Chance had an appointment with the audiologist a few days ago. As it turns out, when Chance was tested in the booth, his mapping did need to get tweaked a little. Now Chance is fine with using the newest map. The audiologist did not leave the option of using the old mapping though. He said that he often has to do that with adults. People will get comfortable with their old mapping and resist using the new one. So now the option of using the old program is not even there. In Chance's case, there really were some adjustments that needed to be made, he was not just avoiding using the new mapping. He told me tonight that number one(program one) works fine now.
Chance's dad actually took Chance to his appointment. He does not get many opportunities now to be at the audiologists office so Chance wanted his dad to come. We have exhausted our babysitting options so Chance's dad took half a day off of work to accompany Chance to his visit. Taking other kids to an audiological visit like the one that Chance just had is only second to having them all with you while you are in labor. Everyone has to be quiet for about 3 hours while test after test is done to see what Chance is hearing. There are booth tests where Chance is tested with one implant on and then the other. Chance is tested with both implants on and then taken out of the booth to test things in another room. All the while, things have to be quiet with limited distraction to Chance. Chance also does not like to be in the booth alone, so whoever takes him to the appointment sits in there with him. It is really unfair to ask all of the other kids to sit quietly for 3 hours locked in a tiny room where they can not talk or do anything that would distract Chance. I have had to take everyone to an appointment before, and we all lived. Though afterwards, I was exhausted from trying to come up with ways to quietly entertain everyone and at the same time, help Chance and get the information that I needed from the audiologist. So it can be done. But it is not pretty. The appointment lasted about 3 hours, so when they were done, Chance and his dad went out to get some lunch. Chance is always a real trooper during these visits and does what is asked of him.
While they were eating, a woman noticed Chance's implants. It turns out she is a special education teacher and she commented on how well Chance was talking. Then she asked how long Chance has had implants. When Chance's dad told her, she shook her head in disbelief. She did not believe at first that Chance had only had the implants for less than a year.
It is so good to hear other people tell us how well Chance is talking. Since we live with Chance day after day, and know where his language was, we see dramatic improvements everyday. But when strangers or people that Chance does not see that often notice how well he is doing, it shows that Chance's language abilities are expanding to the point that he is talking more and more like hearing kids his age are.
Every day we see improvements in Chance's language abilities. New words, new phrases, and new concepts that he is able to express. It is very gratifying to see that other people are sharing our observations as well.
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