Research about teenagers with CI

[shel90]

Best of luck! He will probably need it.

Let me know how it turns out.

His new implant is working fine but better or not, we dont know. The boy cant express nor describe the differences cuz his language is not at that level yet. At least he is happy with it now. All of us teachers were discussing that how lucky he is that he can use ASL cuz he went one month without his CI but never had to miss too much school and information.

 

[rockdrummer]

That's one of the problems with using a self report survey for your measurement instrument, and for the way the sample was chosen. Researchers call it selection bias, and it does carry the probability of results that are interesting, but cannot be applied any further than the participants of the study. And you are correct about the cultural differences.

I have yet to find an objective resource for complete information regarding CIs. Folks are left with gathering whatever info they can find and then trying to make sense of it. In my opinion this information is useful but should only be a small part of ones personal research and conclusions. I am glad to see this kind of thing because it shows the opposite side of the spectrum. All I ever read about on this board is the negative side of it. I thought the following was interesting because I have been in discussions about this exact topic.

Our research shows that these young people felt they had benefited from their implants. But the decision to have the implant is not an easy one.Some people who disagree with young deaf children having cochlear implants feel that the operation should only be carried out when a deaf child is old enough to decide for themselves. Yet research shows that cochlear implants are more effective if children receive them when they are young. This means the decision often has to be made by parents. None of the young people who had had their implant fitted when they were young criticised their parents for making that decision. None resented their parents for making the decision or not involving them, but they were grateful to them for the choice they had made.

 

[Tousi]

Not looking for trouble here but I've always taken that line for granted: "Research shows that cochlear implants are more effective if children receive them when they are young". They say this is because the child's mind is more plastic at that age, etc, etc, etc. But do you really, really think this is true OF AND BY ITSELF?

By the way, nice to see you here again, Rockdrummer.

 

[shel90]

Not looking for trouble here but I've always taken that line for granted: "Research shows that cochlear implants are more effective if children receive them when they are young". They say this is because the child's mind is more plastic at that age, etc, etc, etc. But do you really, really think this is true OF AND BY ITSELF?

By the way, nice to see you here again, Rockdrummer.

I think it can happen but with a lot of work. Problem is that the parents I have encountered seem to be in denial about the work that is required and end up not doing as much as they should be. That's my understanding from their comments about the CI is supposed to be doing the work or is supposing to be doing this or that. They should be saying "I should be doing this or that to ensure that my child benefits from the CI as much as possible." instead, do u think? That's how I came to that assumption..

Nice to see u here again Rockdrummer and I will try to read and understand your posts before making any assumptions from now on..

 

[rick48]

R2D2 or Boult,

I cannot pull the article up on the JDSDE website. Do you know if the article as it appeared in the JDSDE is any different from the link R2D2 provided?

Rick

 

[rockdrummer]

Not looking for trouble here but I've always taken that line for granted: "Research shows that cochlear implants are more effective if children receive them when they are young". They say this is because the child's mind is more plastic at that age, etc, etc, etc. But do you really, really think this is true OF AND BY ITSELF?

By the way, nice to see you here again, Rockdrummer.

Thanks Tousi... I think the research holds true under certian criteria. I would have to see the information regarding the research to have an opinoin on that. I don't doubt it's out there because I have seen it echoed many times throughout other threads. There may even be a resource in one of them. I just don't have the time to look it up right now. If anyone has access to the source of such information please share it.

 

[rockdrummer]

I think it can happen but with a lot of work. Problem is that the parents I have encountered seem to be in denial about the work that is required and end up not doing as much as they should be. That's my understanding from their comments about the CI is supposed to be doing the work or is supposing to be doing this or that. They should be saying "I should be doing this or that to ensure that my child benefits from the CI as much as possible." instead, do u think? That's how I came to that assumption..

Nice to see u here again Rockdrummer and I will try to read and understand your posts before making any assumptions from now on..

Thanks Shel. No worries.. I will try to back out of the disscusions if they get to frustrating.

 

[jillio]

Not looking for trouble here but I've always taken that line for granted: "Research shows that cochlear implants are more effective if children receive them when they are young". They say this is because the child's mind is more plastic at that age, etc, etc, etc. But do you really, really think this is true OF AND BY ITSELF?

By the way, nice to see you here again, Rockdrummer.

Exactly the point, Tousi. Yes, CI is more effective with the younger implants, but then so are HA and ATV with HA or unaided. It is not so much the devise than iis responsible for this phenomena, but the age of the child and the plasticity of the brain. Quite simply, children of a younger age will adapt to anything better than an older child due to neurological circumstances. That is exactly why, when research has been cited, I ask for information regarding variables, as there are too many things that must be controlled for if results are to be interpreted correctly.

 

[jillio]

I think it can happen but with a lot of work. Problem is that the parents I have encountered seem to be in denial about the work that is required and end up not doing as much as they should be. That's my understanding from their comments about the CI is supposed to be doing the work or is supposing to be doing this or that. They should be saying "I should be doing this or that to ensure that my child benefits from the CI as much as possible." instead, do u think? That's how I came to that assumption..

Nice to see u here again Rockdrummer and I will try to read and understand your posts before making any assumptions from now on..

Agreed, shel. Parents will too often take research results conducted on post lingually deaf children and expect to receive the same results from a prelingually deaf child. I think the two other articles I referenced from this same volume of the journal give a nice balance. The Marschark article, in particular, points out the same things that I have been trying to say, and does a nice job of saying "yes, this is a valid study, but here are the limitations, and this is why these limitations exist.

 

[jillio]

I have yet to find an objective resource for complete information regarding CIs. Folks are left with gathering whatever info they can find and then trying to make sense of it. In my opinion this information is useful but should only be a small part of ones personal research and conclusions. I am glad to see this kind of thing because it shows the opposite side of the spectrum. All I ever read about on this board is the negative side of it. I thought the following was interesting because I have been in discussions about this exact topic.

I have to play devil's advocate, once again. My intention is not to start WWIII, but simply to point out some things that should be kept in mind in order to keep this, and any other research, in perspective.

These participants were between the ages of 13 and 17. They responded to open ended survey questions. Many of their responses regarding responsibility and what was best for them will have been based on what they were given by their parents as an explanation. They have all been educated in an atmosphere where their CI was more the norm than HA or a signing environment. Their expereince of other alternatives therefore, is limited. That doesn't mean that their opinions are not valid, simply that the parameters are rather narrow.

The second thing we need to keep in mind is that these participants volunteered for the interview process. The manner of selection means that it is generally accepted by all researchers in any field that this skews your sample, as there is an extremely high probability that only those who have been satisfied and are doing well will respond. There were two thirds of those solicitited that refused to participate. And all solicited were from the same implant program. Had all of those solicited been included in the study, we might have seen some very different results, indeed.

As I said, I am not discounting the claims made by these kids. Simply pointing out that the results must be kept in perspective. And also of interest, if one reads the entire report, is that educationally, these children were functioning at the same level as participants from other studies who used HA. In other words, none were at the same level educationally as their hearing peers, all still received some form of support service, many still used sign, and all were below grade level in their reading and word recognition scores. Math and critical thinking scores were not included in the analysis. If we can assume that these are representative of the CI population in general, or even if we assume that these are representative of the most successful, then the obvious conclusion was that there continues to be the same problems with education and socialization that we see in the HOH and HA child.

 

[rockdrummer]

I have to play devil's advocate, once again. My intention is not to start WWIII, but simply to point out some things that should be kept in mind in order to keep this, and any other research, in perspective.

These participants were between the ages of 13 and 17. They responded to open ended survey questions. Many of their responses regarding responsibility and what was best for them will have been based on what they were given by their parents as an explanation. They have all been educated in an atmosphere where their CI was more the norm than HA or a signing environment. Their expereince of other alternatives therefore, is limited. That doesn't mean that their opinions are not valid, simply that the parameters are rather narrow.

The second thing we need to keep in mind is that these participants volunteered for the interview process. The manner of selection means that it is generally accepted by all researchers in any field that this skews your sample, as there is an extremely high probability that only those who have been satisfied and are doing well will respond. There were two thirds of those solicitited that refused to participate. And all solicited were from the same implant program. Had all of those solicited been included in the study, we might have seen some very different results, indeed.

As I said, I am not discounting the claims made by these kids. Simply pointing out that the results must be kept in perspective. And also of interest, if one reads the entire report, is that educationally, these children were functioning at the same level as participants from other studies who used HA. In other words, none were at the same level educationally as their hearing peers, all still received some form of support service, many still used sign, and all were below grade level in their reading and word recognition scores. Math and critical thinking scores were not included in the analysis. If we can assume that these are representative of the CI population in general, or even if we assume that these are representative of the most successful, then the obvious conclusion was that there continues to be the same problems with education and socialization that we see in the HOH and HA child.

Maybe I am confused but I don't recall disputing anything that claims or discredits this as genuine research.

 

[jillio]

Maybe I am confused but I don't recall disputing anything that claims or discredits this as genuine research.

No, you didn't. I didn't mean to imply that you had. Just offering some additional information regarding the study, as well assome issues to keep in mind when reading it. Not directed at you personally, rd. I'm glad to see you back!

 

[rockdrummer]

No, you didn't. I didn't mean to imply that you had. Just offering some additional information regarding the study, as well assome issues to keep in mind when reading it. Not directed at you personally, rd. I'm glad to see you back!

Thanks... sometimes its best to walk away

 

[jillio]

Thanks... sometimes its best to walk away

Agreed. Wish it was easier for me to do that sometimes!