My husband and I teach Chance's age group in church. A bunch of cute 11 year old boys who will all turn 12 sometime this year.
One of the boys is on the autistic spectrum and I just love him. He doesn't say much at all, and it is hard sometimes to know how much he is getting out of class.
I want him to be able to do anything and everything that he is capable of doing and not feel left out.
This is personal for me because when Chance was first diagnosed, his church class was a challenge for him sometimes. When we informed people that Chance was deaf at age 3, most people were naturally completely unfamiliar with the situation.
Some people were uncomfortable and didn't know quite what to do. Should they try to include Chance or just leave him alone and not call any attention to him in case he didn't hear what was said? So there were no expectations and Chance sat not participating in any of the activities sometimes.
Then there were other people who seemed to naturally know how to relate beyond the words and talking. There were people that still bring tears to my eyes when I think of them because of how they were able to relate to Chance. It was usually simple gestures like the man in our ward whose last name is Bird and he took the time to pull Chance aside and show him the sign for bird so Chance would know his name. Chance would run to this man for years and hug him when he saw him at church.
There were people in the hallways who would gently touch Chance and say hi with a smile just to make sure that a connection was made. It made Chance feel so welcome. It made me feel so welcome.
I am not passing judgement here, as I honestly don't know how I would have reacted had I been introduced to a deaf child before I had Chance. I don't know if I would have been one who instinctively knew to reach out or not.
I have learned on this journey though, that little gestures can mean a lot and to reach out even if I don't know exactly how to do that.
As part of our church services, the kids go to their own classes while their parents attend other meetings.
Songs are learned and principles taught each week through games and lessons while the kids gather in a room for what is called Sharing Time.
Most of the kids are practically bouncing out of their seats to be chosen to come up and "fish" or put up a picture etc.
Our little autistic class member can not participate most of the time due to various reasons.
Well I could see him watching the happenings at the front of the room with great interest and I thought how great it would be if he could participate. The activity involved picking a topic out of a brown bag and drawing it out on the chalk board. This would not be something that he could do alone.
Then I thought that he COULD do it though if he had a little help. And I knew Chance would be able to provide just the right amount.
Chance walked up to the front of the room with this boy and without any prompting, stood back and took only a supporting roll when it was needed. He seemed to naturally know when to help and when to stand back and let the boy have his independence.
I often wonder if Chance's experiences on his road back to hearing gives him a special understanding and insight into what the needs of others might be.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Monday, April 09, 2012
A friend of the heart
This past Saturday, we had our annual neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt and brunch. It is an occasion that the kids look forward to all year long. It is hosted by our neighbors, a retired couple that my kids lovingly refer to as grandma and grandpa. It is a time to gather, share food, hunt for eggs and mingle with the neighbors in a relaxed setting.
In our conversation with our hosts, they mentioned how they could not believe how big Chance had gotten. They were recalling the days when he was quite young and was learning to hear and speak.
I will forever be grateful for the love they showed when Chance was diagnosed as being deaf. Seeing as he was only two going on three I went to each of the neighbors in our cul-de-sac to talk to them about Chance's condition.
I explained that he had been diagnosed as being deaf and so if he did not respond to them, he was not being rude or defiant. He simply could not hear them. I also wanted them all to understand that Chance could not hear cars, so just to be aware that he would not hear them approach or honk.
Our neighbor looked over to where Chance was playing in their yard while he waited for me and replied,"We'll just have to love him more." What wonderful people.
This past weekend they were marveling back when Chance was first diagnosed, (and I'd dare say for a few years afterwards), when he was hard to understand sometimes when he talked to you. This did not faze Chance, who had talked to us in the family during his whole two years of hearing nothing. I think he figured we were the ones who had issues when we did not know what he was saying.
We in the family could of course understand Chance more than other people just like a mother can usually understand many things her toddler says that other people just don't understand.
There was another person who understood Chance though. In fact, he acted as a sort of translator. His name was Cade and he is still one of Chance's best friends.
Our neighbors marveled at how Chance would say something to them, and they would try their darnedest to understand what he said, but many times they just did not get it.
Cade would then translate for them what Chance had just said. He did this a lot.
"Cade always seemed to understand just what he was saying and would tell us and then help Chance understand what we said in return. It was phenomenal!" Our neighbor said chuckling.
It was indeed phenomenal. I truly believe that Cade was a gift of God to our little son. A peer who was not phased that his little friend could not hear or talk like other kids. The two could always be found together riding bikes, playing cops and robbers or just conspiring while they ate popsicles.
Just this last week in church, I smiled as I saw Chance and Cade sitting side by side in their class just like always. And just like from the beginning of their relationship, if Chance misses something that is said or needs clarification, he turns to Cade and Cade clarifies what has been said.
Chance has also been dedicated to Cade. Cade has a milk allergy that sifts out many foods as an option for consumption. Chance ensures at each of his birthday parties, that something is served that Cade can eat. He has been known to regularly go through our cupboards looking for something that Cade enjoys too eat when all of the other kids are slurping down fudgesicles or eating chocolate chip cookies.
Chance has also earnestly studied several wrappings that our food is packaged in to check for hidden dairy products or come to me and asked,"Can Cade have this?"
Cade is truly a blessing in Chance's life and I believe that Chance is a blessing in Cade's life. They are truly friends of the heart.
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| Chance looks for more treats |
I will forever be grateful for the love they showed when Chance was diagnosed as being deaf. Seeing as he was only two going on three I went to each of the neighbors in our cul-de-sac to talk to them about Chance's condition.
I explained that he had been diagnosed as being deaf and so if he did not respond to them, he was not being rude or defiant. He simply could not hear them. I also wanted them all to understand that Chance could not hear cars, so just to be aware that he would not hear them approach or honk.
Our neighbor looked over to where Chance was playing in their yard while he waited for me and replied,"We'll just have to love him more." What wonderful people.
This past weekend they were marveling back when Chance was first diagnosed, (and I'd dare say for a few years afterwards), when he was hard to understand sometimes when he talked to you. This did not faze Chance, who had talked to us in the family during his whole two years of hearing nothing. I think he figured we were the ones who had issues when we did not know what he was saying.
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| Chance shows off his new Easter tie. |
There was another person who understood Chance though. In fact, he acted as a sort of translator. His name was Cade and he is still one of Chance's best friends.
Our neighbors marveled at how Chance would say something to them, and they would try their darnedest to understand what he said, but many times they just did not get it.
Cade would then translate for them what Chance had just said. He did this a lot.
"Cade always seemed to understand just what he was saying and would tell us and then help Chance understand what we said in return. It was phenomenal!" Our neighbor said chuckling.
It was indeed phenomenal. I truly believe that Cade was a gift of God to our little son. A peer who was not phased that his little friend could not hear or talk like other kids. The two could always be found together riding bikes, playing cops and robbers or just conspiring while they ate popsicles.
Just this last week in church, I smiled as I saw Chance and Cade sitting side by side in their class just like always. And just like from the beginning of their relationship, if Chance misses something that is said or needs clarification, he turns to Cade and Cade clarifies what has been said.
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| Best Friends - the early years |
Chance has also earnestly studied several wrappings that our food is packaged in to check for hidden dairy products or come to me and asked,"Can Cade have this?"
Cade is truly a blessing in Chance's life and I believe that Chance is a blessing in Cade's life. They are truly friends of the heart.
Sunday, April 01, 2012
April Fool's Day
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| Notice the orange sign: "Ear Protection Required!" |
For instance, Chance's dad and I filled the Fruit Loops Box with popped popcorn to give the kids a little jolt this morning when they poured their cereal. We only let them eat sugar cereal on Sundays so we knew they would the pick Fruit Loops:)
As it turned out, everyone got up before Chance this morning and delighted in the reminder that it was April Fool's Day.
Chance eventually wandered out this morning and looked at the popcorn filled box with confusion and a slight smile. Then he just moved onto the cereal cupboard to pick something besides popcorn to pour his milk on.
A few other tricks were played during the morning and then about noonish, someone mentioned that April Fool's Day is a great day but kind of a rip off when it falls on a Sunday and you don't have contact with as many people(i.e. friends you can have wild fun tricking).
Chance got a surprised look on his face and said,"It's April Fools Day today?! No wonder all of that weird stuff was happening! I didn't even get to trick anybody yet!"
Chance did not have his implants on during the initial start to the day when the fact that it was April Fool's Day was established.
Turns out, we got Chance even better than we could have planned for:)
Sunday, March 25, 2012
You can't go back......
My husband and I watched some family video footage tonight of both the birth day of Chance's younger sister and the first few weeks of her life.
It was cute with all of the emotion of those tender moments with our new baby flooding back along with the darling interactions of our boys with their younger sister.
There was the footage of us leaving the hospital where Chance kept running way up ahead. We called him back, but of course he did not hear us. He found a couple at the end of the hospital hallway who were gathering up their supplies to take their baby home. Chance sat on his little haunces entranced watching them.
He had no idea what was being said by them or by us who were calling him to come back.
Some of the video made both my husband and I cringe though.
Like the scene where we are all relaxed in the living room watching the miracle that is a new baby flex her fingers, open and close her eyes and make squeaking noises.
Chance's brother was walking up and kissing his new baby sister.
Not Chance. We would ask him if he wanted to, but he just kept in the background.
I have a segment of footage of Chance when we put the video camera on him as that is what we thought he wanted. He kept peeking around to the front of the camera. We thought he just wanted to see himself and there was probably some of that.
But when we focused the camera on him, there was also a look on his face of deep contemplation, like he was trying to figure things out.
I put my head down on my husband's chest at this point and kind of groaned as my husband sighed.
There was our sweet darling boy who was not hearing anything and here was this new baby and all of these things going on around him that he just did not understand.
Then there was the point where we kept telling Chance to "stop pulling on that."(we think he kept pulling on the lens cap for the camera. That is our best guess from what we can see in the video) We repeated that phrase several times and our poor deaf boy just kept going along probably wondering why his parents had a look of disapproval on their faces.
It is a little heartbreaking to look back now and watch Chance knowing that all the while during those times in his life that he was deaf and no one knew.
I wonder if he felt alone.
Did he long to hear again?
Did he wonder in confusion why he could not hear anything anymore?
Was he scared?
Oh how I wish I could comfort that small deaf boy that he was and snuggle him and let him know that it was alright. That we would help him and that he was not alone.
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| Chance shows his affection for his baby sister. |
It was cute with all of the emotion of those tender moments with our new baby flooding back along with the darling interactions of our boys with their younger sister.
There was the footage of us leaving the hospital where Chance kept running way up ahead. We called him back, but of course he did not hear us. He found a couple at the end of the hospital hallway who were gathering up their supplies to take their baby home. Chance sat on his little haunces entranced watching them.
He had no idea what was being said by them or by us who were calling him to come back.
 | |
| Chance after helping to bath his baby sister. |
Some of the video made both my husband and I cringe though.
Like the scene where we are all relaxed in the living room watching the miracle that is a new baby flex her fingers, open and close her eyes and make squeaking noises.
Chance's brother was walking up and kissing his new baby sister.
Not Chance. We would ask him if he wanted to, but he just kept in the background.
I have a segment of footage of Chance when we put the video camera on him as that is what we thought he wanted. He kept peeking around to the front of the camera. We thought he just wanted to see himself and there was probably some of that.
But when we focused the camera on him, there was also a look on his face of deep contemplation, like he was trying to figure things out.
I put my head down on my husband's chest at this point and kind of groaned as my husband sighed.
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| Chance looks like he is thinking and figuring things out. |
Then there was the point where we kept telling Chance to "stop pulling on that."(we think he kept pulling on the lens cap for the camera. That is our best guess from what we can see in the video) We repeated that phrase several times and our poor deaf boy just kept going along probably wondering why his parents had a look of disapproval on their faces.
It is a little heartbreaking to look back now and watch Chance knowing that all the while during those times in his life that he was deaf and no one knew.
I wonder if he felt alone.
Did he long to hear again?
Did he wonder in confusion why he could not hear anything anymore?
Was he scared?
Oh how I wish I could comfort that small deaf boy that he was and snuggle him and let him know that it was alright. That we would help him and that he was not alone.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Chance makes a fashion statement
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| While it doesn't do the cut justice, you can still almost make out the cut |
Just goes to show that you never know what is going to happen in this world.
Chance's fashionable moment started when we pulled up to the hairdresser's. I had taken the boys to the appointment right after I picked them up from school so we had not had time to discuss hair cutting. I thought we were just going to do the usual, you know,"Give us the usual Leann." But my boys had other plans which they sprung on me as we raced into the building so we wouldn't be late.
There was talk about some sort of stripe on the sides of their heads.
Being a conservative person with hair, I was leery. Stripes? This did not sound like an attractive look to me, but Chance's brother pulled a picture up on his lap top to show me what they were talking about.
OK, is was not as bad as it initially sounded and the boys would not end up looking like they belonged to some sort of grungy boy band in the end, so I let them have a go at it.
They were very excited and we showed my friend the picture on the computer so she would know what to do.
It was not until Chance's hair cut was well underway that I thought about the scars from his implant surgeries that are vertical. The strip look is horizontal. It suddenly occurred to me that this haircut might end up either high lighting his implant scars in an unattractive way, or just look plain dorky.
Chance doesn't wear his implants while his hair is being cut, so my friend and I had a short discussion and then decided to proceed with the stripes anyway.
And wouldn't you know, when all was said and done, it looked great!
As my friend took the cape off of Chance's neck, she said,"You know, the scars kind of make it look cool."
I had to agree that was the case.
So now Chance has a stylin' hair cut and it is truly unique to him. This is not a look that just anyone can get, you have to just have it naturally. Others can look in envy and want the look for themselves, but only Chance can pull this look off in the end:)
Sunday, March 11, 2012
I hit Chance with the van
I worried about Chance being hit by a car when he was little because he could not hear cars. It didn't occur to me this late in the game that I would hit him because he mistook the sound of the van starting and backing up to be the central vacuum cleaner turning on.. The vacuum empties into a canister in the garage and it does make a bit of noise.
Chance came around the driveway, behind his dad's car, and bent over to pick up the newspaper just as I was backing out of the garage to drive the boys to school. I thought Chance was still in the house, and apparently, Chance thought I was still in the house too which is why we bumped into each other.
It was quite a scare for me to see Chance's head suddenly poke up in my back window. My heart skipped a beat, I sucked in air, slammed on the brakes and started a prayer of gratitude that it was a miss.
The look on Chance's was a mix of surprise and unfathomability.
Later, Chance told me,"The van actually touched me! Just barely."
All of that time that Chance could not hear and now is the time that he is hit by a car albeit ever so gently thank goodness.
Chance said that he heard a noise in the garage, but thought it was the central vacuum starting up. This is why he wasn't concerned about the possibility of the van rolling down the driveway while he bent over to retrieve the newspaper.
Thankfully, we are all safe, and thanking our Heavenly Father that Chance was protected from what could have been a tragic situation.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Compassion despiste the implants
Compassion I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but when Chance was first diagnosed as being deaf, I checked out a book from the library about deafness with something like this on the cover:"An unbiased look at the different modes of communication for deaf children." It was perfect! That is just what I needed to read at the time, an unbiased look at modes of communication.
After actually reading the book here is a brief synopsis:
Deaf children who learn to sign for their primary mode of communication are thoughtful, well-behaved, well adapted and loved by teachers and parents alike. They are also happy capable adults who are at peace with themselves.
Deaf children who use talking as their main mode of communication are rude, unruly, undisciplined, disruptive in the classroom and my favorite: unable to have compassion for others. As they grow older, they are conflicted and unable to feel a part of either the signing world since they grew up talking and unaccepted fully by the hearing world.
As you can see, it was a well rounded unbiased book giving equal credit to each mode of communication:)
Every once in a while something happens with Chance that makes me think about the part of the book that said,"unable to have compassion for others." Something that totally refutes the statement made in that book.
While at parent teacher conferences this week, one of Chance's teachers said that one of Chance's friends at school is picked on by other kids and that Chance sticks up for him. She said that the boy never looks happier than when he is with Chance.
She said,"You would think that Chance might be one the kids make fun of since he has implants, and he has things like when one of the kids took his implants(see above post), but his friend is picked on regularly and Chance sticks up for him. Chance is not shy about sticking up for him."
This friend of Chance's is such a cute boy and he has been a good friend to Chance helping Chance last year when Chance struggled with all of the changes the school kept making to the schedules, and the teachers etc.
We have been told regularly through the years that Chance sticks up for and makes sure that kids who are picked on or can not participate are included in activities.
In my view having compassion and treating other people with respect are vitally important traits that I want my children to have. I think that despite the fact that we encouraged Chance to talk as his main mode of communication he managed to find compassion for others anyway. We have also never been told that he is unruly in the classroom, undisciplined, or rude. A freak accident, or do we need to get that book off of the library shelves before any more new parents of deaf kids have the unpleasant experience of reading it?:)
After actually reading the book here is a brief synopsis:
Deaf children who learn to sign for their primary mode of communication are thoughtful, well-behaved, well adapted and loved by teachers and parents alike. They are also happy capable adults who are at peace with themselves.
Deaf children who use talking as their main mode of communication are rude, unruly, undisciplined, disruptive in the classroom and my favorite: unable to have compassion for others. As they grow older, they are conflicted and unable to feel a part of either the signing world since they grew up talking and unaccepted fully by the hearing world.
As you can see, it was a well rounded unbiased book giving equal credit to each mode of communication:)
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| "Thanks for the lift, bro !" Chance carries his brother in Disneyland. |
While at parent teacher conferences this week, one of Chance's teachers said that one of Chance's friends at school is picked on by other kids and that Chance sticks up for him. She said that the boy never looks happier than when he is with Chance.
She said,"You would think that Chance might be one the kids make fun of since he has implants, and he has things like when one of the kids took his implants(see above post), but his friend is picked on regularly and Chance sticks up for him. Chance is not shy about sticking up for him."
This friend of Chance's is such a cute boy and he has been a good friend to Chance helping Chance last year when Chance struggled with all of the changes the school kept making to the schedules, and the teachers etc.
We have been told regularly through the years that Chance sticks up for and makes sure that kids who are picked on or can not participate are included in activities.
In my view having compassion and treating other people with respect are vitally important traits that I want my children to have. I think that despite the fact that we encouraged Chance to talk as his main mode of communication he managed to find compassion for others anyway. We have also never been told that he is unruly in the classroom, undisciplined, or rude. A freak accident, or do we need to get that book off of the library shelves before any more new parents of deaf kids have the unpleasant experience of reading it?:)
Monday, February 20, 2012
The soccer blanket
Through all of these years of our journey with Chance, there is one thing that always warms my heart. It is a blanket given to Chance by the Project Linus organization which makes and delivers blankets to sick kids in the hospital.
Chance was hospitalized at about 13 months because he dehydrated while being really sick for several days. This is the event that we feel caused Chance to go deaf. It was this illness that overtook his little body for about a week and made it so that he threw up everything including breast milk. The doctors had been telling me to just give him a tablespoon of water at a time to keep him going, but it did not work. He was throwing up even the tablespoon of liquid I gave him and finally, his little eyes had no tears left when he cried because I left the room. And he cried every time I left the room. He had thrown up on every outfit I had put on, and I was digging clothes out of the nether regions of my closet that I never wore. The cycle I had going was, I would get dressed, Chance would throw up, I would change my clothes, Chance would throw up on me etc. etc. etc.
I managed to get clothes into the washer and then to the dryer, but they were all stacked in a mountain of a pile in the hallway as I had no time to fold them. The entire time I was throwing clothes into the wash, Chance was sobbing so I did the bare minimum and then attended to my baby.
The hospital stay itself I remember quite well. I held Chance a lot and the nurses tried to get him to eat. He wouldn't even go for the popsicle he was offered which tells you the level of crisis he was in. Chance was given intravenous fluids which he did not like. At all. He kept trying to yank that tube out and we kept trying to ensure that it stayed in. By the end, it was double taped around his hand to the point that it was hard to see his little hand.
It was a rough time for Chance. He slept fitfully, and sometimes I could get him to sleep for little bits while laying on me in the chair by his bed.
I still vividly remember how small and vulnerable he looked laying in his hospital crib.
The nurses were great and at one point, one of them brought in bubbles and started blowing them into the room. Chance perked up a little at this and it let me see glimpses of my happy baby again.
Then someone brought in a blanket from Project Linus. At the time, it looked a little mature for a barely one year old. There were no little duckies, or toy trucks on it, but instead a boy playing soccer. That's right - soccer, with the words goal and soccer interspersed with jerseys and soccer balls.
At the time, it did not look like Chance at all. I was grateful for the blanket and Chance liked it, but it did not seem like a baby blanket.
But was it predestined to be Chance's blanket or what? Back when Chance was in the hospital, I could not even imagine my baby playing soccer. We had not found out he was deaf yet, but soccer has never been a sport that was on my radar screen. I personally did not even know the rules of soccer and in my family growing up, no one was interested in playing soccer.
Now that blanket totally looks like Chance. It was just the right blanket for my little Chancers.
My heart warms each time I see that blanket in the house. I don't think I ever pick it up or wash it without thinking about the wonderful people who made it and their labor of love in delivering their blankets to little children at sometimes painful and confusing times in their lives. And I love that it is a soccer blanket.
That blanket and Chance were predestined to be together. And the construction of the blanket is of such a high quality that it stills shows little wear and is still here to remind Chance that someone cared and gave him a blanket that foretold a small part of his future.
Chance was hospitalized at about 13 months because he dehydrated while being really sick for several days. This is the event that we feel caused Chance to go deaf. It was this illness that overtook his little body for about a week and made it so that he threw up everything including breast milk. The doctors had been telling me to just give him a tablespoon of water at a time to keep him going, but it did not work. He was throwing up even the tablespoon of liquid I gave him and finally, his little eyes had no tears left when he cried because I left the room. And he cried every time I left the room. He had thrown up on every outfit I had put on, and I was digging clothes out of the nether regions of my closet that I never wore. The cycle I had going was, I would get dressed, Chance would throw up, I would change my clothes, Chance would throw up on me etc. etc. etc.
I managed to get clothes into the washer and then to the dryer, but they were all stacked in a mountain of a pile in the hallway as I had no time to fold them. The entire time I was throwing clothes into the wash, Chance was sobbing so I did the bare minimum and then attended to my baby.
The hospital stay itself I remember quite well. I held Chance a lot and the nurses tried to get him to eat. He wouldn't even go for the popsicle he was offered which tells you the level of crisis he was in. Chance was given intravenous fluids which he did not like. At all. He kept trying to yank that tube out and we kept trying to ensure that it stayed in. By the end, it was double taped around his hand to the point that it was hard to see his little hand.
It was a rough time for Chance. He slept fitfully, and sometimes I could get him to sleep for little bits while laying on me in the chair by his bed.
I still vividly remember how small and vulnerable he looked laying in his hospital crib.
The nurses were great and at one point, one of them brought in bubbles and started blowing them into the room. Chance perked up a little at this and it let me see glimpses of my happy baby again.
Then someone brought in a blanket from Project Linus. At the time, it looked a little mature for a barely one year old. There were no little duckies, or toy trucks on it, but instead a boy playing soccer. That's right - soccer, with the words goal and soccer interspersed with jerseys and soccer balls. At the time, it did not look like Chance at all. I was grateful for the blanket and Chance liked it, but it did not seem like a baby blanket.
But was it predestined to be Chance's blanket or what? Back when Chance was in the hospital, I could not even imagine my baby playing soccer. We had not found out he was deaf yet, but soccer has never been a sport that was on my radar screen. I personally did not even know the rules of soccer and in my family growing up, no one was interested in playing soccer.
Now that blanket totally looks like Chance. It was just the right blanket for my little Chancers.
My heart warms each time I see that blanket in the house. I don't think I ever pick it up or wash it without thinking about the wonderful people who made it and their labor of love in delivering their blankets to little children at sometimes painful and confusing times in their lives. And I love that it is a soccer blanket.
That blanket and Chance were predestined to be together. And the construction of the blanket is of such a high quality that it stills shows little wear and is still here to remind Chance that someone cared and gave him a blanket that foretold a small part of his future.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Chance's friend takes his implants
Chance has a friend at school who is in many of his classes (Chance is in 6th grade but they change classes every hour like a junior high). Chance has been over to this boy's house to play at least twice after school.
Last week this boy apparently thought it would be funny to take Chance's implants during math and would not give them back for, "like 10 minutes" as Chance told me today.
The only reason I know about this happening is because Chance told his older brother, and then his older brother went with him to the principal's office to tell him what had happened. The boy apparently got into "big" trouble, but I don't know exactly what that means.
I talked to Chance about the incident today and now I know this much:
His friend took his implants and put them in his pocket during math.
I asked Chance if he asked him to give the implants back.
Chance said, "A quzillion times". With that like "Ya, I did!" tone
I asked Chance how he got the implants back and Chance said,"I couldn't hear anything or anything so I don't know if the math teacher made him give them back or what."
Hmmmmmm.
When Chance told his brother, the incident had occured a few days before but the boys went to the principal and the boy was apparently called in to see the principal.
My boys don't know what the principal said, but the boy told Chance that he was going to be suspended for a few days this week. The boy was at school today though, so I don't if what he told Chance is true.
I asked Chance if the boy had taken his implants again. Chance kind of laughed and said, "He's too afraid of the principal." Then Chance did that sign where you point your fingers at your eyes and then point it at the other people eyes and said the principle told this boy,"I'm watching you."
Hmmmmmm.
I let Chance know that information like this is something that he should tell me about.
I am glad that Chance was willing to go into the principal to let someone know what happened even if it was about a friend. He was not intimidated by that which is good.
I don't think the boy was just being mean, I think he just didn't understand how inappropriate it is to take the implants.. This kid wears glasses and I thought,'I wonder how he would feel if someone took his glasses off of his face and then wouldn't give them back for 10 minutes.
Last week this boy apparently thought it would be funny to take Chance's implants during math and would not give them back for, "like 10 minutes" as Chance told me today.
The only reason I know about this happening is because Chance told his older brother, and then his older brother went with him to the principal's office to tell him what had happened. The boy apparently got into "big" trouble, but I don't know exactly what that means.
I talked to Chance about the incident today and now I know this much:
His friend took his implants and put them in his pocket during math.
I asked Chance if he asked him to give the implants back.
Chance said, "A quzillion times". With that like "Ya, I did!" tone
I asked Chance how he got the implants back and Chance said,"I couldn't hear anything or anything so I don't know if the math teacher made him give them back or what."
Hmmmmmm.
When Chance told his brother, the incident had occured a few days before but the boys went to the principal and the boy was apparently called in to see the principal.
My boys don't know what the principal said, but the boy told Chance that he was going to be suspended for a few days this week. The boy was at school today though, so I don't if what he told Chance is true.
I asked Chance if the boy had taken his implants again. Chance kind of laughed and said, "He's too afraid of the principal." Then Chance did that sign where you point your fingers at your eyes and then point it at the other people eyes and said the principle told this boy,"I'm watching you."
Hmmmmmm.
I let Chance know that information like this is something that he should tell me about.
I am glad that Chance was willing to go into the principal to let someone know what happened even if it was about a friend. He was not intimidated by that which is good.
I don't think the boy was just being mean, I think he just didn't understand how inappropriate it is to take the implants.. This kid wears glasses and I thought,'I wonder how he would feel if someone took his glasses off of his face and then wouldn't give them back for 10 minutes.
The Really Really nice man at church
Every six months our church congregation meets in a big building called a Tabernacle for our church service.(The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). In our church we are divided first into ward groups which are the people we worship with each Sunday. Our ward has about 300 people and is led by a bishop.
Our ward is part of a stake consisting of several wards which number about 3,000 people and is led by a stake president. Every six months we meet and worship with everyone in the stake. This meeting can not be held in our regular house of worship as their are so many people. For this meeting we hold services in a building across town called a tabernacle where we all can fit.
The idea behind the organization of our church is to know and take care of one another so the people in each ward is over seen by a bishop, and each stake is over seen by a stake president. It works out well.
We discovered during the last meeting about 6 months ago that although the tabernacle is a beautiful historic building, the acoustics are not so good. In light of this fact, we tried to get to the meeting early today so that we could find a seat where Chance would be able to hear better. We discovered last time that the balcony was not a good place to sit for Chance (read that story here) and the main floor usually fills up before the balcony seats, so we were shooting for main floor seating.
We managed to find a place on the main floor, but once the meeting started, it became apparent that it was still going to be difficult for Chance to hear. Since the meeting lasts for 2 hours, that is an awfully long time to sit as a kid not being able to hear well.(heck, that is a long time for an adult to sit not hearing well:)
Chance's dad slipped out of the meeting to find the audio visual guy to see if the building had a FM signal that Chance could hook into with his implants via an FM receiver, that would send the signal to his implants through his NoizFree telecoil adapter. They did not find a FM receiver, but believed that there was a signal being transmitted, and there was a receiver back at the stake center. So this gentleman who did not know us at all, got in his car, drove across town and got the FM receiver from the stake center library and brought it right to our seat!
Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty! What a wonderful man to invest so much of himself in getting Chance what he needed to hear better. Chance really did hear better with the receiver and it made a big difference in his experience and ability to hear a truly inspiring meeting.
I did not realize that this nice gentleman had driven across to town to get the receiver until we got home. I am going to write a thank you not to him and so is Chance.
There are such good and caring people in the world!
Six months from now, when we worship in the tabernacle again, we will be sure to check out the receiver from the library and take it with us to the tabernacle so Chance can hear the meeting. And maybe we should bring a plate of cookies to the audio visual man who is so caring:)
Our ward is part of a stake consisting of several wards which number about 3,000 people and is led by a stake president. Every six months we meet and worship with everyone in the stake. This meeting can not be held in our regular house of worship as their are so many people. For this meeting we hold services in a building across town called a tabernacle where we all can fit.
The idea behind the organization of our church is to know and take care of one another so the people in each ward is over seen by a bishop, and each stake is over seen by a stake president. It works out well.
We discovered during the last meeting about 6 months ago that although the tabernacle is a beautiful historic building, the acoustics are not so good. In light of this fact, we tried to get to the meeting early today so that we could find a seat where Chance would be able to hear better. We discovered last time that the balcony was not a good place to sit for Chance (read that story here) and the main floor usually fills up before the balcony seats, so we were shooting for main floor seating.
We managed to find a place on the main floor, but once the meeting started, it became apparent that it was still going to be difficult for Chance to hear. Since the meeting lasts for 2 hours, that is an awfully long time to sit as a kid not being able to hear well.(heck, that is a long time for an adult to sit not hearing well:)
Chance's dad slipped out of the meeting to find the audio visual guy to see if the building had a FM signal that Chance could hook into with his implants via an FM receiver, that would send the signal to his implants through his NoizFree telecoil adapter. They did not find a FM receiver, but believed that there was a signal being transmitted, and there was a receiver back at the stake center. So this gentleman who did not know us at all, got in his car, drove across town and got the FM receiver from the stake center library and brought it right to our seat!
Talk about going above and beyond the call of duty! What a wonderful man to invest so much of himself in getting Chance what he needed to hear better. Chance really did hear better with the receiver and it made a big difference in his experience and ability to hear a truly inspiring meeting.
I did not realize that this nice gentleman had driven across to town to get the receiver until we got home. I am going to write a thank you not to him and so is Chance.
There are such good and caring people in the world!
Six months from now, when we worship in the tabernacle again, we will be sure to check out the receiver from the library and take it with us to the tabernacle so Chance can hear the meeting. And maybe we should bring a plate of cookies to the audio visual man who is so caring:)
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