As more toddlers get cochlear implants, they face a strange new world

faire_jour said:
Actually, if you read the latest research it says that kids implanted before 12 months don't have language delays. They stay typical with hearing kids.
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is that with or without therapy?

If it with therapy, then what would happen to them without one? What would happen if the audiologist slap on CI on a kid, and told the parent, that's it... she should be able to handle everything on her own like a normal hearing child?
 
Lighthouse77 said:
When they get to school, they are more likely get recommended speech therapy by a teacher. We'll see
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Her oldest is 9 and doing well. He has been mainstremed from pre-k and is a straight A student and loves school.

Sometimes this happens, sometimes not. Each child is different.
 
faire_jour said:
It has happened. There are children given CI's that don't ever have to go to formal therapy. Research shows that if the CI is given before 12 months old, the child can develop speech at the same rate as a hearing child.
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You mean if the CI is given and it's successful. Lets not forget that CI's are not successful all of the time.
 
Lighthouse77 said:
is that with or without therapy?

If it with therapy, then what would happen to them without one?
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Children under 3 don't usually go to formal therapy. Early Intervention comes to their home and teaches the parents how to work with their child. And the kids who do well with EI, "graduate" and don't do regular therapy. They catch up, and are done.
 
no, but most CI center have therapy of their own. And if parents have to work twice as hard with a child with CI than they do with hearing child, that just prove CI is NOT a cure and the child still have some trouble.
 
For the record I think it's great when anybody can benefit from a CI. The reality is that not everyone will benefit and while the success stories can't be denied, neither can the failure stories.
 
Lighthouse77 said:
no, but most CI center have therapy of their own. And if parents have to work twice as hard with a child with CI than they do with hearing child, that just prove CI is NOT a cure and the child still have trouble hearing everything.
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My daughter doesn't have "trouble hearing everything" and neither do the kids in her class. Yes, CI's don't work for everyone, but they do work for many. These kids can hear. They do not lipread or guess. They hear and understand.
 
faire_jour said:
My daughter doesn't have "trouble hearing everything" and neither do the kids in her class. Yes, CI's don't work for everyone, but they do work for many. These kids can hear. They do not lipread or guess. They hear and understand.
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It's great when a CI works and deaf children (and adults) can benefit. As long as nobody is painting an unrealistic picture that a CI will be successful for all and that people realize that you have to be prepared either way.
 
faire_jour said:
My daughter doesn't have "trouble hearing everything" and neither do the kids in her class. Yes, CI's don't work for everyone, but they do work for many. These kids can hear. They do not lipread or guess. They hear and understand.
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if you are that confidence, sent her to mainstream without accommodation or IEP
 
rockdrummer said:
It's great when a CI works and deaf children (and adults) can benefit. As long as nobody is painting an unrealistic picture that a CI will be successful for all and that people realize that you have to be prepared either way.
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I agree with you. There is a variety of ways to benefit, but some people get little or even no benefit.

But I don't think it is fair to say that successful CI users struggle to hear.
 
Lighthouse77 said:
if you are that confidence, sent her to mainstream without accommodation or IEP
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No, because even though she hears well, she is still learning the language. Spoken English is her second language and she is still behind her peers. Just because she hears well doesn't mean she understands yet. I can hear German perfectly, it doesn't mean I understand it.
 
Cochlear implants....

I'm not for or against cochlear implants because I believe everybody do deserve a chance to decide if they can benefit from those implants or not. But why do those doctors insist that deafness can be cured with cochlear implants? Surely cochlear implants aren't the only answer to everything that caused deafness in the children today.

I wear a hearing aid and hear fine with it without any problem. I saw no need for a cochlear implant because I don't have a problem using hearing aids to hear and understand what's going on around me.

The question is... Is it truly absolutely necessary for nearly all of the children to get cochlear implants? Aren't there other alternatives or rather choices the parents can look at? Those things are very expensive, and if the child can't benefit from them, it's a waste of money on the insurance carrier's part to pay for them.
 
Storme said:
Cochlear implants....

I'm not for or against cochlear implants because I believe everybody do deserve a chance to decide if they can benefit from those implants or not. But why do those doctors insist that deafness can be cured with cochlear implants? Surely cochlear implants aren't the only answer to everything that caused deafness in the children today.

I wear a hearing aid and hear fine with it without any problem. I saw no need for a cochlear implant because I don't have a problem using hearing aids to hear and understand what's going on around me.

The question is... Is it truly absolutely necessary for nearly all of the children to get cochlear implants? Aren't there other alternatives or rather choices the parents can look at? Those things are very expensive, and if the child can't benefit from them, it's a waste of money on the insurance carrier's part to pay for them.
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I don't think many parents would put their children through unnecessary surgery if they did not need it. That's why there is CI candiate requirements and testing they have to go through also to see if they would benefit.

Also, deafness is NOT cured by implants, doctors are stupid in believing this :roll:
 
I don't think the doctors were stupid to believe in this hogwash that cochlear implants cure deafness regardless of how the children became deaf. I think they were blinded by the medical benefits of cochlear implants to realize that these implants aren't for everybody. They probably were given money to promote these implants as the only choice for the parents who actually did choose them instead of looking into other alternatives.

CI requirements to become a candidate are moot points when it comes down to actually being able to use the implants once they're put in. I knew a deaf guy many years ago who went through a battery of tests and requirements to become a candidate for the cochlear implants when they first became available. I think in fact he was the first to become a candidate in the state I lived in at the time, but that's a long time ago. He got the implants and had them activated. He heard nothing. They didn't work despite the efforts to amp up the loudness and frequency in order for him to hear reasonably well.

It is the reason to ask if this is necessary for all deaf children (maybe not) to be given cochlear implants? $35,000 per implant (if not for two) isn't cheap, and if the implant doesn't work, that's $35,000 the insurance carrier has to eat.

CI requirements don't always determine whether the person will truly benefit from the implants until after they're put in and activated to see if the choice was worth the trouble or not.
 
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