Stem cell treatment

jillio said:
Yes, but it is still considered an acquired etiology, because it is not coming from the fetus's own genetic make up. Most of us think of acquired loss as that coming after birth, which is correct. This is not dependent upon the time the loss occurred, but rather the reason for the loss itself. So they are using "acquired" in a different context than we usually see it used in relation to hearing loss.
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That does make perfect sense.
 
Beach girl said:
Willing adults would not have stemcells from their umbilical cords in storage.

That's not even routine now, to store an infant's cord blood. When did they start doing it, maybe a decade or so ago?

You've got to go with what you've got - babies with stored cord blood are the only likely group.
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It is very possible that they would. The practice of storing cord blood began over 21 years ago. So it is very possible that the parent who requested cord blood storage at the time of their child's birth is now the parent of an adult.

Even given that, experimental procedures done on unconsenting infants is a very touchy ethical area.
 
jillio said:
Well, that is certainly nothing to get excited about. First clinical trial? Ten infants with acquired loss? Yeah, maybe in the next 50 years we might be seeing results. But given the fact that just recently the most advanced area of using one's own stem cells resulted in rejection, this clinical trial is likely to only result in complications being discovered that were not predicted.

What concerns me more is that there are actually parents out there who are so disturbed by their child's deafness that they would let them be used as an experiment.
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Not to mention that stem cells will prolly only work on autoimmune caused loss, not hearing loss in general. And, yes I am right up there with you jillo.....its so redicilous that there are parents who are so " OH I WANT A CURE" about their child being dhh. Being dhh isn't some horrible tragedy. I see those parents on my listservs...." Oh this is such a horrible thing to happen to my kid?!?!" I really think they need to concentrate on REAL stuff like horrible diseases and stuff like that before even thinking abt curing hearing loss.
 
jillio said:
What concerns me more is that there are actually parents out there who are so disturbed by their child's deafness that they would let them be used as an experiment.
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It disturbed me as well.

I think inablity to learn ASL is a disability so why aren't stem cell tests being conducted on adults who don't know ASL??? (sarcasm)
 
Buffalo said:
It disturbed me as well.

I think inablity to learn ASL is a disability so why aren't stem cell tests being conducted on adults who don't know ASL??? (sarcasm)
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Serious question: if someone were deaf, used ASL, and then suffered a disability concerning their hands and arms (for instance, paralysis after a stroke), how would that person best communicate?

At what point would missing fingers or not being able to move fingers be a disability in ASL? If a finger or two were completely missing (from an accident or a birth defect), would that make it impossible to finger-spell correctly? Or would there be a means of adjusting for it?
 
Seriously? They would adapt. If, for instance, they were missing a finger or two on their right hand, they would simply switch to their left as the dominant and for fingerspelling. If an arm is paralyzed, they switch to one handed signing. Just a couple of examples.
 
I thought a lot of signs needed both hands. Is that not true?

I was just thinking about it because my step-dad was paralyzed (after a stroke) for 11 years, with nearly complete paralysis of one arm and hand. And he wasn't too great with the other hand, but it wasn't paralyzed. Unfortunately he was right-handed and was paralyzed on the right side, so there were a lot of things that he was very awkward with.

And my dad was missing the tips of some fingers from having been shot in WWII. His fingers weren't completely missing though; his index finger was the worst, down to the stub, but his other damaged fingers were only missing the top knuckle.

I was just thinking about how they might have coped, if they had had to learn ASL. Step-dad would have been far worse off, definitely.
 
Beach girl said:
I thought a lot of signs needed both hands. Is that not true?

I was just thinking about it because my step-dad was paralyzed (after a stroke) for 11 years, with nearly complete paralysis of one arm and hand. And he wasn't too great with the other hand, but it wasn't paralyzed. Unfortunately he was right-handed and was paralyzed on the right side, so there were a lot of things that he was very awkward with.

And my dad was missing the tips of some fingers from having been shot in WWII. His fingers weren't completely missing though; his index finger was the worst, down to the stub, but his other damaged fingers were only missing the top knuckle.

I was just thinking about how they might have coped, if they had had to learn ASL. Step-dad would have been far worse off, definitely.
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A lot of signs are traditionally made 2 handed, but they can be made one handed as needed, and comprehension is not compromised. I sign one handed when I am driving, or if I have something in my other hand, like when I am eating. It is kind of the same principle as someone speaking English and dropping word endings or omitting a syllable. Still understandable.

My dad had the first knuckle of his middle finger (right hand) missing. He learned ASL for my son, and it never interfered with his signing.

My mother had a stroke and suffered aphasia of her spoken language. She would reverse syllables, or leave syllables out, but we could still understand her. Actually the sign language she learned when my son was small came in very handy until her speech skills came back.
 
Beach girl said:
I thought a lot of signs needed both hands. Is that not true?

I was just thinking about it because my step-dad was paralyzed (after a stroke) for 11 years, with nearly complete paralysis of one arm and hand. And he wasn't too great with the other hand, but it wasn't paralyzed. Unfortunately he was right-handed and was paralyzed on the right side, so there were a lot of things that he was very awkward with.

And my dad was missing the tips of some fingers from having been shot in WWII. His fingers weren't completely missing though; his index finger was the worst, down to the stub, but his other damaged fingers were only missing the top knuckle.

I was just thinking about how they might have coped, if they had had to learn ASL. Step-dad would have been far worse off, definitely.
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No, not always need to have two hands, actually. I mostly rely on my dominant right-handed if I hold something in my left hand. It is same thing as I would with my left hand. One hand or two hands, I still can sign well.
 
Beach girl said:
I thought a lot of signs needed both hands. Is that not true?

I was just thinking about it because my step-dad was paralyzed (after a stroke) for 11 years, with nearly complete paralysis of one arm and hand. And he wasn't too great with the other hand, but it wasn't paralyzed. Unfortunately he was right-handed and was paralyzed on the right side, so there were a lot of things that he was very awkward with.

And my dad was missing the tips of some fingers from having been shot in WWII. His fingers weren't completely missing though; his index finger was the worst, down to the stub, but his other damaged fingers were only missing the top knuckle.

I was just thinking about how they might have coped, if they had had to learn ASL. Step-dad would have been far worse off, definitely.
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I meet a Deaf guy that has no fingers and I can understand him.
 
jillio said:
My mother had a stroke and suffered aphasia of her spoken language. She would reverse syllables, or leave syllables out, but we could still understand her. Actually the sign language she learned when my son was small came in very handy until her speech skills came back.
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I wish people would heed this and learn ASL for their benefits (and the Deaf people).

Your son is one lucky guy!
 
How does he sign?

(That question is in response to the man who has no fingers.)
 
Buffalo said:
He signed. From where he put his hands and mouth the words, I can understand him.
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Yeah, it is as much about hand placement and movement as fingers making a handshape. I mean, how many people do you know that fingerspell but only half way form a letter, but you can still understand what they are spelling? I know a bunch of them. And once you start signing fluently, it isn't like you are so precise as when you first start. For instance, the sign for "son" is supposed to be "boy" + "baby". But when I sign it in conversation, I don't make the full sign for boy. I just touch my forehead with a five hand and swing it down into the "baby" sign. But I don't have a problem with anyone understanding what I was signing. I think we all do many signs like that, just like people who speak don't concentrate on exact pronunciation all the time.
 
jillio said:
Seriously? They would adapt. If, for instance, they were missing a finger or two on their right hand, they would simply switch to their left as the dominant and for fingerspelling. If an arm is paralyzed, they switch to one handed signing. Just a couple of examples.
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yeah, like my niece Laura. My brother shut the patio door very hard and he didn't realize that his daughter's hand was in the gap and he cut off the tip of her index finger. They tried to reattach it but it didn't take. For a very long time after that, he could not look at my niece's hand and she always hid it at dinner time.
 
faire_jour said:
Wirelessly posted

so, it is actually finally happening! Guess deafdude wasn't so crazy after all! I read about a study that they are doing with infants who have a hearing loss (not genetic) and who have banked cord blood.

i was astounded when i read about it. I really had no idea that they were that far along.
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I can't believe what I'm reading. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
 
My good friend lost his arm during his college year in an car accident. Thank god he's ok. He continues to keep going on, signing one arm, and one hand, only 5 fingers. I understand him fine with one arm. He did not lose his facial expression or body language or mouth movement.
 
Beach girl said:
I thought a lot of signs needed both hands. Is that not true?

I was just thinking about it because my step-dad was paralyzed (after a stroke) for 11 years, with nearly complete paralysis of one arm and hand. And he wasn't too great with the other hand, but it wasn't paralyzed. Unfortunately he was right-handed and was paralyzed on the right side, so there were a lot of things that he was very awkward with.

And my dad was missing the tips of some fingers from having been shot in WWII. His fingers weren't completely missing though; his index finger was the worst, down to the stub, but his other damaged fingers were only missing the top knuckle.

I was just thinking about how they might have coped, if they had had to learn ASL. Step-dad would have been far worse off, definitely.
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I know one deaf guy who only has one arm. No problem communicating with him using ASL.
 
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