Cochlear implant technology has enabled a whole new generation of deaf people enabling them the ability to speak, listen and understand the spoken word, and acquire a language. Below are two split videos of a documentary of deaf children who were outfitted with cochlear implants while very young. They were interviewed later on in life as pre-teens and teenagers and talking to them, you wouldn't know they were deaf. These group of deaf people are the next upcoming crop of new generation of deaf people with cochlear implants.
In the documentary, those children and teens are from Australia where all of them grew up with all of the inflection, pitch and intonation in their voices with an apparent Australian accent. When that happens you know for fact that early intervention works and that cochlear implant provides that very access to a world of speaking and listening, and spoken language acquisition. For parents of deaf babies to watch this documentary would prove to be powerfully insightful and full of hope for them that anything else wouldn't be anywhere near as convincing. This documentary points out that cochlear implants do work and that early intervention is the most important key of them all because of the brain's early plasticity development. Parents would be the glue to make it all work.
Be sure to watch all of the video documentary before commenting so that you can be properly informed on what was covered in the video.
Part I
http://youtu.be/0lmCuyrgc80
Part II
http://youtu.be/ttd2l9J9oqE
When I watched that documentary I was simply amazed at the children and teens' voices and I could actually hear their full inflection, pitch and intonation of their accented (Australian) voices as opposed to hearing American kids with cochlear implants (they do just as well, btw). The difference was hearing their Australian accent vs American accent. Which means one thing, cochlear implant does work even to capture the accent of their (hearing) native spoken language. Not only just speaking but listening as well. The boy with the rocket ship doesn't need to look at his teachers' mouth (i.e. lip reading) to have a conversation. He even understood the electronic voice in the space rocket announcing a countdown (5, 4, 3, 2, 1...blast off!) and the boy would hear that and lifts the rocket up.
Early intervention is the key and parental involvement must play a huge role in this. Not doing those things would simply be left to chance. All this is from an aural and oral development point of view I acknowledge readily. I still see that signing such as SEE, SE, PSE or ASL can play an important role for deaf and hard of hearing children although perhaps in some areas not as critical to others (e.g. profoundly deaf vs those with mild hearing loss at 30 db). It's simply up to parents to make an *informed decision* before moving forward. And we must accept those parents' decisions. The decision does not rest with anyone else. Yet this documentary video will prove to be compelling to parents of deaf babies by providing them the biggest hope and a confirmation that it does work. How can you compete with that when it comes to speaking and listening development?
Friday, June 17, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
Parental choice is an paramount right, I just wish some areas would accept that.. You can't deny an child a chance if it is there. They say Australia is CI central in the world don't they ?
What would you do about deaf children who could not be achieved by this, then this would be too late. Training to talk and listen takes time and should be used only as a tool. Listening/speaking is not a quick process. Because of brain's early plasticity development is very important, give a natural visual language. A deaf child is born visually. Signed language is their natural mode.
Early intervention is the key. Parent should be informed that ASL is as important. ASL is D/deaf generation.
I have seen you using ASL, while you speak. I wonder why you bother to learn or know ASL?
Shirley~
I wouldn't do anything, Shirley. It's a parental informed decision.
I learned sign language because I was curious. What else? It's not like I have a need for sign language but it's good know that I'm fluent in it.
Let me rephrase that. Parents need to be informed of ALL options. I've outlined the requirements from parents when involving their deaf children and early intervention.
Interesting video. I agree that the CI makes a huge difference in those deaf children's lives but what I dislike about the video is that the mother didn't bother to learn to sign to her daughter who missed language for 4 years till she received a CI! Also, the interviewer commented that Jack could become a lawyer as he has a CI but it s a myth. A lot of deaf people could become professionals such as lawyers, doctors, etc. without CI. My child has CIs and has been doing very well at regular school without an interpreter. It s amazing!
GAO report states that early language acquisition is critical and it can be either signed or spoken. Or both if applicable. So, parents do have that choice.
MM is right, parental choice is a paramount right, in America we say it is their fundamental right and the supreme court recognizes that right.
anony @ 11:46 PM
Here's a story of one person who is an attorney and wears a cochlear implant.
http://www.masslive.com/metroeastplus/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-1/114172383014790.xml&coll=1
We're in a technological world filled with services such as FM and CART with or without a CI. The point of it all in that documentary is the early intervention for CI carries a greater potential for success.
It has been shown repeatedly in studies that early intervention ties with the early and quick brain development (i.e. plasticity) on listening and speaking once you have access to the auditory cortex. And, yes, it certainly does become a quick process. The key, as I said repeatedly before is early intervention. That helps speed up the process when it comes to listening and speaking. For a deaf or hh baby/child, this can be provided with a hearing aid or cochlear implant.
There is no way to get around the brain's early rapid development. Either you take the opportunity then or your lose that huge edge forever.
I think with early intervention deaf/hh children can benefit from both CI and sign language (or HA and sign language). But again, as long as parents make an informed decision I have no problem with that. If they choose AVT and parents are intimately involved, so be it as long as they made the effort in making that informed decision. AVT plus signing? Sure. ASL plus oral? Sure. SEE and oral? Sure. ASL only? Sure. CI? Sure. And so on.
Post a Comment