Who are the "they" that you are referring to? Why would I rely upon an audiologist to provide guidance on emotional/social issues for a child with a ci?
Because it is an aspect of having a CI. An audi is not much of a professional if he/she does not take things of this nature into consideration. In addition, an audi is required to take several courses on communication issues, and if professionals in the field were being properly instructed, it is a topic that is covered in training. Simply because your audi ignored it does, in no way, imply that it is not within their scope of practice. Audis seem to be quite fond of denying sign language to a child based on exactly these issues.
My daughter's audiologist, who has been with her since shortly after her initial diagnosis, is a great person and an expert in his field but he is not an expert in the issue of social/emotional and/or educational issues and does not try to be.
Then your audiologist is not as qualifed to deal with CI patients as you might believe. Just another case of a limited vision that doesn't see beyond the ears and the mouth to the person involved.
In getting information and experience regarding these issues we turned to deaf adults, deaf teens, teachers and social workers those with both firsthand experience and the professional experience to discuss those issues with us.
Were those signing deaf/Deaf, or just your average A.G. Bell oral only deaf? You give virtually no value to what the deaf on this forum tell you regarding their experiences in the mainstream, so it would stand to reason that you would have discounted such information coming from anyone other than the A.G. Bell types at that point in time, as well. Any of those Social Workers work with a large deaf population, or just a handful of students in a single mainstream school? Were the teachers certified and specialized TODs or just you generic special ed teachers with no training in deaf ed? Again, you discredit the experience and expertise of TODs and those professionals who focus on the deaf population contantly on this forum. In short, it is obvious that you did not seek complete information, but only that information which supported your obviously audist viewpoint. That is not a quest for information. It is a quest for justification.
If you are considering placing your child in the mainstream then not only should you constantly evaluate and monitor your child's progress and experiences but the bottomline is that the better your child's oral skills, the better her chances to create, build and maintain successful relationships with their peers who happen to be hearing.
Support that "bottom line" with evidence, because it is a statement that is completely and utterly false, not to mention audist in tone.
Also, having raised both a deaf and a hearing child, the issue of peer relationships and social/emotional issues relating to same makes no distinction between hearing and deaf. Virtually all kids, and especially girls, seem to experience a tremendous change in the middle school years regarding friends.
Again, please support that with statement with hard empirical evidence, because again, that statement is completely and utterly false, and a perfect example of the complete lack of accurrate information in your possession.
