Talking to the kids at Chance's school went really well. The kids had already learned a bit about the Deaf Community and sign language. It was a good experience for all of us I think. We explained why we decided to get implants for Chance and our experience. We also talked touched on philosophical differences between the Deaf Community and those who want deaf children to learn to hear and talk. It was an interesting discussion. I believe everyone should do what they feel is best for their family and no one should feel that attacked for their decision.
The kids asked some really good questions about how the implants worked, and if Chance heard things in monotone through the implant.
Chance's dad and I talked to the class for about an hour and 20 minutes and then we had Chance come in to answer questions. Chance is good to do this kind of stuff. It does not phase him and he is always so generous to answer questions about his implants and what it is like to wear them.
One of the boys said that he wondered what it was that Chance had on his head, but didn't know if it was appropriate to ask. Then one day Chance said hi to him in the hall and introduced himself and after that, he didn't even notice the implants. Chance was just Chance a kid he said hi to in the hall.
The teacher had the same concern about whether it was considered appropriate to ask questions when you see someone with something like implants on. I can't speak for other people, but I told them that I always welcomed questions as Chance was growing up. I figured that I would be curious if I didn't know what implants were and I saw someone wearing them. I could see myself trying to figure out if they were special hearing aids or something. It is natural to be curious. I knew some other moms of deaf kids that got really bothered if people stared at their kids implants. I usually smiled at people if I saw them staring and several times people would approach me and ask what they were. Once I told them they were like,'Oh, OK". Most of them thought implants were pretty cool once I explained what they did and how they helped Chance to hear.
I found kids to be wonderful most of the time too. Many times kids are more open in their questions as they don;t have that sense of worrying about if it is appropriate to ask about them. They are just curious. I will always remember a group of kids in Arizona while we were on vacation. We went to pick up my niece from school and the kids at lunch gathered around us as we sat down and started asking questions about the implants. Once we explained that just like some of them used glasses to see, Chance used implants to hear, they were satisfied. They asked a few more questions like how they stayed on his head etc. but there was no malice in them. They just wanted to know.
Chance told his classmates what it was like to wear implants and one of the things he brought up was how nice it was to be able to tune the world out at night. Everyone envied Chance his ability to do that. He made his classmates laugh by telling them about how he took his implants off once in an argument with his brother about an airsoft gun. Many of the kids expressed how awesome it would be to be able to tune out siblings during disagreements etc. We actually don't encourage this method of coping as a family for obvious reasons. Chance can not just tune out when he doesn't like what is going on. He hasn't actually done that for a while now.
Chance answered questions and let the kids see where the magnets attached the implant to his head. He also showed them how is implant would attach to the door frame as well. They all loved that.
We got many thank yous after the presentation. I think we all benefited from learning about Chance and hearing loss in general. We showed the kids a video of the Flintstones where you can experience a little bit what it is like to have mild hearing loss, moderate hearing loss, severe hearing loss and a profound loss. That clip really helped the kids to see that having hearing loss is not just about making sounds louder. The more severer your loss is, the more muffled the sounds become as well as getting quieter.
It was a fun experience and the kids were very respectful and thoughtful in their questions. Oh and now the kids all know that Chance can read lips really really well. One of the girls asked Chance if he could read lips across the room. Chance answered that he could sometimes. The girls giggled. I think I helped to give away Chance's superpower of reading the lips of girls to see what they are talking about. All of the girls were older and in high school so maybe they won't pass that information down to the girls that are Chance's age:)
One of the girls challenged Chance to test his skills with fingerspelling on a website that signs really really fast. She put it on the highest setting to see if Chance was up to the challenge. He figured it out on the third try as the girl was using her hands to finger spell at lightening speed.
Chance is really good at lip reading AND fingerspelling. The class was impressed.
The kids asked some really good questions about how the implants worked, and if Chance heard things in monotone through the implant.
Chance's dad and I talked to the class for about an hour and 20 minutes and then we had Chance come in to answer questions. Chance is good to do this kind of stuff. It does not phase him and he is always so generous to answer questions about his implants and what it is like to wear them.
One of the boys said that he wondered what it was that Chance had on his head, but didn't know if it was appropriate to ask. Then one day Chance said hi to him in the hall and introduced himself and after that, he didn't even notice the implants. Chance was just Chance a kid he said hi to in the hall.
The teacher had the same concern about whether it was considered appropriate to ask questions when you see someone with something like implants on. I can't speak for other people, but I told them that I always welcomed questions as Chance was growing up. I figured that I would be curious if I didn't know what implants were and I saw someone wearing them. I could see myself trying to figure out if they were special hearing aids or something. It is natural to be curious. I knew some other moms of deaf kids that got really bothered if people stared at their kids implants. I usually smiled at people if I saw them staring and several times people would approach me and ask what they were. Once I told them they were like,'Oh, OK". Most of them thought implants were pretty cool once I explained what they did and how they helped Chance to hear.
I found kids to be wonderful most of the time too. Many times kids are more open in their questions as they don;t have that sense of worrying about if it is appropriate to ask about them. They are just curious. I will always remember a group of kids in Arizona while we were on vacation. We went to pick up my niece from school and the kids at lunch gathered around us as we sat down and started asking questions about the implants. Once we explained that just like some of them used glasses to see, Chance used implants to hear, they were satisfied. They asked a few more questions like how they stayed on his head etc. but there was no malice in them. They just wanted to know.
Chance told his classmates what it was like to wear implants and one of the things he brought up was how nice it was to be able to tune the world out at night. Everyone envied Chance his ability to do that. He made his classmates laugh by telling them about how he took his implants off once in an argument with his brother about an airsoft gun. Many of the kids expressed how awesome it would be to be able to tune out siblings during disagreements etc. We actually don't encourage this method of coping as a family for obvious reasons. Chance can not just tune out when he doesn't like what is going on. He hasn't actually done that for a while now.
Chance answered questions and let the kids see where the magnets attached the implant to his head. He also showed them how is implant would attach to the door frame as well. They all loved that.
We got many thank yous after the presentation. I think we all benefited from learning about Chance and hearing loss in general. We showed the kids a video of the Flintstones where you can experience a little bit what it is like to have mild hearing loss, moderate hearing loss, severe hearing loss and a profound loss. That clip really helped the kids to see that having hearing loss is not just about making sounds louder. The more severer your loss is, the more muffled the sounds become as well as getting quieter.
It was a fun experience and the kids were very respectful and thoughtful in their questions. Oh and now the kids all know that Chance can read lips really really well. One of the girls asked Chance if he could read lips across the room. Chance answered that he could sometimes. The girls giggled. I think I helped to give away Chance's superpower of reading the lips of girls to see what they are talking about. All of the girls were older and in high school so maybe they won't pass that information down to the girls that are Chance's age:)
One of the girls challenged Chance to test his skills with fingerspelling on a website that signs really really fast. She put it on the highest setting to see if Chance was up to the challenge. He figured it out on the third try as the girl was using her hands to finger spell at lightening speed.
Chance is really good at lip reading AND fingerspelling. The class was impressed.
