Below is part of the email that Chance's Chinese teacher sent me along with a video of Chance and another student talking in Chinese to each other.  I would show the video, but it takes place in the hall of the school and there is noise in the background.  Chance's dad and I were pretty excited to watch our boy talking in Chinese.  I would at least tell you what Chance said in the video, but.....I don't know any Chinese;)

Here is what his teacher had to say:

"On the last test, he and another student's video dialogue got chosen as the best of the class! Specifically, because his pronunciation, comprehension (unscripted!!!) and body language all showed he really knew what was going on."

Ya Chance! You go! 

The teacher also asked if there was anything she needed to know about the implants as she didn't have any experience working with students who have implants.  I love teachers like this.  She makes sure that Chance sits front and center in the classroom which he probably needs to focus on the sounds and have the least amount of distractions as he distinguishes between the subtle sound changes in the Chinese language.  


I would like to update the status of Chance's younger brother who is losing hearing.  He is on some medication right now to see if we can stop his hearing from falling any further.  We have a hearing test on Wednesday to help us see if the medication is working. 

Meanwhile, this boy does NOT like to wear his hearing aid.  He only has one right now, but that one is being underutilized.  I will ask him,"Do you have your hearing aid in?"  Or 'Are you wearing your hearing aid?"  He is pretty tricky and will remove his hearing aid during the course of the day.  Some of the responses I have received are:

"No, I am making macaroni and cheese."  Naturally, one can not wear a hearing aid while doing this.

"I am going outside and it might rain."  This could be used as an excuse every time it is cloudy.

"No,I am going to jump on the tramp."  This might be a valid excuse if the hearing aid fell out while he was on the trampoline, but I don't think he has ever tried jumping with the hearing aid in his ear to know.

This past week, right in the middle of choir practice, he decided to take his hearing aid out.  After all, who needs to hear while they learn to sing;)  There was a malfunction though, and before he could get it into his pocket, the thing started to squeal like hearing aids do when you take them out and they are still turned on.  I could see the panic on his face as kids started to turn and look to see where the noise was coming from and he was having a hard time opening the battery pack that turns the hearing aid off.   I ended up going up to help him.  I didn't make him put it back in right then, though I did suggest that he do so. His face was flush with embarrassment and I didn't want to draw any more attention to him and his hearing aid.  I took the aid and put it in my purse for the rest of the practice and then we talked after wards about the importance of being able to hear as best we can during choir practice.  He is really excited to be in choir so hopefully he won't try to ditch his hearing aid again while learning the songs.  Meanwhile, I am working to come up with incentives to help him keep his hearing aid in all day long.  Apparently being able to hear better, is not incentive enough right now:)

This is Chance bonding with a cow at the state fair. I think the cow likes him.