Cochlear implant mends lives

Cloggy said:
How is the family going to support the child when the child learns english, but they do not know the language?
Why don't they know English - does that tell something about motivation to learn english, and about the motivation to work with their child..

You provide only little information... why don't you provide more info, and start a thread about it...
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Cloggy you nailed it. Shel was referring to me and what I said was the parents need to be motivated in order for the CI to be of used. Shel, what I said really doesn't apply to Cloggy. It it is very common in Europe for people to speak many different languages. Cloggy knows the language that is being taught in school so he is able to support Lotti at home.
Here in the United States we are all suppose to speak English. We no longer have Bilengual education. Just like Cloggy said if the family speaks say only Spanish at home there is no one to support the child with what is being taught in school. So what would the purpose be to implant a child and have surgery if no one at home will support the child. But say one parent speaks Spanish to the child and the other parent speaks English to the child then the child has the support to succeed with the implant.
Also just like Cloggy said if a Spanish speaking parent is trying to learn English then this shows an implant center that the parent is motiviated to help their child succeed.
I have one family that I service right now they are a Spanish speaking family. When the family was going through the pre-implant process, mom was barely beginning to learn English but she was making the effort. She maybe knew 50 words but she was going to school. Now mom can speak in short sentences. She is currently working on her GED. Dad only speaks Spanish. This family would be recommend for an implant because they have shown us that they are motivated to help their child succeed. I want you to know that this student is doing wonderful because of her mother and how she works with her daughter. She is 5 years old. She speaks in 3 to 6 word sentences. She is reading. She is able to count to 50. She is will begin to be mainstream for part of the day in a kindergarten class in the fall.
 
shel90 said:
Read thru "District files appeal against Deaf student"..another AD member brought it up so that was new to me. I didnt know it mattered which language was spoken at the home as long as it was spoken. So, that would be like saying a child from a deaf family who uses sign language only at home would be denied a CI? Just asking since u are all the experts on what goes on in the CI centers.
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Shel, since I do know quite a bit of information about CI, I will answer this question for you. If a toddler or young child comes from a deaf family it would really depend on what type of support there is at home for this child, if he/she would be a candidate. An example, if both parents are deaf and only communicate in sign language and there were no other models for the child at home then he/she really wouldn't be a good candidate. There needs to be someone at home that is able to use oral language to help support the child. If there isn't any support at home then why put a child through surgery. It just doesn't make sense. Another example say a child comes from a deaf family say parents are both deaf and maybe the siblings at home are not deaf and the family really wants their young child to get an implant and the siblings are really willing to work with their brother or sister, I think that child could be a good candidate. The decisions are made on what support system there is set up for that child to be successful with an implant. Remember a cochlear implant is not a miracle it is just a tool and someone has to be able to work with this tool in order for it to be of use.
 
jillio said:
ERxactly. And the family would support the child inlearning English inthe same way that a hearing childis supported in learning a second language. That's like saying a child whose family is a native Spanish speaking family cannot attend school in America.
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It is not the same. a Spanish speaking child can hear everything a deaf child with a cochlear implant cannot hear everything. They can hear a lot and in a quiet envirnoment can hear almost everything. But remember there was a time before getting implant that that child didn't hear anything.
 
jillio said:
And why is English the all important factor here. Is it now that not just spoken language is superior, but spoken English?
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English is the all important factor because that is what is being taught in the schools of the United States. I have never said or mention that spoken English is superior nor have I ever said the spoken language is superior. Spoken Enlgish is our family's choice but it doesn't mean I think it is superior it is our choice. What I have said is if parents want to get their child implanted they need to be able to support their child in the language that is being taught at school. If Spanish was being taught then that would be been our choice.
 
jag said:
LINK? I am not going on a wild goose chase to find the place you're talking about. Did that once and the more 'valid' proof contained no links to the abstracts listed in the article, so was no more valid (actually less valid) then the abstracts listed on studies done on children with CI's.

I know it's not a popular opinion with some people but I do not believe that people who are here illegally should get more then emergency medical care. That's why I stated is the child a citizen or legal immigrant? CA have many many more illegals then other states, tho that seems to be changing. Lest you think I'm anti immigration, not so. (i would also hazard a guess that the state of CA is having to find reasons to put ration health care because the illegal immigrants are putting hugh stress on the money available to help the disadvantaged in that state, money does not grow on trees and they've been losing alot of emergency rooms because of the number of people using them for free care)

Of course Mexico does have free medical care so if the child is a Mexican citizen then the child could get the implant there for free. No? Also if the child has a duel citizenship I would think the child could go to Mexico and use the 'excellent' medical care that's free. No?

Of course all that is another argument. From a co worker who was a Mexican citizen many of the people do their best to NOT use the free care at hospitals. She told me of a neighbor begging for money when he hadn't saved enough up yet when his wife went into labor. Funny that they are poor but try to avoid using the excellent care that's 'free'. :)
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This is kind of off topic but I have know many people that are pretty rich and live in Mexico, they come to the United States and have their child implanted here. They pay for their chilld's surgery. They come legally and just stay a couple of months while all the mapping is occuring. They only speak Spanish. I have spoken to many of these families. And their child makes a good candidate. The reason they make a good candidate is because their family is motivated and the child has the support they need to succeed with an implant. They only speak Spanish, which is perfectly OK because they will be receiving their education in Mexico where they are being taught in spoken Spanish.
 
jillio said:
But I thinkthe point is that the US does have many,many legal immigrants who have a poor command of English, and continue to speak their native language at home. If their deaf child has been born in the US and is therefore a citizen, should that criteria be used to deny them implantation
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The reason they should deny if their parent cannot or is unwilling to support them with their implant.
Again what is the purpose of getting an implant if there is no one at home to support the child with the implant.
 
jag said:
But I DID separate legal and illegal. Those here LEAGALLY and who want to intergrate into our sociaty are supposed to learn the language used here.
RIGHT ON. This is what is expected. I am not saying it is right or wrong but this is what is expected.

I do have a co worker who was Mexican, when she lived in CA she rarely spoke English. CA may have put stricter limits on what is available to someone without the proper documents. Yes if the child is a citizen then that criteria isn't good, but no where in the discussion here has that been stated. A link would be needed, including a link to the news article that 'might' be able to clear up why the center is denying the inplant.
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There is no link. An implant team must look at who will be at home that can support the child. If the child has no one to support them then they do not make good candidates.
There are no consistent guidelines to see if a deaf child makes a good candidate. There are centers that will implant almost anyone.
So don't worry Jillo if a parent wants an implant badly enough they will find an implant center that will implant their deaf child. Those usually are the students that do not have very much success with the implant.
 
shel90 said:
Those children are here legally in the US but their families dont speak English...should those children be denied the right to get a CI simply because their families dont speak English at home? That is my whole question...not about legal status.
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Who is going to support those children. Who will help them at home. The school alone cannot give the child all the support they need to be successful. But don't worry there are surgeons out there that will implant almost anyone. Those kids are the ones that you talk about so much that do not have a lot of success with the implant.
 
shel90 said:
It was brought up by another AD member in that thread...she mentioned that she is on a CI team and they reject children from Spanish speaking only homes to get CIs. That doesnt make sense to me cuz I thought the purpose of the CI is to acquire spoken language ..doesnt matter if it is Spanish or English. No language should be superior to another. Hearing children with a strong L1 language in Spanish are able to pick up English as a 2nd language so why not a deaf child too?
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No it doesn't matter what language it is. What matters is that whatever language is being taught at school someone at home should be able to speak that language so that they can support that child in the language being taught at school. Since we teachers are not allowed to teach in Spanish any more in the United States then someone has to be able to support the child in English. Since I speak Spanish I would be more then happy to teach in Spanish to Spanish Speaking parents if I was allowed too but I am not.
 
shel90 said:
Those children are here legally in the US but their families dont speak English...should those children be denied the right to get a CI simply because their families dont speak English at home? That is my whole question...not about legal status.
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Interesting question. I think it depends on how committed the family were, whether they could speak English, were willing to use interpreters or were highly motivated in order to negotiate dealing with doctors, audiologists, teachers etc. If they were the kind of family that were used to avoiding all contact with support services because they couldn't speak English then I could see how it might be a problem for that child to receive a CI.

Implanting the CI is the easy part. It's the support that the child receives afterwards that is very important in determining outcome.

I don't think it matters per se whether the child speaks English or Spanish at home. If they gain a good grasp of spoken Spanish at home in the preschool years then English will come in time.

Do you have many children at your school who do not speak English at home? Are there any of the same issues with the use of ASL or has this worked out quite well?
 
jillio said:
And why is English the all important factor here. Is it now that not just spoken language is superior, but spoken English?
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If this clinic is in California, USA, which is basically an English speaking country, then it makes sense to give CI to those who will have support of english speaking family. If they were in Mexico (spanish speaking I assume) then there would be no reason for denying them CI.
 
jillio said:
Thought you said in your blog that people outside of the family still had difficulty understanding Lotte's spoken language, including her teachers.
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I dont think it would matter to Lotte whether they understand her or not, at that age she is probably just happy to be rattling on at anyone. And of course the more she talks the better she gets.
 
Raykat said:
If this clinic is in California, USA, which is basically an English speaking country, then it makes sense to give CI to those who will have support of english speaking family. If they were in Mexico (spanish speaking I assume) then there would be no reason for denying them CI.
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There are numerous languages spoken inthe U.S. What is wrong with a child being bilingual in two spoken languages?
 
Raykat said:
I dont think it would matter to Lotte whether they understand her or not, at that age she is probably just happy to be rattling on at anyone. And of course the more she talks the better she gets.
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No, but it seems to matter a great deal to cloggy since Lotte is now "hearing" with her CI and has no need of sign language.
 
jillio said:
There are numerous languages spoken inthe U.S. What is wrong with a child being bilingual in two spoken languages?
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What I have been trying to say is there is nothing wrong with a child with CI to learn 2 language. What I have trying to say is that someone at home has to be able to support their child at home with the language that is being taught at school. In the United States we, teachers, are only allowed to teach in English so someone in the home must be able to speak English to support their child with what is being taught in school.
 
jackiesolorzano said:
What I have been trying to say is there is nothing wrong with a child with CI to learn 2 language. What I have trying to say is that someone at home has to be able to support their child at home with the language that is being taught at school. In the United States we, teachers, are only allowed to teach in English so someone in the home must be able to speak English to support their child with what is being taught in school.
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So that means deaf children from deaf families who are unable to use English in the spoken form would not qualify either?
 
Raykat said:
I dont think it would matter to Lotte whether they understand her or not, at that age she is probably just happy to be rattling on at anyone. And of course the more she talks the better she gets.
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Exactly.... you get it!
Lotte is 5 years old. However, language-wise she's 2 to 3, and cognitive she's probably below 5....
(Just wondering... Should I have explained it more???)
 
jillio said:
No, but it seems to matter a great deal to cloggy since Lotte is now "hearing" with her CI and has no need of sign language.
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Well, you just believe what you want to believe...

I am glad Lotte can hear, I'm glad she's happy without sound,
I am glad she does not depend on sign, I'm glad she knows sign...

How about your son....????
 
shel90 said:
So that means deaf children from deaf families who are unable to use English in the spoken form would not qualify either?
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Probably.... when they do not have the support-system in place to learn English, how are they ever going to manage.....

Since it should not be a problem according to you, do you have some examples of deaf children that do not know english before CI, and then learn English?
 
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