Cloggy
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Again, why is it MEDICALLY necessary for an infant to have a Cochlear implant? I do believe it's forcing in regards to a child having a CI. If the child cannot consent to an unnecessary surgery it is forcing. You could "provide" a child with an environment in which she'll thrive. You could even "provide" HAs. Once it becomes invasive, however, and when the child doesn't understand what's going on and can't consent, then it's forcing.
I have no doubt that children will (usually) learn to more easily understand speech, and to speak well, if they're implanted early. The point, however, is that it's not a medically necessary procedure but more one done because it's more convenient for hearing parents and members of the family.
Who said it was MEDICALLY necessary? A CI is not medically necessary.. When you are deaf and you want to hear, THEN a CI is a medical procedure to (very likely) make that possible... For an infant, a child, the parents might want to make that decision... Like my wife and I did for our child..
And of course it's more convenient for parents and members of the family. AND for the child, and for 99% of the people she meets... . But convenience is not the reason for deciding to have ones child be able to hear.
It's about the ability to hear and with that to have the ability to communicate with language like 99+ % of the world. The ability to speak Dutch with parents and siblings. The ability to speak Norwegian at school and with friends in the street. The ability to learn English, Italian, Chinese.
And all this without loosing the ability to learn sign language, without loosing the possibility to get connected with deaf people, or with Deaf people.
The only ability she looses is the ability to know what it is NOT to hear ALL the time.........
Our daughter can hear.. Being deaf is part of her. She has no problem taking the CI off before she goes to bed. She is in no hurry to put it on when she wakes up... unless other people are up as well, or when she wants to watch TV or DVD.... Of course she can watch DVD's being deaf, but she prefers watching them when she can hear..