Chance is a celebrity

When I asked Chance how school was going this past week, I got this response: "Well, all the kids are getting to know me for one thing for sure."

"What is that?" I asked trying to figure out what he could be talking about.

Chance just removed the magnet part of his implants and said "Because of these." He said it like I should have guessed that all along.

Not being sure if this was a positive or negative situation, I pressed for more information.

"Do the kids ask about your implants?" I asked.

"YES! Chance said.

"What do they say?" I asked.

"They ask me what they are."

"And what do you tell them?"

"That I am deaf and with out them I can not hear."

"What do the kids say when you tell them that?" I asked still wondering if this was an annoyance to Chance or just a part of his life that he was comfortable with.

"Wow or oh." Chance replied.

"Then what do they say?" I asked wondering if the implants were opening doors for Chance to meet more kids in 5th grade.

Chance started to laugh. "Sometimes they tell me to take the implants off and then ask me if I can hear them." Chance seemed amused by this so I was not alarmed.

"Some of the kids ask me if I can read lips. Then they have me take the implants off and stand in front of me and say stuff to see if I can tell what they are saying."

"Can you tell what they are saying?" I asked.

Chance threw back his head and laughed. "Yes! Then the kids are like, NO WAY!" Chance is an excellent lip reader and I pity anyone that goes up against him.

"One girl came up behind me and I said, "I know you are there because I can feel you walking on the floor." Chance said obviously delighted that he had been able to detect her.

Then Chance said in wonder, "I now know that I can feel noises from the ground!"

"Are the kids nice when they ask you about your implants?" I asked trying to stay neutral but also wanting to know if anyone was harassing Chance about his implants."

"Yes." Chance said. "The kids don't stare at me at this school like they used to at my old school." Chance said with obvious relief.

"The kids would stare at you at your old school?" I asked surprised. I even verified with Chance that the kids at this new school did not stare at him like the kids at his old school.

"The kids at your old school stared more? The kids at your old school saw implants and hearing aids all of the time because lots of kids wore them there."

Chance shrugged, "I don't know why they stared but they did."

Chance obviously feels like he got stared at more at his old school. The only thing I can figure at the old school is sometimes the deaf kids were pulled from their regular classes to go for language help from a School for the Deaf teacher and they usually ate lunch together. Maybe the kids were looking in curiosity at the deaf kids who congregated together at lunch etc. and since they were different from them, they would look over in curiosity. Chance had great friends at his old school both deaf and hearing. I don't think it was mean spirited that Chance felt kids stared more. But is is intriguing that he doesn't feel that way at his new school. There are only two deaf kids at the new school and both wear implants. Maybe they just blend in more with all of the other kids.

Chance does not seem annoyed at all that the kids are asking about his implants which is good. My experience has been that kids are just curious and once they are told about the implants, they just go with the flow. Kids just want to know what they are which is natural.

I did ask Chance's brother who sees Chance quite a bit at school if the kids were nice to him or if anyone was mean because of the implants. His response was,"Not at all."

So, I guess Chance is educating the school about implants and just how gosh darn good he is at lip reading:)