[wordup] Why are some parents against cochlear implants for their children?

[Adam Shand]

I like it when I come across a something I previously knew nothing about.  Fascinating question and answer.

Adam.

Source: http://www.quora.com/Why-are-some-parents-against-cochlear-implants-for-their-children

## Cochlear Implants for the deaf are becoming more advanced and more mainstream for young children. Why are some parents still against this technology?

I have heard that especially deaf parents with deaf children are against the CI. They are afraid that their deaf child will forget their deaf culture. If most young children are implanted in the future, the deaf culture may become extinct eventually, which makes many deaf adults sad and scared.

CI proponents say that deaf families who choose not to utilize a CI are committing child abuse by not giving their child all of the opportunities possible to live a full life. The argument is splitting up families.

If your child was born deaf and already knew how to sign, would you want them to try the CI? Would you feel differently if you were also deaf?
  
## Answer by Cristina Hartmann

I hope I'll be able to offer a unique perspective that explains why the Deaf community resents CIs.

Let me establish my background and knowledge of Cochlear Implants (CIs) and the Deaf culture. 

I was born profoundly deaf in the early 1980s, so I learned ASL as my first language. Mind you, this is not as easy as it sounds. My family and I went to classes when I was 6 months old. I needed individual tutoring in the language daily because my family wasn't fluent. Of course they weren't fluent. My family is like a large majority of deaf children's parents: hearing. 

In 1990, I got a CI as one of the first pediatric candidates. I embarked on a 10-year journey of learning speech and listening. (Not as fun as it sounds.) Eventually, I managed to speak and listen well enough to get along in the hearing world. It's not perfect, but it'll do.

So, I'm one of the relatively rare few who can get along in both worlds: the Deaf and the hearing. I'm very happy with this state, but I think I'm a disappearing minority. Why?

A large majority of hearing parents will not learn ASL.

ASL isn't an easy language to learn. It has its own syntax and grammar. Learning later in life is a grinding, difficult process. You don't take a few classes and shazbam, you're fluent. It takes years and immersion to truly learn ASL.

ASL is a beautiful language, but doesn't mean it's easy.

Hearing parents have little incentive to learn ASL if they have a child with a CI. If the child is implanted early, the child can learn speech almost just as well as he or she can learn ASL. This way, the parents don't have to take classes and have individual instructions like my parents did. (Note: my parents are immigrants, so it was doubly hard for them to learn a third language on top of English.)

Plus, at this point, a child with a CI still needs speech therapy. That takes time ane effort. To add ASL instruction to the to-do list of a busy family? I don't think so. 

Matt Hall is correct that many experts advocate an oral-only method of teaching deaf children with CIs. I'm a living example that it can be done differently. I learned speech while I used an ASL interpreter at school. I, however, understand why the experts advocate this method. You need to compartmentalize the two languages. Nobody should sign and speak at the same time if they want to master either language. ASL has a different syntax than English, so you wouldn't get much benefit. (This is my opinion, not an expert opinion.)

On a personal note. Once I got my CI, my family basically stopped learning ASL. My sister can only fingerspell. My dad can barely sign anything anymore. My mom knows a good amount, but it's nowhere near fluency. My point is that people will take the path of least resistance. Dual language acquisition is a path of many obstacles. 

Not only is ASL acquisition a logistical nightmare, it's a cultural obstacle. Every parent wants to share a culture with their children. Having the child participate in the Deaf community can feel like cultural abandonment to many hearing parents (consciously or subconsciously). You are no longer the primary cultural influence in your child's life; the Deaf community is. 

ASL anchors the entire Deaf community.

Without ASL, there is no Deaf community. We band together not because of our "hearing loss" but because of a common language. 

Like English, Bengali, French, ASL informs the cultural underpinnings of the Deaf community. Deaf history shows the importance of ASL to Deaf people. It's not something we'll give up easily and gladly. 

In the 1800s and early 1900s, many educators tried to eradicate ASL in favor of oralism. They wanted to assimilate deaf people into the "mainstream" community. Many deaf people suffered because of this. They received marginal education because they couldn't understand the spoken language. One of the older deaf men that I knew in my childhood couldn't get a job better than a janitor because he received no valuable education from his oral school They just tried to teach him how to talk, to no avail.  

Amidst all of this, a vibrant community emerged. People would converge at Deaf schools and churches just for a chance to use their own language with someone else. A feeling of kinship grew in face of oppression. (Yes, trying to abolish a language and forcibly integrate people is oppression.) 

Many Deaf people throughout history fought very hard for the right to sign and live on their own terms. One example is the Gallaudet protests of the 1980s. The thought that this hard-earned culture will disappear because parents don't want to learn ASL sparks abject fear and anger in many Deaf people.

And why not? Wouldn't you be angry if someone told you that your culture is outdated and irrelevant now?

Deaf parents are like hearing parents. They want to pass on their culture to their children. Not child abuse, I think. 

The Deaf Community serves as a vibrant, engaging culture that provides a safe space for Deaf people. 

Whenever I meet a Deaf person, we spend a good chunk of time just talking. Regardless of socioeconomic class, race, ethnicity or region background, we find kinship. Because of my Deafness, I have friends from all over the world, all kinds of backgrounds.

How many cultures can say that? 

I'm fully prepared to be one of the last few people who can walk into both worlds--hearing or deaf--but it grieves me. The Deaf culture has shaped me for the better, not for the worse. I just hope it doesn't disappear in my lifetime. 

Why does it grieve me? When all is said and done, the hearing world still sees me as somewhat defective. The Deaf community doesn't. 

In the Deaf culture, unlike the hearing world, I'm just as good as everyone else. I'm a true equal. I can't say that about the hearing world. Most hearing people see me as "missing something" and feel sorry for me. Pity is the last thing I want. Deaf culture doesn't pity people like me, it values people like me.

Unfortunately, that'll disappear someday because of technology. Just remember, at this point, a CI cannot replace natural hearing. Until then, deaf children with CIs will still be at a disadvantage, but they may not have a Deaf culture to fall back on if they want.

Perhaps the eradiction of Deafness as we know it will benefit society, but it saddens me to think that people like me will never exist in the future. Ah well.

Just for everyone's edification, I would teach my deaf children ASL and give them a CI. The world is a harsh one for the disabled, but I'd want to pass on a bit of my own language.

Addendum: I don't intend this answer to encourage or discourage parents to implant their child. I believe strongly that it is the parents' decision (hopefully well-informed). That, of course, goes both ways. That's the price of individual freedom; people will do things that we disagree with. C'est la vie.