Cochlear program to give deaf children best start to life

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Smithtr

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The sooner a deaf child receives a hearing aide or cochlear implant, the bigger gains they make in speech and listening.

But it can take many months - vital time for a developing brain - for the implant to be programmed because clinicians cannot rely on feedback from children about the volume.

The Bionics Institute's Professor Colette McKay has been lured back to Australia as a senior veski innovation fellow to continue developing the system that measures the response in the brain to sound.

The $200,000 award over three years - to be announced tonight - will ensure her new bionic hearing technology is developed on home soil.

Prof McKay has spent the past nine years leading the audiology and deafness research group at Manchester University, and she worked with cochlear implant inventor Professor Graeme Clark on the original device.

Prof McKay's program works by using the electrodes already in the implant to measure the response to sound in the hearing part of the brain, rather than in the hearing nerve.

Clinicians will then be able to determine the exact settings for each implant and automatically program them in the clinic.

``There is a very sensitive period very early on in a baby's life where their brain is being tuned to learn language,'' Prof McKay said.

``The earlier deaf children get a hearing aide or cochlear implant, the much better outcome they have in language development.''

This new predictive technology will allow deaf children like six-year-old twins Ben and Lochie Baulch, who received cochlear implants at eight and 10 months of age, to start hearing sooner.

``To get a reliable hearing test for a kid that age is really hard,'' said mum Naomi.

``They can't say; `I can hear that', or drop a marble. You have to spend three weeks training them to turn their head to look at a picture.

``To test if you're hurting them with sound, you have to look for a blink, an intake of breath or body language language to know if you need to knock back the volume.

``Ben would never have spoken without the implant. He heard nothing at all.

``But now they both speak beautifully, they read, they play music like normal little boys.''

The remaining veski awards will be announced by Minster for Innovation, Services and Small Business, Louise Asher, tonight.
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Cochlear program to give deaf children best start to life | News.com.au
 
But now they both speak beautifully, they read, they play music like normal little boys.''
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WHAT?!?!?!? OMG...............normal?!?!? Why is it always about making dhh kids "normal?" Dhh kids, even those who don't hear/have expressive verbal skills are normal!!!!
 
I would surmise "expressive verbal skills" are the results of being "hearing" and having "auditory memory". Explaining how one being "voice off" can effect such-still waiting for a detailed actual explanation.
Does Google know?
 
deafdyke said:
WHAT?!?!?!? OMG...............normal?!?!? Why is it always about making dhh kids "normal?" Dhh kids, even those who don't hear/have expressive verbal skills are normal!!!!
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It is the best thing to let CI users since toddlers to reply this thread and see what they are going to say about it.
 
I think these kinds of lines from the article:

<begin quotes below>

"`But now they both speak beautifully, they read, they play music like normal little boys.''


"There is a very sensitive period very early on in a baby's life where their brain is being tuned to learn language,'' Prof McKay said."

are examples of things that contribute to audism.

and I think the second continues to equate speech with language
 
oh- FF - I didn't see your post! :aw:

Do you think I should ask mods to delete mine?
 
This is such a hard topic. I think the opening quote is worded VERY poorly. Being hearing does NOT make a person normal. I have been around long enough to see that. I could never take a side for a parent but I think if I was a deaf parent I would want to protect my child from getting a cochlear because I think the family bond is very important and even broken families make there own family bonds and communication is important. Again this is IMO but If I were deaf I would want my baby to feel "normal" in his family environment and would not introduce the cochlear. This is such a hot topic I hate to touch it but the thread is there so I figured I would just put my 2 cents in.
Thanks,
Noob:)
 
Taken from the article...

``Ben would never have spoken without the implant. He heard nothing at all."

That is ****ING BULLSHIT!!! What a lie! Deaf people without implants were able to develop speech skills.

Stupid f***** liars.
 
ahh, think it worked out though, FF:wave:
:ty:for your reply

Shel, I totally missed that line you reference- that sucks!
 
Presumably contingent when a person become DEAF. Prelingual with NO auditory memory possible to "develop speech skills?
 
shel90 said:
Taken from the article...

``Ben would never have spoken without the implant. He heard nothing at all."

That is ****ING BULLSHIT!!! What a lie! Deaf people without implants were able to develop speech skills.

Stupid f***** liars.
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Exactly...many deaf people were able to do that with hearing aids........
 
shel90 said:
Taken from the article...

``Ben would never have spoken without the implant. He heard nothing at all."

That is ****ING BULLSHIT!!! What a lie! Deaf people without implants were able to develop speech skills.

Stupid f***** liars.
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but then again, who cares? if he can speak or not, isn't sign more important?? why get upset ,indeed of they talk bollocks..but getting upset about something that we already know speech isn't that important...
sorry I'm just trying to remind of a different way of reacting, that way, WE are stronger because we don't fall to 'double standards' to which they (audists/proCI/pro-speak) pokes 'fun' in our logical 'holes'...
just saying
 
Grummer said:
but then again, who cares? if he can speak or not, isn't sign more important?? why get upset ,indeed of they talk bollocks..but getting upset about something that we already know speech isn't that important...
sorry I'm just trying to remind of a different way of reacting, that way, WE are stronger because we don't fall to 'double standards' to which they (audists/proCI/pro-speak) pokes 'fun' in our logical 'holes'...
just saying
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I know some Kids who are deaf or hoh who have no knowledges with Deaf community. Hearing people hold out on the information from the Deaf community and make sure the (deaf or hoh) kids need to function in the hearing world. THAT IS SO CRUEL. Losing hearing has no life then THAT IS PURE BULLSHIT! We Deafies have awesome life, and can function everything. Hearing is purpose to listen by communicating as necessary BUT ASL TOO! Music is no necessary but why not. ASL does have visual music too! lots of hearing kids got hit by trains or cars or etc. What a waste for having to hear for what. Once you have hearing, then losing hearing that leads to a doom time! NOT ME.
 
shel90 said:
Taken from the article...

``Ben would never have spoken without the implant. He heard nothing at all."

That is ****ING BULLSHIT!!! What a lie! Deaf people without implants were able to develop speech skills.

Stupid f***** liars.
Click to expand...

deafdyke said:
Exactly...many deaf people were able to do that with hearing aids........
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shel90 said:
Dumb a$$ people. lol
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But wasn't it a terible struggle? Haven't both of you said that it was tedious and difficult, and that many children were, in fact, not able to develop age appropriate spoken language? If that is the case, you should be celebrating CIs because they allow children to develop those skills without the years of therapy and tedious, difficult, and sometimes impossible struggles.
 
TODtobe said:
But wasn't it a terible struggle? Haven't both of you said that it was tedious and difficult, and that many children were, in fact, not able to develop age appropriate spoken language? If that is the case, you should be celebrating CIs because they allow children to develop those skills without the years of therapy and tedious, difficult, and sometimes impossible struggles.
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I was a baby when I started the oral only program. Don't remember.

Nope, I wont support lies.

Also, like with HAs....many children who have CIs weren't able to develop speech skills. Nothing new under the sun. We got kids with hearing aids with better speech skills than kids with CIs and vice versa. Nothing is different.
 
Frisky Feline said:
I know some Kids who are deaf or hoh who have no knowledges with Deaf community. Hearing people hold out on the information from the Deaf community and make sure the (deaf or hoh) kids need to function in the hearing world. THAT IS SO CRUEL. Losing hearing has no life then THAT IS PURE BULLSHIT! We Deafies have awesome life, and can function everything. Hearing is purpose to listen by communicating as necessary BUT ASL TOO! Music is no necessary but why not. ASL does have visual music too! lots of hearing kids got hit by trains or cars or etc. What a waste for having to hear for what. Once you have hearing, then losing hearing that leads to a doom time! NOT ME.
Click to expand...

i know its cruel, and i am completely agree
 
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