Creative communication

Chance had a baseball game a few nights ago and was the second baseman. I was standing nearby to help guide Chance in his role as all of the kids on his team are still learning the game and need reminding of what exactly to do with the ball once they get it. Usually one of the parents is at second base reminding kids to try to tag out the runner and giving the runner the assurance that he should indeed run to third. On this day, I was near second base reminding Chance to watch the batter so that he would know to watch for the ball coming his way. I got to observe Chance interacting with other kids his age that he did not know. One of the runners got to second base and did a little jig on the base. Chance laughed and said to me "He is funny. I like him. " Chance didn' t really talk to the boy; instead, Chance started backing off of second a bit, then he would run up and "slide" into second. The runner thought this looked like great fun and soon both Chance and the runner were backing off of second, running up and sliding in. Chance hung back with communicating with language, but he did find a way to connect with this new-found friend. It made me realize that Chance has probably been doing a lot of that kind of communication with other kids. I have heard Chance start conversations with kids he does not know, but I also think that he has hung back some and found other ways to form a connection. I am grateful that Chance did not let his deafness hold him back, but Chance's confidence has been affected by his deafness due to communication issues. I have noticed lately though, that Chance is gaining confidence in his ability to communicate and have people listen and understand him. He still holds back some, but I think he feels the impact of the implant on his abilities. This is very good to see, especially for a mom that wants her son to reach his potential and knows that he is capable of anything.