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Boys opt for cochlear implants | old, boys, tune - Sound decision - Jacksonville Illinois News and Information Jacksonville Journal Courier
It was a regular tune-up but 9-year-old Trystan Mort had his audiologist in tears — he was hearing so well.
Trystan and his brother Taylor are deaf, but the two had cochlear implants in mid-February — a surgery that is somewhat controversial in the deaf community.
A cochlear implant consists of two parts. The first is a magnetic implant screwed onto the inside of the skull that shoots electrodes into the cochlea. The second is a piece that hooks behind the back of the ear.
Personal choice
The boys told their mother, Jennifer Mort, last summer that they wanted cochlear implants to speak more clearly. They make sounds and use hearing aids but are severely limited in speech.
She was adamant at first about not having her boys implanted, especially because the family moved to Jacksonville from the Quad Cities six years ago when they learned that the boys were deaf.
After attending an Illinois School for the Deaf summer camp, Jennifer Mort realized there was no better place for her boys to grow and develop than in Jacksonville.
Bob Dramin, Illinois School for the Deaf American Sign Language instructor, was strongly opposed to cochlear implants at one time but said his only concern was the boys’ reasons for wanting the implant.
“My first answer was do you really want it?” he said.
The boys told Dramin they wanted to be like their hearing brother.
“It’s sad to see and I hate to see that age getting a cochlear implant because there wasn’t much explanation,” Dramin said.
Dramin’s opinion is in line with the position of the National Association of the Deaf on cochlear implants, which supports the wellness model of the deaf and encourages people to understand the majority of deaf people who have successfully adjusted to life, have healthy personalities and reach high levels of functioning without the benefits of hearing aids, cochlear implants or other devices.
The boys will continue school at Illinois School for the Deaf and interact with their friends who are deaf, Jennifer Mort said.
“Nobody’s really said anything,” Jennifer Mort said. “I don’t think it’s really that deaf people are against it. I think it’s your personal choice.”
The deaf community is also concerned that infants and young children who receive implants may struggle with identity issues as they mature, trying to figure if their cultural roles are in the deaf or hearing community. The hope among the deaf is that these children don’t feel ashamed or broken because of their deafness.
“You’re supposed to be proud of yourself and I’m proud of myself for being deaf,” said Ariella Dramin, 13, a fourth-generation deaf individual who chooses not to use hearing aids or receive a cochlear implant.
The deciding factor
What persuaded Jennifer Mort was the success of 3-year-old Colin Kuhn.
Kuhn spent the first two years of his life in a Russian orphanage and was completely low-functioning when adopted, unable to feed himself and lacking basic communication skills.
Craig and Angie Kuhn decided to implant Colin to ensure he had every opportunity to develop and succeed as a child.
“I want Colin to be able to read,” Angie Kuhn said. “We’re not hurting anything if Colin has well established English language skills when he’s adult.”
The implant has jump-started Colin by stimulating his brain and enabling him to develop his sign and language communication skills at a faster pace.
Craig and Angie Kuhn attribute this success to their constant effort to work both in sign and in speech, as Angie Kuhn is principal of the Illinois School for the Deaf high school and Craig Kuhn, who is deaf, is the American Sign Language coordinator.
The deaf community wants the assurance that parents and children realize that a cochlear implant is not a cure to deafness. The implant transmits the sensation of sound to the brain around a person’s damaged cochlea. When the boys remove it to take a shower or swim or go down a slide, they are still deaf.
A new sound
On the downtown square for the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the boys excitedly indicated they could hear the fire trucks approaching, a sound they don’t usually pick up with their hearing aids.
It’s been about seven years since Jennifer Mort first found out Taylor and Trystan were deaf, but seeing their reactions to new sounds has made the implant something good.
The Federal Food and Drug Administration has listed more risk factors to the implant than advantages, including the possibility of losing what residual hearing a person may have, but the Morts decided to implant the sides of their brains where they have the least amount of hearing to avoid that.
The boys increased speech therapy at Illinois School for the Deaf to three times a week and started therapy in Springfield once a week. The boys have to learn the language, which is not immediate, but Jennifer Mort can already understand their words a little better, she said.
“Just me being able to yell their names and not have to stomp on the floor and clap my hands to have them turn around — and then for them to know it was I who called them — is amazing enough,” Jennifer Mort said. “I love them regardless if they’re deaf or not, but it’s been a long road.”
It was a regular tune-up but 9-year-old Trystan Mort had his audiologist in tears — he was hearing so well.
Trystan and his brother Taylor are deaf, but the two had cochlear implants in mid-February — a surgery that is somewhat controversial in the deaf community.
A cochlear implant consists of two parts. The first is a magnetic implant screwed onto the inside of the skull that shoots electrodes into the cochlea. The second is a piece that hooks behind the back of the ear.
Personal choice
The boys told their mother, Jennifer Mort, last summer that they wanted cochlear implants to speak more clearly. They make sounds and use hearing aids but are severely limited in speech.
She was adamant at first about not having her boys implanted, especially because the family moved to Jacksonville from the Quad Cities six years ago when they learned that the boys were deaf.
After attending an Illinois School for the Deaf summer camp, Jennifer Mort realized there was no better place for her boys to grow and develop than in Jacksonville.
Bob Dramin, Illinois School for the Deaf American Sign Language instructor, was strongly opposed to cochlear implants at one time but said his only concern was the boys’ reasons for wanting the implant.
“My first answer was do you really want it?” he said.
The boys told Dramin they wanted to be like their hearing brother.
“It’s sad to see and I hate to see that age getting a cochlear implant because there wasn’t much explanation,” Dramin said.
Dramin’s opinion is in line with the position of the National Association of the Deaf on cochlear implants, which supports the wellness model of the deaf and encourages people to understand the majority of deaf people who have successfully adjusted to life, have healthy personalities and reach high levels of functioning without the benefits of hearing aids, cochlear implants or other devices.
The boys will continue school at Illinois School for the Deaf and interact with their friends who are deaf, Jennifer Mort said.
“Nobody’s really said anything,” Jennifer Mort said. “I don’t think it’s really that deaf people are against it. I think it’s your personal choice.”
The deaf community is also concerned that infants and young children who receive implants may struggle with identity issues as they mature, trying to figure if their cultural roles are in the deaf or hearing community. The hope among the deaf is that these children don’t feel ashamed or broken because of their deafness.
“You’re supposed to be proud of yourself and I’m proud of myself for being deaf,” said Ariella Dramin, 13, a fourth-generation deaf individual who chooses not to use hearing aids or receive a cochlear implant.
The deciding factor
What persuaded Jennifer Mort was the success of 3-year-old Colin Kuhn.
Kuhn spent the first two years of his life in a Russian orphanage and was completely low-functioning when adopted, unable to feed himself and lacking basic communication skills.
Craig and Angie Kuhn decided to implant Colin to ensure he had every opportunity to develop and succeed as a child.
“I want Colin to be able to read,” Angie Kuhn said. “We’re not hurting anything if Colin has well established English language skills when he’s adult.”
The implant has jump-started Colin by stimulating his brain and enabling him to develop his sign and language communication skills at a faster pace.
Craig and Angie Kuhn attribute this success to their constant effort to work both in sign and in speech, as Angie Kuhn is principal of the Illinois School for the Deaf high school and Craig Kuhn, who is deaf, is the American Sign Language coordinator.
The deaf community wants the assurance that parents and children realize that a cochlear implant is not a cure to deafness. The implant transmits the sensation of sound to the brain around a person’s damaged cochlea. When the boys remove it to take a shower or swim or go down a slide, they are still deaf.
A new sound
On the downtown square for the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the boys excitedly indicated they could hear the fire trucks approaching, a sound they don’t usually pick up with their hearing aids.
It’s been about seven years since Jennifer Mort first found out Taylor and Trystan were deaf, but seeing their reactions to new sounds has made the implant something good.
The Federal Food and Drug Administration has listed more risk factors to the implant than advantages, including the possibility of losing what residual hearing a person may have, but the Morts decided to implant the sides of their brains where they have the least amount of hearing to avoid that.
The boys increased speech therapy at Illinois School for the Deaf to three times a week and started therapy in Springfield once a week. The boys have to learn the language, which is not immediate, but Jennifer Mort can already understand their words a little better, she said.
“Just me being able to yell their names and not have to stomp on the floor and clap my hands to have them turn around — and then for them to know it was I who called them — is amazing enough,” Jennifer Mort said. “I love them regardless if they’re deaf or not, but it’s been a long road.”
Half.com ....didn't know that one...
