As a parent, my belief is that it is the parent's perogative to make decisions for their own child as any good parent knows and wants what is best for their child. No one knows the child like the parents. When I was a child, my parents did the best they could for me from the information given them. I think the issue here is that we are reliant on how much we are informed as to what choices we make. It is a matter of educating the public on the issues pertaining to deaf people. It is the professionals in the medical and education fields that short change us, whether intentionally or not ie: Audiologists will only sell you the best hearing aids, medical professionals will only tell you what they can down for you in their field of work. Educators can only offer remedial classes etc. Very few will go beyond their own field of work to refer you to different aspects. This is where the parent needs to piece together all the pieces of the puzzle, receive advice from those who have experienced the reality, and to draw the best solution for their child only after exhausting all the possible outcomes.
The most important of all, is that their child grows to be emotionally and mentality stable and secure dispite what physical challenges they may have. To many of us who are deaf, growing up without the information we have now, 'deaf identity' which includes sign language was a vital missing piece.
I am thankful for the AD forum as it is a means to inform the public of the realities of being deaf drawn from the varying experiences of those who are deaf and who live it.
