There seems to be a focus on how difficult it is for some of the posters here to acquire speech. What myself and other ci parents have been saying not only now but for years is that the ci has made a big impact for some to acquire speech. I can tell you, that my daughter's experiences are in no way similar to what some have described. Within months of being implanted she went from a few one syllable words to speaking in sentences. By the time she reached school she had age appropriate langauge.
What I have seen first hand over the years is she is not unique, that she is just one of thousands who have had thier road to speech made significantly easier due to the cochlear implant. It continues to amaze me how well, especially the bi lat kids, are doing.
No, speech is not everything and there are many more factors to consider in raising a child but why not just accept the fact that there are indeed children and now adults who have had good ci experiences, do not have estranged relationships with thier families and are doing fine.
I am truly sorry if your have estranged relationships with your families. I would not wish that upon anyone and if you have found a community that makes you feel comfortable fine but I am not going to accept the blame for everything that went wrong in your lives nor appologize for being a parent who has always been actively involved in thier kid's life and is proud of the fact that she is now an adult and continuing to do well nor am I going to dismiss the substantial positive impact the cochlear implant has had in her life.
