Just your opinion

My opinion

I believe cochlear implants are just technology. They are not, in and of themselves, good or evil. I believe they are very useful for people that hearing aids don't work well for.

I really don't know how I feel about very early implantation. I am glad that I didn't have to make that decision. I believe that almost every parent who implants their child is just trying to do what is best for the child. I do NOT think that they don't accept or love their deafness. I believe they are trying to do what they believe will provide their child with the most opportunites to succeed in life. I just feel like since there is so much post-implant rehab, it just feels like too much work for such a young child. Plus, the child is too young to have shown a preference for spoken language. I know that earlier is better for implants, but I do have major reservations.

I also believe that every child with a hearing loss has the right to ASL. I believe it gives access to language from day one, and the ability to communicate their wants and needs from very early. ASL is a visual language that plays to the strengths of a deaf or hoh child. They learn it easily and quickly. They are times when using speech is extremely difficult, such as a noisy resturant or when swimming, and these would be the perfect opportunities for even the most "oral" child to use and benefit from ASL. There are great benefits for a child who is bilingual. I have no idea why a parent would want to not give their child those things.

I also believe that every child with a hearing loss has the right to interact and be involved with the Deaf community. They should have the chance to see other children and adults just like them. For CI kids, this also means other CI children and adults. For children who choose oral language as their primary mode of communication, this would mean interaction with oral deaf adults as well. But, since they all should be using ASL as well, they would still be a part of the Deaf community.

I believe that CI's work very well for many people. I do not believe they are a cure, but that they provide access to sound that is vastly superior to that of a hearing aid for severely to profoundly deaf individuals. I believe for many it provides the ability to understand speech over the telephone and in situations without lipreading. I believe it takes work to learn to use a CI, but for that work, they are given a great opportunity.
 
I support CI completely for late onset deafness/born hoh suddenly (too fast to be progressive) lost hearing such as car accident, infection, mediciation, or unknown reason, born deaf but wore hearing aid before/still wearing it, progressive hearing loss.

I'm against CI for someone that born deaf and never been exposed to any sound for more than 5 years from the birth get implanted right away without trying out hearing aids or just wearing it to get idea or feel what sound is for while before getting implanted.
I'm on the fence about someone being deaf wore hearing aids for some time at young age and stopped wearing it completely for more than 10 years. Because I'd be all for it to implant if the person stopped wearing it and were old enough still remember what sound is like for example you stop wearing it at age 14 you remmeber sound of dog barking. Go ahead get implanted but if age 5 stopped wearing ha and go on for long time then must try out hearing aid first before implanting if they even will tolerate sounds. If you're over 40 and never hear sound since early childhood (5 yr old) then no way just enjoy your deafness or wear hearing aid for evironmental sounds.

I would implant if my child is deaf.

I'm not against oral only approach, just don't agree with it being the best way for the deaf child because its forcing them to use their weakest sense and they need extra support.

I'm huge supporter for both sign language and spoken language "best of both world"

I'm not against asl only approach, just don't agree with it being the best way for the deaf child because they're lacking in important skill to be independent in hearing world and have less difficulity like being able to order your own food without hassle of paper and pen or asking someone else to speak for you.
 
I'm neutral about CI. If I had a deaf child, I would struggle to make a decision.
However, I'm against oral only method. I believe a child could derive so much benefits if they had access to everything, not just one.
 
I support CI fully. I support CI for youngsters if HAs or other options do not help. I would open to implanting my child, but I would not do it RIGHT AWAY. I definitely would explore other options first. In my case, I would have wanted to be implanted as soon as I could if I was born nowadays.

I would NEVER pressure anyone to be implanted. If the deaf person doesn't want it, the more likely it will not work for them. Then it's a waste of money, time, and energy.

I am not against oral only IF the child has natural lipreading skills and can actually communicate, not just speak. The child should learn ASL anyway. Even for children who do fine orally, learning ASL comes with an added bonus of being able to have interpreters for events, talk to other deaf people, among many things.

I don't really agree with ASL only. Consider a child who is successful with oral only vs a child who is successful with ASL only. Who is more likely do better after graduation? However, evidently there is very little success with oral only, so I support a combination of both ASL and oral.

As for Deaf culture... I'm not too sure if I want to expose my child to the Deaf culture. Deaf community yes but Deaf culture seems a little too strong for my taste. I don't have much experience in this area though. I am definitely not opposed to hanging out with other deaf people.
 
I support Cochlear Implants in adults and children, (who do not benefit well from hearing aids). If I had a deaf child, I would probably go for the implant but won't do it right away through.

I support sign language and oral combined.

I'm not against oral only approach because obviously it seems to me that some did succeed in an oral classroom like my next-door neighbor did. Same goes for ASL only approach.

I believe in "what works for one child may not work for another".

And for Deaf Culture? hmm.. I'm not so sure but Deaf Community? definitely!
 
faire_jour said:
I want to try something a little different with this thread. I don't know if it will work, but we'll see.

I want each person to write their true opinion about cochlear implants. Nothing more. Don't respond to other's remarks or opinions. Just write your thoughts, and read other's. Include your thoughts on implanting children, effectiveness, oral only, Deaf culture, etc.

Thanks!!
Click to expand...

And risk getting banned? :lol:

I think you all know what my thought is.......
 
I fully support the rights of parents to make the decision whether or not to give their child a cochlear implant. Likewise, I am totally against any attempt to deny and/or limit a parent's right to choose a cochlear implant for their child.

Given the tens of thousands of children who have been implanted over the last 25 years, and their demonstrable evidience of the impact that a cochlear implant can make upon a child's ability to develop and understand spoken language, both pre and postlingually deafened; today, any parent who does not seriously consider and research the cochlear implant for their profoundly or severely deaf child is doing their child a disservice.

Finally, having made the cochlear implant decision for our child 20 years ago and seeing the profound positive impact it has had upon her life and how it allowed her to develop and acquire spoken language, to be a vital part of her family, neighborhood and community, I will say that it was and still remains the absolute best decision my wife and I have ever made. Would we make the same decision again---absolutely in a heartbeat!

Far from "preventing" her from becoming a happy and well adjusted adult, it has allowed her to do just the opposite opening up doors and opportunities she never would have had otherwise. She has never lacked any support whatsoever from a large and loving family, from her school, and from her community. She is one of the most grounded, well adjusted people I have ever met and has the most positive outlook on life of anyone that I know.

It is for these reasons that I am thankful that she has had the opportunity to have a cochlear implant and will support any parent's right to make the cochlear decision for their child.
 
I think CI is good for people who know how to use it properly and don't just want a "quick fix" and be "hearing" because at the end of the day your still deaf. I think it's great if your implanted and the opportunity to hear and experience the hearing world is great. I also believe that implantation in children is great if other methods are used like ASL, speech therapy, I don't believe oral-only for deaf children, but again that's the parents choice. Children do have the opportunity to do well with oral only as well just they usually aren't as involved in the deaf community because they associate themselves as hearing more than deaf. My thoughts:)
 
I don't see a problem with cochlear implants - but I am sure that some time, there will be a story somewhere about someone who had one when they were quite young saying sometime later that it was not what they wanted. Now THAT is a problem that needs looking into before it happens!
 
i believe an adult has the right to choose whatever they feel is best for them. Personally, i plan on developing some signing skill before looking into CI, i would rather not have surgery if i can find another way.
As for children, i believe that it depends on a variety of factors:
-does the child have other disabilities that will make sign language difficult to use?
-does the child have access to a rich deaf community and other deaf children to play with?
-are the parents willing to commit the time necessary to either a) learn sign or b) attend CI appointments?
-how does the child tolerate SLP and audiology appointments so far?

personally, if i had a healthy deaf child, i would probably not implant. Toronto has deaf schools and other deaf children to play with. I would 100% take my child to SLP for speech therapy and lipreading, but I would wait until they are 3, 4 or 5 to see how they tolerate all of the appointments. I would not force extra CI appointments on my child if I did not have to. I would want my deaf child to be able to lipread well and speak as well as possible, and perhaps if they were struggling with this I would implant. I would certainly not remove ASL from their repertoire though. I would teach my child that he/she is deaf, and that a CI does not change that.

Just my opinion though. I don't have any children, so my opinions may change when i do!

*EQL*
 
I support CI's. I would not implant a child immediately though. Let the child wear hearing aids or be without for a while. I would want the child to be fluent in sign, I would not pressure the child to learn to speak if they struggle with spoken language. They can just sign
 
I think CI's are fine, and if I had a kid who needed one, I believe I would get them implanted. However, I would also try to teach ASL-- use of simcomm, perhaps?
I was taught some ASL as a kid (WAYYY before any signs of hearing loss) because one of my parents majored in deaf ed (coincidence, much?). Of course, it would ultimately be up to the time/situation/etc.
 
One point I want to make about CI for children.

If any of you know any kids that are dealing with a serious illness, condition or disease. Then you know how terrible it can be to see a kid go through things like that. But, another thing you might know if you know any kids that are unfortunately going through something like that is that kids are very, very strong willed. They can deal with so many thing and still smile and enjoy life. Children are much better at handling things then adults are.

My point is if a child who can benefit from a CI get's it at a young age (not to young but a safe age) then they will be able to coup with the process even better then the adults do. They will not remember the surgery. I just had mine and I know that the pain wasn't bad anyway. I don't remember when I got circumcised after all and I'm sure that was more painful then my CI surgery. :)

If the CI will benefit a child I'd rather them get it sooner rather then later where it's most beneficial during brain development in that area. My point is if the child is going to get it then waiting will only make things harder for the child. It'll be more of an "Adjustment" later on.

The first thing I would do is find out my my child's hearing loss is the kind of hearing loss that a CI can improve. If it is and there's nothing else happening with the child that could effect the surgery. Then off to that one day surgery we go. Two of three days later the child won't even act like it had any recent surgery.

Now imagine you fast forward 10 years and the child doesn't want to hear with the CI. Big deal, just don't put it on.

So what is giving the child the biggest choice between hearing and not hearing? Dong it sooner or later? In my opinion giving it to them sooner gives them more choices on this issue. With the added bonus of it being available to them sooner rather then later. When I got mine I wish I could have done this years ago.

Ron Jaxon
 
I am neither for nor against CI's. I am, however against having a under the age of 10 getting a CI. The child should learn ASL or whatever sign language their country has and then could let their parents know later down the line if they want to try HA's or CI's.

If I were a candidate, I would never get one for myself, but that's me.
 
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Hear Again said:
I am not opposed to CIs. If I had a d/Deaf child, I don't know whether I would implant them or not. However, if I chose to, I would make sure they had equal exposure to oral, ASL and Deaf Culture. I would give them speech therapy, but if my son or daughter was struggling, I would place full emphasis on ASL for communication.
Click to expand...

This pretty much sums it up for me too.

I am for each person makes the choice for themselves in terms of CI or no CI. It is the Deaf person's choice and no one else's.

As for CI's in children: I would hope that if the CI was a possibility for my child, that they would be the kind of child that I could discuss options with in terms they understand. If not, then I don't know what I would do. I am, however, vehemently opposed to the idea of making the CI decision for my child. I would much rather use other methods such as powerful hearing aids until I can make the decision with my child. It's hard to know what I would do in the actual situation though.

And like Hear Again said, CI or no CI, I would expose my child to ASL and Deaf culture. If they proved to struggle with speech/oral methods, then I would emphasize ASL too. If they proved to be successful with speech and oral methods, I would leave it up to them to choose speech, ASL, or both.
 
I support the right to choose CIs. I think they are an appropriate and effective option for some. I have seen many great successes in implanting children and adults. I have also seen several failures. I believe people/parents who see CI as a 'fix' or 'cure' for deafness should be denied implantation until they are properly educated in the reality of deafness and implantation. An implanted person is still a deaf person.

That being said, I will not implant my child, but I will support her right to do so as an adult.

I do not support oral only. I think ASL should be taught to all D/HH kids regardless of amplification choice/oral ability. I believe ASL should replace the teaching of Spanish/French/German/whatever before high school for ALL children.
 
Being an implantee myself, I'm all for CIs period.

Doesn't matter to me if adult or a child. My only stipulation is that the needs of the individual is considered to ensure the best outcome using a CI. In other words, provide the tools they need to be successful.
 
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