I have a 3 yr old daughter who was born with a hard to severe hearing. My audio verbal therapist said she had never met a little girl that was very deaf since she didnt get absolutely no benefit from her hearing aids. So she was a good candidate for a CI. So she got her CI meanwhile she was learnin signs but once she got her CI at 1 1/2 age they told me to stop signing to her and just use my voice so she could learn how to speak without needing her to learn sign language. So now my daughter is 3 and she doesnt know anything so ive made the decision of teaching her signs. She starts school on Jan 5 and her therapist doesnt seem very happy, nor everyone else but I dont care because I think thats the right thing. I need to communicate with my child . And the thing is that now they say there's a high chance theres something wrong with her equipment and they need to check it and if there is she will need another surgery to get that implant removed and put a new one in. But thats our decision..
From a very concerned mother ...
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The therapists are wrong for telling you to drop the signs. What they are doing is putting your daughter at risks for language delays for the sake of oralism. I am a teacher and I have seen what happens to deaf children who do not have full access to language. You are doing the right thing..language at that age is very very important and sign language is just as good as spoken language. I applaud you for going with your gut feelings not listening to these therapists who probably have no understanding of ASL and deaf children's visual needs.
faire_jour
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My daughter has a CI and we use ASL. She is recently implanted, but is doing well. We do NOT want to drop signing. We have also heard the garbage that you were told, but we are happy that our child is able to communicate not matter what. We do not regret the decision to use ASL as her primary language, and we don't regret implanting her either. We are giving our daughter options. We are giving her access.
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Hi Rosie,
This is coming from a deaf mother with 2 deaf sons. I think you are absolutely doing the right thing because you're giving your daughter full access to everything that is possibly given to her. I've seen some kids in both of my son's classes where their language comprehension was severely delayed and it breaks my heart seeing them like this, really.
Your daughter is definitely fortunate to have you as a mother.
This is coming from a deaf mother with 2 deaf sons. I think you are absolutely doing the right thing because you're giving your daughter full access to everything that is possibly given to her. I've seen some kids in both of my son's classes where their language comprehension was severely delayed and it breaks my heart seeing them like this, really.
Your daughter is definitely fortunate to have you as a mother.
etalton
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Coming to deafness at a late age (in my 50's and recently implanted with a CI) I do not know sign. But, I think it is insane for a young, deaf child not to be taught sign. CI or not, they are deaf and will always be deaf. When you are young, you learn faster, and it just makes sense to have both oral and ASL to help you communicate. If you think about it, a hearing person using ASL signs and speaks orally at the same time (at least that is what I see on TV, sorry, but I do not know anyone personally that is deaf). It seems to me that if you started out using sign, and then she gets the implant, it would help her learn faster to do both at the same time. JMHO.
moonflower
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you are doing right thing of put your daughter in school- preschool
let me tell you my own experience when i was your daughter's age 3 years old
i was put in school when i was 3 and my parents did right thing of doing that. i learn at 3 years old and i came home with new signs, my mother decide to learn them herself everyday while i was at school my mother put herself in the mirror and learn what i did learn but i was much faster than she was but my mother didn't give up she start to take sign language classes to catch up with me and my older sister and my younger brother did follow to learn i was so lucky to have family like that. i was happy at school with all the deaf kids i was doing great in school and being with deaf classmates i was not only deaf kid in the class i was in mainstreamed with other deaf kids in the school that expanded from preschool to 6 grade
actually i grew up with 2 of my classmates who are deaf and we still see each other and keep in touch for over 30 years now
i don't agree with the therapist she is doing all wrong i agree with you what is best for your little girl to be with other deaf kids and learn to signs smile
let me tell you my own experience when i was your daughter's age 3 years old
i was put in school when i was 3 and my parents did right thing of doing that. i learn at 3 years old and i came home with new signs, my mother decide to learn them herself everyday while i was at school my mother put herself in the mirror and learn what i did learn but i was much faster than she was but my mother didn't give up she start to take sign language classes to catch up with me and my older sister and my younger brother did follow to learn i was so lucky to have family like that. i was happy at school with all the deaf kids i was doing great in school and being with deaf classmates i was not only deaf kid in the class i was in mainstreamed with other deaf kids in the school that expanded from preschool to 6 grade
actually i grew up with 2 of my classmates who are deaf and we still see each other and keep in touch for over 30 years now
i don't agree with the therapist she is doing all wrong i agree with you what is best for your little girl to be with other deaf kids and learn to signs smile
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Hi Rosie,
This is coming from a deaf mother with 2 deaf sons. I think you are absolutely doing the right thing because you're giving your daughter full access to everything that is possibly given to her. I've seen some kids in both of my son's classes where their language comprehension was severely delayed and it breaks my heart seeing them like this, really.
Your daughter is definitely fortunate to have you as a mother.
Amen! I'll add that I'm a Deaf woman who got a cochlear implant a couple of years ago and I have not forgotten what it was like to watch some of my classmate struggle with languages delays and English when I was growing up a deaf child and teen.
Babyblue
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I think it is great that you are signing with your child!
Ouch! What are you going to do? Why do they feel something is wrong with the implant?
ROSIE: Do what you believe is best for your child. Hopefully you have a Deaf community that can provide you and your family with native ASL role modelling.
Cued speech is available to you if you are looking to assist your daughter AVT program and English aquisition/literacy and communication.
Rosie, you may find that you would benefit a great deal for yourself and your children if you learn cued speech since no language is translated. You simply "cue" your language to your children and they will acquire it naturally. The more you cue, the better. By the way, I am deaf and my family uses it.
I dont think we're going to ler her get another surgery . she's so scared of doctors as it is. They think there's something wrong because she's not speaking. With all the therapy she's gotten she hasn't improved so they think that there must be something wrong with her implant. She doesn't repeat words aswe hear them ..she repeats thm very different like she hears them different I really dont know. The audiologist and the therapist dont even know whats going on. When I took her to school so she could meet the other deaf kids her age she was so happy . Its like she knew thats where she belong. and shes learning signs very quick. And shes much more happy because we kind of understand her now. She doesn know much signs yet but the few signs she knows have been a great help!! Now I feel closer to her.
rick48
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Great, ultimately, you have to do what you think is best for your child and not what others may think is best. Wish you and your family all the best.
Rick
Rosie, While total and complete failure of CI is overall pretty rare, I do think that the docs need to emphasize that the hearing gained from CI can range all the way from just enviromental sound awareness to functionally hoh.
Has your daughter been evaluated for apraxia? Apraxia is very common in dhh kids. It means they can hear and understand speech, but they can't articulate language.
Has your daughter been evaluated for apraxia? Apraxia is very common in dhh kids. It means they can hear and understand speech, but they can't articulate language.
Hear Again
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i'm sorry to hear about your daughter and her struggles with the ci. has your daughter been given an integrity test to rule out specific problems with her ci? when i had my initial ci for the first month, the audi gave me an integrity test to make sure it was working properly.
crashtheparty
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Hello,
I agree with everyone in this thread, but I'm just commenting to recommend the book Deaf Like Me. I just read it for my sign class, and it tells the story of hearing parents of a deaf child and how they struggled by trying to follow the oralist method, and eventually found success with signing. I'm by no means an expert and I am hearing, but this book was a great read and I think you would find it very helpful.
I agree with everyone in this thread, but I'm just commenting to recommend the book Deaf Like Me. I just read it for my sign class, and it tells the story of hearing parents of a deaf child and how they struggled by trying to follow the oralist method, and eventually found success with signing. I'm by no means an expert and I am hearing, but this book was a great read and I think you would find it very helpful.
StitchBaby
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I'm happy for you, that she is learning new signs and is happy and you can communicate with her. i agree with sticking to sign, and u gotta do what u gotta do for ur child, no one else can say its whats best for them. it may be that kids r just different n talk at different time, whether hearing or deaf or hoh, my son is almost 3 and just starting to form full sentences i am told (he signs also so its a help to me), n my mom says my brother didnt talk til he was 3 n when he did start it was full sentences. so maybe its just how she is, she doesnt wanna talk, shes more quiet and listens and learns.
i wish u and ur family the best, i hope things go well for u. have a merry christmas and good luck