Peer Relationships of Children With Cochlear Implants

[shel90]

I see many of you voicing opinions on Deaf ed when u dont really go out there and teach Deaf children especially those who were failed by the different approaches they were tried out first before resorting to the BiBi approach.

If you all have such opinions, then go out there and go teach these kids who were failed miserably by the educational system due to not having fully access to language. Otherwise, u dont know what it is like to do constant remedial work and see so many bright children struggle with the simplest concepts that hearing kids are automatically granted rights to and I guess that is where the lack of empathy comes from.

Reading a few research papers doesnt make one an expert. :roll:

 

[vallee]

And the fact that there is no universal approach for educating deaf children is exactly why we have seen no improvements in performance of deaf students over the last 30 years.

We are talking about educating deaf childen, not raising them. And the best way to raise any child is in an environment where they have access to and are able to develop an understanding of the world around them through language.

No, really we are discussing peer interaction with hearing children.

Education and raising children don't go hand in hand???

 

[vallee]

I see many of you voicing opinions on Deaf ed when u dont really go out there and teach Deaf children especially those who were failed by the different approaches they were tried out first before resorting to the BiBi approach.

If you all have such opinions, then go out there and go teach these kids who were failed miserably by the educational system due to not having fully access to language. Otherwise, u dont know what it is like to do constant remedial work and see so many bright children struggle with the simplest concepts that hearing kids are automatically granted rights to and I guess that is where the lack of empathy comes from.

Reading a few research papers doesnt make one an expert. :roll:

thanks Shel so true, and the same goes from me. Come teach phonic(yes, I teach speech sounds to hearing children) in my classroom to children the educational system has given up on. Until you walk in my shoes as a deaf individual teaching in a hearing school, then just respect that we are both teachers doing the best we can.

 

[shel90]

[Mod's Edit - Previous quote removed]

Oh yea...very.

To work day in and day out with children who suffer from language deficients is SO different from meeting deaf people from all walks of life.

The attitude being porttrayed here is "As long as some succeed, it is ok if some fail. It is all the parents' fault anyway."

As an educator, I will take responsibility for the Deaf education system and I wont accept one that fails many deaf children. I will take the one that provides full access to language, communication, information, and social opportunities for ALL deaf children not for some.

In my heart, I cant be like them who think it is ok to pass children thru different approaches and think it is ok as long as some succeed all is fine and dandy. I couldnt live with myself if I was a part of it.

 

[jillio]

The following excerpts are taken directly from the article referenced by Rockdrummer in post #428:

Our study finds that, on average, after using
hearing aids or implants for several years, both
children with implants and those with hearing aids
perform on average at age level. Other studies
(Dawson et al., 1995; Ponton, Moore, & Eggermont,
1999; Svirsky et al., 2000), however, show that at
best, children with cochlear implants progress at the
same rate as normally hearing children, which
means that because they had initial lags in speech
and oral language development, they continue to
experience some delays in these areas.

Variability in functioning of children with implants
may take different forms. Children perform differently
depending on the situation in which they find
themselves. Although children who use the implant
to its maximum benefit may function similarly to
hard of hearing children (Tait & Lutman, 1994) and
hear much better than they did before receiving the
implant, many children continue to experience difficulty
communicating in adverse listening situations(e.g., with noise in the background or in
groups; Bat-Chava & Deignan, 2001). Their functioning
in such environments is therefore compromised
and differs from their functioning in less
adverse communication situations

Many children in our study still
function below age level in all domains, even after
years of hearing aid or implant use. Other authors
have also noted the great variability in communication
and socialization skills of children with implants

This suggests that children with
greater hearing loss hit a plateau of improvement
early on, and do not continue to improve, whereas
children with lower levels of hearing loss continue to
improve with longer duration of implant use.

The study described here has several limitations.
First, in relying on data that were previously collected
for clinical (rather than for research) purposes,
we had little control on how many children had
scores on the measure of interest. This resulted in a
small sample size, with an over-representation of
children who had longer contact with the agency.

Another limitation is the use of parents as the only
source of information about the children’s behavior.

 

[samanthasmom]

Oh yea...very.

To work day in and day out with children who suffer from language deficients is SO different from meeting deaf people from all walks of life.

The attitude being porttrayed here is "As long as some succeed, it is ok if some fail. It is all the parents' fault anyway."

As an educator, I will take responsibility for the Deaf education system and I wont accept one that fails many deaf children. I will take the one that provides full access to language, communication, information, and social opportunities for ALL deaf children not for some.

In my heart, I cant be like them who think it is ok to pass children thru different approaches and think it is ok as long as some succeed all is fine and dandy. I couldnt live with myself if I was a part of it.

AND as a parent of a child with CIs I will accept the responsibility of realizing when the mainstream approach is NOT working...This includes her socialization into the mainstream schools. Which would also include her peer interactions.

 

[jillio]

AND as a parent of a child with CIs I will accept the responsibility of realizing when the mainstream approach is NOT working...This includes her socialization into the mainstream schools. Which would also include her peer interactions.

Good for you!

 

[jillio]

[Mod's Edit - Previous quote removed]

When it comes to education, there most certainly is right and wrong. Right is allowing a deaf child complete access to the curriculum and providing an enriched linguistic environment that allows them to achieve to the best of their ability. Wrong is putting them in an environment that impedes their academic achievement, their psycho-social development, and restricts them linguistically and socially.

 

[shel90]

Because of their views that deaf children with oral skills have it better than those who dont. That is what I dont appreciate. I never forget one parent's comment " All the "bad" kids go to the deaf schools " That really really turned me off. Just because deaf kids were unable to pick up oral skills doesnt mean they are bad. It is the view that I dont support...
I dont attack them for their children's success story..in fact , I was supportive and encouraging to ALL of them until they belittlie comments about children who use sign language.

I do not respect that at all.

Mod Note: Quote deleted.

 

[jillio]

They haven't been attacked for their children's success. They have been corrected for statements that are incorrect regarding the education of deaf children, and for portraying an attitude that an oral child is superior to a signing child, and an implanted child has more opportunity than a non-implanted child. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Mod Note: Quote deleted.

 

[shel90]

When it comes to education, there most certainly is right and wrong. Right is allowing a deaf child complete access to the curriculum and providing an enriched linguistic environment that allows them to achieve to the best of their ability. Wrong is putting them in an environment that impedes their academic achievement, their psycho-social development, and restricts them linguistically and socially.

Maybe u may need to rephrase that cuz some people may misunderstand that..thanks.

 

[jillio]

Maybe u may need to rephrase that cuz some people may misunderstand that..thanks.

Okay, to deny a deaf child full access to language, curriculum, and the world around them is not condusive to education.

Better?

 

[shel90]

Okay, to deny a deaf child full access to language, curriculum, and the world around them is not condusive to education.

Better?

Yes...


now, that is what Jillo and I fight against...we do not believe that it is ok to put deaf children in educational environments like that and since nobody knows when they are babies which approach would work best, what is SO wrong with putting them in a BiBi program where they will be guaranteed to have full access to language, curriculum, and the world around them instead of putting them at risks?

Now, that is what I do not get about people who support the "What works best for each child" approach.

 

[jillio]

Yes...


now, that is what Jillo and I fight against...we do not believe that it is ok to put deaf children in educational environments like that and since nobody knows when they are babies which approach would work best, what is SO wrong with putting them in a BiBi program where they will be guaranteed to have full access to language, curriculum, and the world around them instead of putting them at risks?

Now, that is what I do not get about people who support the "What works best for each child" approach.

Exactly. To detemine "what works best for each child" you have to try this, and then try that, and have those methods fail before you try something else. Time is wasted and children suffer.

 

[Cheri]

Because of their views that deaf children with oral skills have it better than those who dont. That is what I dont appreciate..

Oh you do compare too when it comes to bi-bi how it's better than any other and I'm sure some hearing parents don't appreciated hearing that either.

 

[shel90]

Exactly. To detemine "what works best for each child" you have to try this, and then try that, and have those methods fail before you try something else. Time is wasted and children suffer.

and like I said, later on when they are older and have established a strong language foundation, if the deaf child wants to experience other approaches like mainstreaming (if the BiBi program is not in a mainstreamed program), oral-only, or whatever, they by all means, I will support it cuz it would be good for them to go out there and explore their options in the heairng world.

I fully support the magnet idea...like Deafdyke proposed or talked about..with Deaf schools haiving partnerships with the public schools in whcih the Deaf students can take some classes in the public schools or vice versa (the mainstreamed Deaf students take some classes at the Deaf schools). It is giving them the BEST of BOTH worlds not one or the other.

People who are against it, I am very puzzled to why unless they believe strongly in the medicial view of deafness.

 

[Jolie77]

Mod's Note:


The thread is closed for the time being.