I hope you don't mind I say my opinion.
As a mother myself, I can see children can not make some important decisions for themselves for many years to come. They don't have that kind of wisdom yet.
CI is that kind of choice that unfortunately falls on the parent to do that for the child.
It is very important that anyone who discuss implanting children understand how the language, speech and hearing is developing in EVERY human.
Children are NOT born with ability to distinguish sounds. Nor they can speak right away. they can hear sounds, yes - but they do not know yet what they are, they can make sounds but they can not make right sounds yet.
It take years to learn to speak, and it takes time to learn to HEAR, meaning to differentiate sounds and recognize what they are.
That crucial time is from birth to 3 years of age,
After that it is over. You can learn but not as much- in fact much less.
You have to take that under consideration - the best time for learning is between age 0- 3, so ... there is not much choice. Keep that in mind when discussin children choices.
This is why some choices can not be left for children to do..
Fuzzy
some links to read:
http://www.drpaul.com/growth/hearing.html
mind this: The first two year is the time during which hearing develops in children.
http://widex-master.dynamicweb.dk/Default.asp?ID=227
language development:
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/voice/speechandlanguage.asp
mind this:
The most intensive period of speech and language development for humans is during the first three years of life, a period when the brain is developing and maturing. These skills appear to develop best in a world that is rich with sounds, sights, and consistent exposure to the speech and language of others.
