Chance makes friends in all sorts of places..

This summer it has been very satisfying to watch Chance interacting with other kids, many that he has never met before, as he plays sports, plays at parks or rides around the neighborhood.

There have been several instances when Chance has made a friend while playing in the sandbox or climbing up the jungle gym. Chance is confident enough to reach out and meet other kids and play with them wherever he finds himself this summer.

I love to approach him as he is playing at a park etc. and have him exclaim excitedly, "This is my new friend!" He still doesn't always get their names, but he bonds with them all the same:)

Sometimes, he recognizes a child from baseball etc. and readily approaches them to play when he sees them again at the park. It shows that Chance is confident in his ability to communicate and be understood by other kids. He doesn't have to focus so much on understanding and being understood, and can instead focus on just being a kid that wants to play with other kids.
Sometimes Chance will hang back at first to access the situation, but more and more he just jumps right in.

We went to a park after Chance got his mapping done, and a group of women with several children were playing tag. Chance and his brother joined right in to play.

I think Chance is very social and is now able to express that more since he can hear better and not have to focus so hard on just hearing what people are saying. Sometimes Chance has to use his power of observation to totally grasp what the situation is when people are running all over talking while they play tag etc. but Chance is able to catch what is going on more and more and join in on the fun. Chance can not hear perfectly with the implants, but he is hearing phenominally well and his opportunities to interact with those around him have increased and improved more than we had ever hoped for at the beginning of our journey.

I can see that it is very satisfying for Chance to feel comfortable enough to just be a kid that is joining in on the activities going on around him instead of missing out on most of the things that are being said.