What I took away from their analysis was that they found deaf kids with CIs in mainstream settings did very well relative to hearing counterparts in the same settings. And that this was in stark contrast to what they found with deaf kids without CIs 30 years ago who did very poorly in mainstream settings. That looks like great news for these kids they studied more recently.
But, and maybe I missed it, I don't see any comparison with deaf kids using CIs in other settings (unit settings, deaf schools). So, how do they connect the dots and state from this research "Therefore CI kids function the best in mainstream settings"? Maybe deaf kids with CIs or with HAs do equally great or better in self contained units or programs in public schools, or in deaf schools.
And I know you probably think I should be celebrating that finding, given that my kid is a CI kid
. But that unsupported conclusion makes me a little bit skeptical of their interpretations.