R2D2
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- Joined
- Dec 15, 2005
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At age 50, my parents wanted me to be "normal" - hence used the latest technology back in th early 60's. Out society is very characterized as being"normal", who wants a disabled child ? My mother still talks as if there is a mircle cure for my hearing loss, hence the parent's today are still looking for the "cure" If you speak differently in your society, then people will notice - "Are you from England ?", "You have an accent", etc. The CI or HA is only a tool to enhance the hearing, not restore hearing. I think that too many parents listen to what the doctors opinion is, "This will make you child better". Ther are many people who are deaf and are doing well, and other who are not. I know people who were led to beleive the CI would help them, and they were disappointed. When you are a child under age three, you don't experience sounds, so an CI may or not help the person - is it because adults know what sounds are, and when they lose the hearing, become upset ?
While I agree that the attitude of normality for normal's sake is wrong, I think that there are parents out there who actually just want to increase their childrens' opportunities in life. My mother wanted me to be able to learn speech, not because she wanted us to be "normal" (she was very unnormal - she had an interracial marriage back in the 1960s), but because she saw it as a helpful skill for access to society at large.