In recent years the topic of pediatric cochlear implants has emerged as perhaps the single most divisive issue among deaf people, health professionals, parents of deaf children, and others concerned about the welfare and future of deaf people and the deaf community. What makes this process so intense for many parents is the fact that the vast majority of parents who have deaf children are themselves hearing and have little knowledge or understanding of deafness. Thus they find themselves in a situation with which they have no experience or knowledge on which to rely when they need to start making decisions about how to socialize and educate their child. Based on in-depth interviews with 56 families of children with cochlear implants from 15 states, as well as questionnaire responses from 439 parents of children with implants from across the country, this presentation will summarize findings dealing with issues such as the following: How parents react to the news that their child is deaf, how they arrive at a decision to get an implant for their child, and why. And, looking back, if parents knew at the time the decision to implant was made what they know now, would they still have decided to have the child implanted when they did? We will also report on parent perceptions of hospital and cochlear implant center services and recommended interventions for speech, language, and signed communications. All of the issues discussed have implications for service delivery.
Learning Objectives: 1) Distinguish between cochlear implants and hearing aids. 2) List common reactions parents have upon learning that their child is deaf. 3) Describe the process parents typically go through as they decide whether a cochlear implant is appropriate for their child. 4) Identify reasons why parents decide to get a cochlear implant for their child, and describe how they retrospectively perceive their child's success (or lack thereof) with the implant. 5) Describe parent perceptions of hospital and cochlear implant centers, and discuss approaches to effective collaboration, indcluding educational interventions.
Keywords: Children With Special Needs, Deaf
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.