jillio
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My post concerned profoundly deaf children that cannot hear within the speech banana when amplified - meaning children that would sit in class not hearing a large portion of what is going on (like yourself).
Actually, I am surprised to hear what you went through. If I find that my son will not benefit from cochlear implants he will be enrolled in an aggressive ASL program immediately. I would never consider for a second having him go through his education not hearing 90% of what was going on. No offense to you or your parents.
My point remains that whether you choose to have your child implanted, or you choose not to, you are still making a choice for that child. Many opinions I have read insinuate that parents should allow the child to choose, and that's really not realistic as the choice to not develop their speech is made by not having the child implanted, and the choice to put a device in their head is made by having them implanted. It is impossible to know for sure what the child will want 15 years down the road.
My view is to allow the speech (and reading and all other learning) to be developed as much as possible, and if they later do not wish to use an implant they never have to wear it again.
I had never considered that some parents took a middle road for profoundly deaf kids who can't fully participate with hearing aids and did not decide to help the child develop sign language, and did not decide to have them implanted. I can't believe that happens.
Why not expose him to an ASL program prior to even deciding if the CI is going to work? You MUST remember, CI does not "cure" deafness. It simply gives you a child who is deaf with a CI. A CI is merely a more technologically advanced amplification devise, in the same way that a digital HA is more tecnologically advanced than analog. While you are waiting to find out if the CI works, you are creating an language deprived environment for the child. To mirror your question, "How fair is that?"