I'm just curious to peoples view points on the matter.
I personally think its up to the person to decide whether or not its right for them. Some people think it'll change them and they wont belong to either the 'hearing' world or the deaf one, and others think there's no reason not to get them.
The difficulty with the person deciding for him or herself, though, is that it's supposed to be more effective for infants and young children. Thus it's on their parents to decide. I don't know whether I think they should do it or not. It's such a hard choice to make. I guess that in a perfect world, the child would be able to belong to both worlds.
In grade school I learned there's a difference between fact & opinion. Some folks didn't.
Deaf culture is well established in many cities (and indeed in many smaller communitys) these days so no parent should feel that their child will be disadvantaged because they do not "Participate fully in a hearing world" - as long as the parents can establish their family in one of these areas so that their child can access all of the benefits of that culture.
The educational needs of children with hearing loss are much better addressed these days (though we hearing still have a long way to go before we meet the deaf half way.) It could be argued that it is the hearing who do not participate fully in a deaf world - when a deaf person can read lips, who is it that has the trouble communicating? The hearing person knows only their half of the conversation, but the deaf person knows both.
I would not be likely to choose a different race or colour of skin for my child on the basis that another would be better over all. I would not choose one sex over another. And I would not choose an implant for my child that would alienate them from the deaf community. I would do everything I could do in order to become accepted as a hearing parent within the deaf culture.
I am a parent that decided to implant my child because he was too young to make that decision for himself. I feel my husband and I made the best decision based on our situation. In one year with therapy and the support of his family (which is critical during this process) our son went from being almost completely non verbal to speaking very well and making straight A's and he is now at grade level with his piers. I would like to think that he will be accepted by everyone, why wouldn't he? We live in a country with many races, disabilities, genders, etc. so why would this be any different? He goes to public school and has a lot of friends and although he is in a mainstreamed classroom with hearing children we know children that are deaf and he is accepted by them and their families as well. We made our decision based on a lot of reasons but not to separate him from the deaf community. If someone rejected my son because he is different well then I don't think that is someone he would need in his life anyway. He wasn't born deaf it happened progressively and we wanted him to continue to enjoy things like music and listening to us read him a story like he did before he went deaf. Being implanted is a personal choice and I understand it isn't right for everyone. Bottom line is you don't know what it's like to have to make a decision like this until it's staring you in the face and trust me it isn't easy. When I look at my son I know I made the right decision. I've come to realize your never going to please everyone, there will always be those judging you and the decisions you make. I would never condemn anyone for deciding against being implanted. I hope my son and our family will get the same respect from others.
shareYeah, i think getting implants for a child makes tons of sense. That is up to the parents, of course. But hearing people tend to think everyone wants to hear, and that not having that ability makes you different and an outsider, which isn't true. I also see the side that a parent might be against it, because the child will always feel there was something wrong with them that had to be fixed and they had no control over.
i love one of marlee matlins quotes that goes like "the disability is not in the ear, its in the mind".
i like what someone else said about how hearing people are the ones with communication 'problems'. Deaf people are forced to learn to adapt and survive in a hearing world, yet the hearing do nothing to meet them half way. Hopefully that changes.
i can't wait to see the arguments in this movie about the issue and what they ultimately decide in the end.
cul265: That was so well put and so deeply moving. I am so glad you took the time to write it.
Maybe your son's generation will be more accepting of new technologies and less concerned that these inventions might damage the established deaf culture that developed in their absence. Clearly, your family has made the right decision for your boy. I agree completely that music and the sound of a parent's voice reading a story are sounds that have no equal in a young person's life.
bmbmbb-
cul265: That was so well put and so deeply moving. I am so glad you took the time to write it.
Maybe your son's generation will be more accepting of new technologies and less concerned that these inventions might damage the established deaf culture that developed in their absence. Clearly, your family has made the right decision for your boy. I agree completely that music and the sound of a parent's voice reading a story are sounds that have no equal in a young person's life.
Thank you :) I too hope my son's generation will be more accepting. So far it appears that is the case. Aside from one brief incident in Wal-mart that thankfully my son was unaware of, we have yet to meet someone who is against the decision to implant. Most people have the same attitude on the issue; whatever best suits your particular situation. Hopefully people will continue to have an open mind and realize there is no right or wrong.
Frankly, I think that any parent that would strive to ensure that their child would continue to live without being able to hear should be sued for negligence. The deaf culture may be a great thing, but I'm not going to jab ice picks into my sons ears to ensure that he joins it. By not providing something that could enable him to enjoy the full emotional range of movies, music, and all the other auditory miracles the world has to offer, to me, that's the same damn thing.
I am honestly on the fence on the cochlear implant issue. Not because I don't want to chose sides but it is hard to chose.
I have an uncle who as a child got pheumonia and lost some hearing. He used a hearing aid and as an adult his hearing became even worse. Being born in the early 1940s, he wasn't thought of as deaf nor was he considered hearing. He was trapped between both worlds. In his 50s, he was a test patient for the implant. He doesn't have perfect hearing but it is MUCH better. For him, yes it was the best thing he could do and I am glad he did.
For the other side of the fence. His youngest sister was born deaf, married a deaf man and had two deaf children. All of them wear hearing aides, lip read, and sign. I cannot imagine any of them with the implant. Their deafness if you will is part of who they are. I would not want to take that away from them. They don't want to lose that part of their lives or their identity. I grew up with deaf people, learned sign language, and now teach my 4 year old niece how to sign.
For one member of my family it was the best thing that ever happened but then he was not born deaf. The others would never get one.
Just a side note. . . one of my deaf cousins, Russell Harvard, guest starred with Marlee Matlin on an episode of CSI:NY in 2006. The episode was about the implant. This past Christmas he had a brief appearance on Their Will Be Blood as the elder version of DDL's son. Being deaf is not slowing down my cousin. Check out his imdb page.
I would say that it's a very personal decision, because I would venture to say that many deaf people are quite content as they are and wouldn't want the implant, while there are probably just as many who would jump at the chance for an implant.
As someone who was born hearing and lost part of my hearing through illness as a teenager (I'm 23 and I'm unilaterally deaf, meaning that I only hear with one ear), I would personally like to be able to get an implant, because of the difficulties that come with becoming hard-of-hearing at an older age, but unfortunately, my hearing loss is caused by nerve damage, so a cochlear implant would be useless for me. If I was able to use one, though, I would very seriously consider getting one to improve my quality of life.
But that's just me, I'm sure everyone has a different opinion on the matter,
-Becka :)
"After all this time?"
"Always."
Well let me start off saying I don't believe there is a wrong or right answer. Each person needs to decide for their own as the decision is discerned. I am a hearing man who married a deaf wife who got a cochlear implant when she was 12, and she wanted it. It's a personal thing. You can get the CI and not use it if you would like. It's not on all the time (if you choose).
I DO think our society should become more adaptive to deaf people and hard of hearing. I live in Central IA and I've only been to one theater in IA that has Open Caption, and that was only one movie in a theater of 20. I guess that's why allot of deaf people get the CI, because of things like that. I believe that's why my wife wanted it.
But hey, it is a personal belief. I totally respect the deaf people who don't want it. God doesn't judge you on your deafness, hearing, CI's or No CI's. He simply made you, you:)
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I agree with Blackavar-bunnie. I find it understandable that a culture would develop around a disability as long as the disability can not be cured, but once a treatment becomes available, people should have the right to it.
Are the opponents of the cochlear implant against other cultural change as well, even when the proposed change is obviously an improvement?
Personally, it would be a very tough decision - as said in the movie, just because the surgery is performed, that does not mean the person returns to normal hearing...
In reality, it's a long road to even achieve a partial success, but, the bigger problem is the loss of identity to deaf culture, especially (as in the film) if there are other family members who are also deaf...
I think the decision would be easier if it were surgery that allowed for a person to walk or see again, but, even then, there are social adjustments or losses that will take place, since the person is likely to leave behind the groups they formally were close to and associated with...
However, Biblically, Jesus did desire to (and did) heal those who could not hear (both physically and in less tangible ways), so, that is something to think about...
i am definitely for a cochlear unless the kid is strongly against it. later on in life i can never imagine a kid saying y did u let me hear again instead of y didnt u take the chance for me to hear again. i know it might not even work for ever but i think its a risk that people should take. but if both parents are against it and the kid doesnt really care either way then of course they should not do it. so i think it mostly depends on the situation and how everybody in that situation feels about it.
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