What, I shouted. What are you talking
about? She doesn't need hearing aids.
My sister can hear just fine. Dad
wrapped his arm around me. Mom looked
sad. No, she doesn't hear like you and
me, Dr. Anna said. Bridget can hear
some things, but she can't hear other
important sounds.
I know it might be hard to believe, but
it's true. She then showed us a
hearing aid and explained each of the
different parts.
Here's the picture of the hearing aid.
And I can tell you that it's the most
beautiful illustration of a hearing aid
ever created on planet Earth.
I'm not biased. Who else thinks it's a
pretty hearing aid, anybody?
Okay. Next Dr. Anna squirted
blue goo into my sister's ears and
said, this blue stuff will harden into
the shape of Bridget's ear canal so
her hearing aid molds will fit
perfectly.
Bridget closed her eyes and made a
funny face. She said the goo
felt squishy. What if
that gooey stuff gets stuck in there?
It won't. When the
blue goo hardened, Dr. Anna pulled the
mold out of her ears. It looked like
the frosting on a cupcake. Bridget,
did that hurt? I asked. She shook her
head back and forth. I wondered if she
understood what I said. Dr. Anna
knelt close to my sister and smiled.
Bridget, hearing aids can be any color
in the rainbow. Which color would you
like?
Bridget thought about it and pointed to
her dress. Pink it will be, Dr. Anna
said. I will order them today.
We're on this page now. Everybody
there?
The ride home from the doctor's office
took forever. My sister fell asleep. I
was so mad. Why hadn't she told me she
couldn't hear me? I knew the listening
game must be wrong. I knew I had to
test her myself as soon as we got
home.
Bridget, come play with me, I said,
walking her into my room. Can you make
a block tower? Here. Use these.
Bridget ignored me. Here, blocks
. Make a tower! I said, pointing to the
bucket of blocks. What? Bridget
asked. Ugh. Let me show
you, I said, flipping the bucket
upside down. She was so annoying.
Bridget nodded and started her own
block tower.
I slowly moved towards my toy chest. I
had to find something to prove Dr. Anna
and her test were wrong. I had to prove
that my sister could hear just fine and
that she was just plain weird. A-ha
, I whispered. I turned around
. I stood behind my sister.
And then -- can we all take our things
off of mute for a second, can we unmute
ourselves? And then I need us all to
grab our bells and really loudly,
scream, ring a Ling.
Ready?
Very good.
Bridget didn't move. She didn't look
up. She didn't turn around. She didn't
stop at all. She just kept
building her block tower.
Huh.
We're on this page now. A
few weekends later, Bridget's hearing
aids were ready. We all went back to
see Dr. Anna, the audiologist.
Bridget wiggled in the chair. Dr. Anna
put the new pink hearing aids in and
around her ears. They fit perfectly.
These are so pretty. How do they feel,
Dr. Anna asked. My sister's eyes grew
big and wide. I hear you, she said. I
hear you! We all laughed. Mom cried a
little bit. Dr. Anna made some
adjustments to the hearing aids. Then
she said we could go home. Bridget was
very excited. She ran down the hall and
straight out the door. She wanted to
show everyone her new hearing aids!
But then, Bridget
stopped. She stopped and she
looked around. She grabbed Dad's
leg. What is that, Bridget
asked. She covered her ears. What
is what? We asked.
Everybody on that page?
What do you all see when you look at
your book? What do you see in the
background of this page? Yes
, go ahead. Shout it out.
>> I see a dog.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: A dog, what else do
you see?
>> And it's so loud.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yeah.
>> An airplane.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: And an airplane.
Yep. Anything else we see?
>> People.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: People. Does anybody
see a train?
>> A car.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: A car, we see a
train. Yeah. The noise,
stop the noise, Bridget began to cry.
She grabbed at her ears and started to
pull her hearing aids out. I looked
around at the moving cars and trucks
and people. I didn't hear anything
strange. I just heard everyday things.
It's all right, Mom said. These sounds
are new to you. Don't be afraid. She
smiled and picked up my little sister.
We headed back to Dr. Anna's office. I
thought I might see you back here, Dr.
Anna said.
Was it loud outside? Bridget
nodded her head. She freaked out,
I said. Bridget wiped tears from
her eyes. Dr. Anna made a few more
adjustments to the hearing aids. You
are so brave. Keep wearing these every
day. It will get easier. I'll see you
again very soon.
Everybody on the school page?
The next day at school, I walked my
sister down the hall to her classroom.
She squeezed my hand, so I squeezed it
back.
I felt a tickle in my stomach as we
turned to the corner. I wondered if
anyone would notice her ears. What
would her friends say? Wow, what are
those, Wyatt asked, point
ing his finger. Hearing aids, Bridget
replied. I can hear better now. Let me
see. Her friends and teacher gathered
around, smiling. I love
them, Olivia announced. They are pink
and beautiful. My sister let go of my
hand and smiled at me. I smiled,
too.
Look at that. Can you all see that?
Things are a little different now. My
sister wears her hearing aids every
day. She also works with special
helpers called therapists. Sometimes
they ask me to help. Bridget doesn't
annoy me as much anymore. Actually,
she's kind of funny. She won't stop
talking and trying new words. She talks
to our neighbors when they ring the
doorbell. She runs to answer the
phone. She still says silly things
sometimes, and that's okay. But you'll
never guess the big new word she said
yesterday. And what was the word, do we
know? Yes, what was the word?
>> Caterpillar.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: The word she said
was butterfly.
Oh, my gosh, you guys are amazing. So,
I have a couple questions for you,
and then I'm going to share some little
facts about the story. So, who wants to
tell me the part that they liked the
most? Yes
. I don't have names, so just chime
in.
>> I liked the butterfly page.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: I like the butterfly
page, too.
>> My favorite page is
the caterpillar.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: I love that
caterpillar. I want that caterpillar as
a pet. Wouldn't that be so much fun?
Anybody else have a favorite part?
>> I liked when the sister did
ring-a-
ling.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes. That actually
is part of our story. And I'll tell you
more about that in a minute. But that
actually happened. Dessie, did one
of your children have a question or a
comment?
>> My favorite part of the book was
when the sister was going to
test her other sister.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes.
>> Because she just wanted to make it
so she didn't have to wear hearing
aids.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yeah. Her older
sister didn't believe it could be true.
Yes. Anyone else have a favorite part?
>> She's being shy.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: That's okay.
>> On the last page, when she sign
s butterfly.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: On the very last
page, Bridget is also sign
signing butterfly. I don't know if
everybody noticed that, but there she
is. And she's got the
nosy little older sister watching,
right there. Yep. That's right. So
, I'm going to share a couple of true
things about the story, because this
story is totally based on our family's
journey with late-on Seth
onset hearing loss. Bridget was
identified at 2 1/2 years old. She
passed her newborn hearing screen.
Somewhere along the way she lost her
hearing and we didn't notice until her
speech and language skills were
significantly behind her peers.
So one of the things that makes this
story fiction, technically, is
that who said what and in what order
things happened is different. So,
who do you think in real life
was the one
who rang the bells like this?
Anybody guess?
>> Mom.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes. So. (Laughing)
One of the things that was done
with this story was as it was being
written and we decided to write it from
the perspective of an older sibling,
was I was able to look back and see
what actually happened? What did we do?
What did we feel? What did we say? And
so when our early intervention team
came out to do an evaluation, they rang
bells just like in the story.
And that was when we realized what was
going on. So in the story it happens
after her official diagnosis. But in
real life, it happened earlier than
that. Let's see. What are some other
-- the blue goo, right? And Bridget
's sister says, what if they
that gets stuck in there? Who do you
think said that in real life?
Yes.
Anybody?
>> Dad and Mom.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Dad and Mom.
>> You?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Me. Yep, I did. And
I said, oh, my gosh, what if that gets
stuck in there? And the real Dr. Anna
-- there is a real Dr. Anna -- she
said, it won't. (Laughing)
So, all of the things that are in this
story were taken from real life,
all the nooks and crannies, it's just
who said what and when was it said
that's a little bit out of order. And
that's what makes the story fiction.
So, do we have any questions about the
story?
No? Yes? Do parents have
any questions about the story?
Clair is raising her hand. I would
love to hear from Clair.
>> Were you're worried about her when
you discovered, were you surprised?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: That's a great
question. Yes. I was very surprised. We
were all surprised. I think she was
surprised. I think she was like, oh. I
didn't know that about myself. And I
was worried, because I had questions. I
wanted to know, wait a second. How did
this happen? When did this happen? Is
it going to progress? Is her hearing
going to change? And no one could give
me those answers for a long time.
So I was worried
in the beginning. So I have a
question for parents. Was there any
part of the story that spoke to you
specifically, or that rang true for
you?
>> TERI URBAN: This is Teri. I do have
something to say. She's being shy, but
she likes how she was able to get
different color hearing aids, because
me personally, I am not a very colorful
person. And I wanted clear, clear
, clear. And the audiologist kept
saying, we have this whole book with
all these different colors. And I was
like, we're good with clear. One day
she gave the book to Beda
, and she saw that there was glitter,
pink, and purple, and that was it.
She was probably 1 1/2
.
So she's jealous that she got different
colors right away, because we were a
clear family over here.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: I'm glad you
mentioned that, because -- I'm so glad
to see all these hands raising up. I'll
be with you in just a second. So, one
of Bridget's big
, personal missions is
that families allow children to enjoy
their hearing aids through colorful
expression. And so she wants children
very early on to
have colorful hearing aids, whether
that's something that the family has
chosen for them or when the time comes,
the child can choose for themselves.
So she felt very strongly that we
include that in the story so that
families know in the beginning, if
they get this as a tool shortly after
they're identified and hearing aids
are part of the conversation, she
wanted the families and the children to
know upfront they can be any color in
the rainbow and they can even be
swirls. So that -- this has been a
family project, and that definitely is
a part of Bridey's
self-in there. Clair, you had a
question or a topic.
>> I had
clear until there were a few other
colors. And I picked purple with
glitter.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Ooh! That's one of
Bridey's favorites. Yes. Right now
she has purple and teal swirl just
like in the book, with silver glitter.
Glitter is the thing. Dessie
?
>> I just got new ones yesterday.
These are what they look like.
>> Oh, and you've got a charm on them,
too. Yes. Beautiful. How fun! Do
you love them?
>> Yeah. I picked glittery pink,
glittery purple, and glittery blue
because actually you can't really see,
but there's some blue in there.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes, beautiful. I
love that color combo. Ella, yes.
>> I had pink
, orange, red,
and green.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: You did, what do you
have now? What color are
your cochlear implants?
>> Tan ones with stickers.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: What are the
stickers? Oh, yes. Absolutely. What's
nice about the stickers is you can swap
it out. You're not committed to a color
scheme. I love that. Yes.
Clair.
>> How old is Bridget now?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Bridget is 16 years
old. And she has a driver
's permit.
And she is driving. And I am drinking
more Prosecco than I probably should at
the end of each day. So -- are we
recording this? We are. Oh, well. So,
yes. She is 16.
And she's go big or go home, big
colors still. Yes.
>> What is Prosecco?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: It is adult ginger
ale. Yep. It's served in a
very nice glass, but it's adult
ginger ale.
>> What is that?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: You know what ginger
ale is?
>> What?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Do you know what
ginger ale is, or 7
Up?
>> It's soda.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Like adult soda.
>> A mommy drink.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes.
With the pencil.
>> Isn't it supposed to be like wine or
something?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes. Oh, my
goodness, I probably should not have
gone there. (Laughing)
Yes. Ella.
No, that's when we get home, correct
. It's all in a safe place. It's
COVID rules. So, a couple of
other things I wanted to mention is
that the CDC, right,
the Centers for Disease Control, has a
program called Learn the Signs, Act
Early. And every state has an
ambassador, someone in their state who
is responsible for forwarding the
messaging about paying attention to
developmental milestones and when
developmental milestones are either not
being met or there's some concern about
them, that conversations happen between
families and their pediatricians.
And in Virginia, we have one. We have a
CDC, learn the signs ambassador, Dina
. And I'm so grateful that Dina wrote
the forward for Padapillo.
So this is from Dina. And if you
haven't read her forward yet, I would
encourage you to do that. The other
thing I'll share with you is that on
the back, Justin with
the Hearing Fund, nephew of
Donnie and Marie,
their nephew Justin inherited hearing
loss from his uncles, Donny and Marie's
two oldest brothers.
And he started a foundation in memory
of his grandmother. And it's a
wonderful story. If you have a chance
to look up that story online, it's
really worth reading. And he felt so
strongly about the mission of this
book, which is to call attention to
late-on
set hearing loss because not all
children are identified at birth, that
he endorsed it. He has become a good
friend and I'm grateful for his support
and that of the hearing fund.
So something I want to promote is if we
know families of children that are
looking into hearing aids and they are
struggling with the financial aspect of
that, to please reach out to the
Olive
Hearing Fund. If it's going to be a
hardship on the family, they're eager
to help. Clair, yes.
>> How did Bridget
get hearing loss?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Who here has heard
of Conexon26?
So,
Bridey has that, which is a
genetic condition, an inherited
condition that we didn't know was in
our bloodstream, but it was. And that
caused her hearing loss. So she was
born with hearing, and then after
birth, something happened. And the
hairs inside of her ear changed and she
couldn't hear as well anymore. And I
know that there's a lot of children
with hearing loss that have that. I
like to think of them as cousins
of Bridey.
>> I have it.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Maybe you're related
to Bridey. Yep.
>> Beta has that, also.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yep.
>> Do you, too, Ella?
>> Could I be her sister?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: You could be her
sister. Bridey will be sisters with
anybody. Anybody who's nice. So if
you're nice,
yes. What other questions or thoughts
do you have?
>> TERI URBAN: I just think that this
is wonderful from so many different
aspects. Not only do you include
siblings, which is so important and so
many parents struggle with that in the
beginning. They don't want to include
them or they don't know how to include
them, or they don't know if they should
include them. And it's wonderful that
sisters are very clearly a part of this
book. I was
going to say something else.
You and I were talking about this
offline, but it seems that so many
children can relate to this
regardless of if they wear hearing
aids, or cochlear implants, or use a
Baja. Knowing that there's someone
else like them. All the kids on the
screen today, this book is about you,
you know, because of your hearing aids
or your cochlear implants. You inspire
us parents to write books. And it's
really amazing. So I think -- I
connect with it.
I know that we've all connected with
it, so it's wonderful. Wonderful job.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Thanks. So,
yes, it was very intentional to make
this about a relationship between
siblings, because siblings frequently
have a front row seat for this journey.
We're dragging them to doctor's
appointments, to different things.
Early intervention, they're home when
some of that is going on. And so my
oldest child, she was fully aware of
what was going on. And it was
fun to imagine what her perspective
might have been like if we had been
able to document that when she was
really young.
The other thing I'll mention is I wrote
this book more than ten years ago. It's
an old book in our family. We've read
this hundreds of times. And it wasn't
until COVID that I met the
right publisher to help me bring it
into the world. So, I would like to
tell the kids a story. Can I tell you
a story? This is a true story. This is
not, like, based on a true story. This
is a true story.
When I was -- Bridey is texting
me. I wonder if she's wondering if she
can come in. When I was 12 years old, I
wrote a book. And I wrote it all summer
long. And it was in three black and
white composition notebooks, like the
ones you have at school. And it was
very detailed --
characters and scenes, and it was
amazing. It was an amazing, amazing
story. I'm still impressed with
myself.
And I lived in Garden City, Long
Island. And in Garden City, Long
Island, the headquarters of
Double Day Publishing was in my
hometown. At the end of the summer I
put my book, the three notebooks, in my
backpack and rode my bike there.
I went in the front door. And I told
the secretary, who was the
receptionist, I said, my name is
Valerie James and I have a book that
needs publishing.
And she looked at me and said, okay.
And she turned around and she pulled a
form out of her drawer and she handed
it to me and she said, this will need
to be filled out. I said, okay.
I grabbed a pencil and sat down on the
sofa and started filling it out. She's
watching me and scratching her head.
And she came around and said, may I
see your manuscript? I unloaded it and
handed it to her.
And she said wow, you've worked hard on
this. I said, I did. She said, it will
need to be typed when you turn in
your application.
I didn't know how to type. So
I put everything in my backpack and I
took my bicycle and I went back home
and I started writing another book,
only this one I was doing on the first
computer our family ever had. And I
taught myself how to type. I decided I
was not going to type that one, I was
going to type a new story.
So that was my second. So what
I hope all of you will do this summer,
I hope you will write a story. Not a
book, unless you want to write a book.
But I hope you will write a story and
maybe your mom and dad will get you a
black and white notebook just for that.
You can write about anything you want.
It can be a true story, a pretend
story, fiction, nonfiction. But how
about this -- if you write a story
this summer, I want to read it.
So can we do that? Can we have an
agreement that if you decide this
summer you want to write a story --
long, short, a set of stories -- you
write them. You mail it to me, I'm
going to comment on it and I'm going to
mail it back. How about that? Does that
sound like a plan? Teri knows how to
get in touch with me. Clair is like,
no! Ella is like, yeah! What do
we think? We can all
write stories.
>> I can't spell.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: This is the other
thing. Spelling doesn't matter. This
is not for a grade. And so spelling
doesn't matter. Parents are like, what
are you saying? For this exercise, the
only important part is that you write
it. Yes. Ella.
>> I'll do my best.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes. Just pound it
out. Yes.
>> I made the cover of my
book.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: You did? Let me see.
Hold it. Oh, my gosh, look at you!
Right? You are -- I never got to a
cover. Good for you.
>> I just make books whenever.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: That's right,
whenever. We can all be authors. I'm
so excited.
>> I also -- I'm
always practicing when I make
characters, because every day I get
better at making them.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes.
>> My friend is super good at doing it,
so that's why I decided to draw like
her.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes. All right.
>> TERI URBAN: Yes. Let's show off the
box.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Here's the fun box
that somebody today will win. It's
going to be a special note from me to
whoever you want me to write the note
to. Make sure whoever wins, that you
tell me the name. You'll get another
copy of Padapillo signed by me for you
to do whatever you like. If you want to
bring it to your school, your library,
your pediatrician, ENT, or audiologist,
whoever you want. We also have some
fun things for summertime, like hide
the ladybug fun
.
And then we have an enamel
pin of the tiger
swallow tail -- eastern tiger swallow
tail butterfly, which is the state
insect, another important fact about
Padapillo. We used the dogwood tree and
the state insect in the story. And then
we have a vinyl sticker that can go on
a computer or a water bottle. And we've
got some other fun things in there. So
this will go to somebody that we
identify tonight. In the meantime, I
have a special guest.
And you guys are allowed to ask this
special guest anything you want. You
ready? All right. Here comes
the special guest. Better than the
Easter Bunny. Go ahead and sit down.
>> Hi, everybody.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: This is the real
Bridget, the real Bridey
Abbott. They were asked about you. So
how old are you now?
>> I'm 16.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: And what's a fun
thing you get to do at 16?
>> Drive.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: You've all been warn
ed. So, does anybody
-- yes, Ella, what question do you
have?
>> Will you come to Roanoke and
play with me?
>> I would love to do that.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: She'll fulfill that,
because her sister is going to college
in the Roanoke area, so we will
definitely be there.
>> Yay!
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes, Clair.
>> How and when do
you tell -- can you read
it?
>> New friends
. You wanted to ask how do
you tell your new friends about your
hearing loss?
>> Oh, I always show them because I
have really cool molds. And they're
like really colorful. So I try to just
show it off and I'm like --
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Can you show them
what you have now? They've been sharing
some of what they have.
>> I have blue and purple with
silver sparkles. I've always had
sparkles since I was three.
I love sparkles.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Are there any color
combinations you would not recommend?
>> No.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: You didn't like
yellow.
>> That's personal, though.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: That's true.
>> Yeah.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Any other questions
for her while we've got her attention?
16-year-olds, they've got a lot on
their plate.
Anybody? Oh, okay, Ella. We've got a
couple.
>> Will you teach me how to drive?
>> Did you hear what she said?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes. I wouldn't
recommend it. Maybe if a few years,
though. I'm not good yet.
>> Totally.
>> I'm only almost seven.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: And Dessie, your
daughter?
>> I like your shirt.
>> Thank you.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: That's one of your
faves.
>> I wear it all the time.
>> I like any kind of cat-like thing.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes. Clair, yes.
>> What is your favorite part of
driving?
>> My favorite part of driving?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Or maybe what will
your favorite part be?
>> I think going shopping.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: She will get to go
wherever she wants whenever she wants.
>> I really like
shopping. I like Target
. I'll pick you guys up, don't worry.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: There we go.
>> TERI URBAN: Bridey, do you show your
friends your book, are you like I'm in
a book? Do all of your best friends
have a copy of this?
>> Yes. Some of my friends do have a
copy. And I think they were mostly
like, your mom is so cool. I was like,
I'm cool, too.
(Laughter)
>> My mom is getting all the attention.
They want to be best friends with her.
(Laughter)
>> TERI URBAN: That's great. I would
not think that. That's wonderful.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes.
We're doing something really fun this
summer in July. We're going to be on
Long Island. Do you want to talk about
where we're going to go?
>> I don't remember.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Okay. Any other
questions for Bridey while we've got
her? Yes, Clair.
>> Do you remember saying
Padapillo?
>> I don't remember the original -- the
first time I ever said it, but I do
remember saying it when I was supposed
to not be saying it, because I was
learning how to say caterpillar.
Yeah. I had a
lot of different words
.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yep.
Amazing what happens once you
get to 16. I'm going to sit
down.
>> TERI URBAN: Bye. Thanks, Bridey.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: We think that you're
really cool. Don't worry.
(Laughter)
>> Oh, my gosh.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: All right. We are
going to select a name.
>> TERI URBAN: I wrote everybody's
names here, put them in the hat. Do you
want to pick a name? This will be the
winner of the Padapillo giveaway
box. Okay. My husband will pick one.
It is Alicia.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yay!
>> Please pick again, because my kids
aren't home to be here. I would love if
one of the kids on the screen could
win.
>> TERI URBAN: All right. We'll pick
again. We can do that.
Ella.
Good job. Congratulations. We know
where to find her. We'll send the box
out to you.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: That is awesome.
>> TERI URBAN: All right. I think we
can wrap it up. Thanks, everyone
, for sitting through this for so long.
I am so excited about this book. I have
two of them also. So I'm going to be
giving my other copy away to a special
person when I find them who I think
would benefit from this book. Valerie
, thank you so much. This is amazing. I
know that you have been working on this
for a while.
When I first met you, I remember you
telling me about it and I probably
didn't believe you. Like someone would
say, if they said they wrote a book,
you probably wouldn't think they were
going to become an author. This is
wonderful. We all support you here
wholeheartedly and we're happy to
continue to do that. So, look
looking ahead for as far as Hands &
Voices is concerned, we are planning a
roundtable discussion with deaf and
hard of hearing adults at the end of
June, sometime in the evening.
We're still finalizing the details. If
you're interested, just make sure you
peek on our website for registration
information. And thank you to Megan,
our interpreter with Civic Access. We
appreciate you being here. And to
Caitlin, our captioner at Hamilton
Relay. We appreciate the live
captions. It makes such a difference.
Valerie, do you have any closing
thoughts before we say good afternoon
to the group?
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Yes. I have two
things -- three things. Thank you so
much for this. This was really fun for
me and I haven't done this virtually
yet so I was really curious to see how
this was going to go. All of your kids
are amazing and I loved
their questions and comments. And one
of the things -- I will be
50 years old in June and one of my
hopes is during my 50th year that we
will get Padapillo into all 50 states.
So I would hope that you would help me
during my 50th birthday year spreading
the news about the story. And all of
you kids, Bridey loves you. She loves
you so much. And so if you ever want to
chat with her about anything, just
connect with me and we can schedule
some time for her to talk. Yes,
Ella.
>> My birthday is on June
2nd.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Geminies, we rule
the world you and me. Yes. There's
another hand. Yes.
>> My boo
book
is --
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Two years before
Earth? Like what the world looked like
two years before Earth?
>> Like before Earth was made.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Wow.
>> But there's a different planet
called Gotcha planet.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: I love that. I
cannot wait to read that. I hope you do
a lot of writing this summer. Send it
to me.
>> Thank you very much.
>> VALERIE ABBOTT: Thank you, Teri.
Thank you all so much.
>> Thank you.
>> Great to see you. Have a good
afternoon.
>> Thank you, bye.
>> Bye!
>> Happy reading.