Originally Posted by rick48

Cloggy,

Thanks for your post but I think you are wasting your time attempting to engage in a discussion with her. I have always maintained that you should just consider the source. She does not know me, my wife, who by the way I give all the credit for raising our daughter and finally, she does not know my daughter. All she sees is that my daughter has a ci and is oral so look at some of the conclusions she has drawn:

"...hte oral approach does not benefit the deaf child either educaitonally, socially, or personally...It contiues to have negative consequences for the deaf child, as speech is emphasized over knowledge and education...Oral successes are no more numerous today than they were 100 years ago...Oralist attitudes prometoe the acceptance of oppression for all minority peoples, and are intolerant of diversity..."

The fact is that when my wife and I were considering the implant for our daughter we heard the same basic arguments against the cochlear implant: they do not work, your child will never develop speech with a ci, you are trying to turn your child into a hearing person, you do not love your child, you do not accept your child, what effect will it have upon Deaf Culture, you are trying to cure her deafness, you are being brainwashed by the professionals, etc. Much of the same misinformation that is still out there today.

But we did our research, met with deaf people both pro and con, met with professionals both pro and con, met with ci adults, parents of ci kids and ci kids themselves (although at that time there were not so many) did a lot of soul searching and made a decision that we felt, was with our daughter's best interests in our minds and in our hearts. Mind you too that all our wonderful implant team ever told us was that it might give her some access to sound and at all times emphasized that it was our decision to make and ours alone. I know I am condensing a process that took over a year into a few sentences, so please forgive me but in the end, we chose to give our daughter the benefits and opportunities of the cochlear implant. We knew we had no gurantees.

Our daughter was born into a rather large and extended family who have always loved her unconditionally and we felt it was important that she be given every opportunity to be a part of her family, her neighborhood and her community. We also wanted her to have the best education possible. We chose what we thought was best for her but we have never felt or stated it is the only way for all children or that every child should have a ci. It is a personal decision to be made by the child's parents and it is not our place to comment upon the decision others have made.

For us, the cochlear implant has exceeded all of our hopes and expectations. Our daughter is becoming a young adult (although even we question that at times!) who has unlimited opportunities ahead of her. She has great relationships with her parents, her sister, her grandparents and the rest of her family. An honor student in high school, a dean's list student in college, scholarship winner, multi-sport athlete, works and someone who possesses the most positive outlook about herself and others that I have ever met.

The complete antithesis of the negative stereotype she paints of ci teens and young adults.

So when I think of that in light of the relationship my wife and I enjoy with our daughter, my response to you about someone who says I am "destructive" to society is twofold: a wee bit melodramatic and consider the source.

To me, as I have said before there is no one way to raise any child and while we may have taken different paths we probably all share the same goals and desires for our children. Also, while a ci may not be for everyone, every parent should have the right to consider it as an option for their child.

Sorry, to be so longwinded Cloggy, but I probably have left out half of what I want to say, so let me end it now.

Keep doing what you are doing with Lotte and enjoy the ride!
Regards,
Rick

Originally Posted by Drew's Dad

Rick,

[Sarcasm]You must be mistaken. The over-the-internet diagnosis indicates that your daughter is ruined forever. Despite the fact that you and your wife have raised and lived with your child for years, your oralist, ethnocentric attitudes forever shield your eyes from truly seeing the damage you've done to your daughter. Hopefully one day she'll forgive you, you selfish evil man.

Oh, and before you reply, just know that I've read a lot of books and can use big words that all basically say "I'm right and you're wrong, nanny nanny boo boo." Despite any successes you claim to have had personally, and despite any number of successful children you meet, I'll find any way I can to shoot them down. Period. [/Sarcasm]

Originally Posted by jillio

\Time will tell.

Originally Posted by jillio

Some of the books listed under research are actually non-fiction and some of the books listed under non-fiction are actually research.

Originally Posted by Drew's Dad

Would anyone care to comment on this issue? Is this because of the structure of the language, similar to how Spanish differs from English (i.e. "straw hat" v. "hat of straw")?

I don't wish to hurt anyone's feelings, but I have noticed that some ASL users have a very difficult time writing. Is it because they are writing as ASL sentences are structured while signing, rather than how English is written?

Originally Posted by Boult

oh please specify instead of "some of the books"

Originally Posted by Cloggy

Books & films regarding deafness, deaf culture, history

Research
* "Seeing Voices" by Oliver Sachs - 1990* "Mask of Benevolence" by Harlan Lane - 1993 (The CI-part of the book is really out of date and really not valid any more.)
* "A Journey into the Deaf-World" by Harlan L. Lane, et al - 1996
* "When the mind Hears" by Harlan Lane - 1989
*Vineyar "Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness in Martha's d" by Nora Groce - 1988* "Laurent Clerc - The Story of His Early Years" by Cathryn Carroll - 1991
* "The History of Deaf People" by Per Eriksson - 1993* "Laurant Clerc: The Story of His Early Years" by Cathryn Carroll - 2002* “Psychological Perspectives on Deafness” by Marshark, et.al.
* "Meeting Halfway in American Sign Language" - Bernard Bragg & Jack R. Olson 1994* "A Dictionary of Idioms For the Deaf" - Maxine Tull Boatner, Ph.D. & John Edward Gates, B.D., S.T.M. First Edition reprinted NAD 1969* "Handbook to Service the Deaf and Hard of Hearing - a Bridge to Accessibility" - John W. Adams & Pamela S. Rohring 2004
* "Deaf Heritage" - Jack R. Gannon 1981* "Communicating With Deaf Children" - Edited by Tom Bertling
* "Deaf World - A Historical Reader and Primary Sourcebook" edited by Lois Bragg published 2001


Tjhe above bolded titles are not research. They are nonfiction books.
(Non-)Fiction
* "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson Cullers - 2004
* "Deafening" by Frances Itani - 2003
* “Inside Deaf Culture” by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries(2005).
* “Dancing without Music: Deafness in America” by Beryl L. Benderly (1980).
* “Deaf Like Me” by Thomas Spradley
* “Sound and Sign” by Kathryn Meadows and Hilde Schlesinger* “The Other Side of Silence” by Arden Neisser
* "Whats that Pig Outdoors" by Henry Kisor
* “Deaf Again” by Mark Drolsbaugh.
* “For Hearing People Only” - Matthew Moore
* “The Feel of Silence” by Bonnie Poitras Tucker
* “Train Go Sorry" by Leah Hager
* “Summary of Deaf Hearing Boy” - R.H. Miller
* “Lend Me an Ear: The Temperament, Selection and Training of the Hearing Ear Dog” by Martha Hoffman
* “The Deaf Musicians” by Pete Seeger (also a kids book)

The above bolded book is research.

Movies
* "Sound and Fury" by Josh Aronson and Scott Davidson (Documentary)
* "Mr. Holland's Opus" Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation - 1996 (Film)
* "Children Of A Lesser God" Paramount Home Entertainment - 1986 (Film)
* "Bridge to Silence" - ?

Books and films regarding CI
* "Sound and Fury" by Josh Aronson and Scott Davidson (Documentary)
* "Cecilia's Story Introduction" and "Hearing Your Life " available from by Advance Bionics (Documentary)
* "Jacobs journey" available from Cochlear (Documentary)

(Non-) Fiction
* “Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human” by Michael Chorost - 2006
* “Wired for Sound: A Journey into Hearing” by Beverly Biderman – 1999
* “Cochlear Implants: a Handbook” by Bonnie Poitras Tucker (SoundBytes)
* “Hear Again Back to life with a Cochlear Implant” by Arlene Romo


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Please feel free to copy the list and rearrange the titles under the correct heading......