Many of you are wondering where on the spectrum I am when it comes to the cochlear implant. I strongly believe that receiving the cochlear implant should be the choice of the recipient. I do not believe receiving the implant separates a person from the deaf culture or community they may have been a part of before the surgery. In my sign language class, I was taught a deaf person who receives the implant is a traitor of the deaf community, yet I do not agree with this view.
Even though there are many risks that go along with receiving the implant I believe the decision should be up to the person who is debating the surgery. An argument that was presented in a recent peer setting was, when does it become necessary for society to make decisions for people when risks are ignored? I am not fully convinced that society should be able to make decisions for people as long as they do not make a conscious decision to harm them self or others. However I am open to learning if anyone has any examples I should consider.
For those of you who read my last blog you are probably wondering how I can ignore the risks that are presented to the deaf culture/hard of hearing who is considering the implant. For me it is simple, as stated before there are many risks in life; if in the place of a deaf person I personally would desire to hear my child's voice, water splashing on the beach, or even as simple as a lawn mower.
From the people I met at deaf events I have not come across anyone who is strongly opposed to the cochlear implant. Though, I have heard of stories from teachers and acquaintances of both negative and positive views. This past Monday I attended a deaf meeting and met up with one of my previous teachers whose first language was ASL (American Sign Language). She is very aware of the deaf culture and feelings on receiving an implant. One story she shared was a deaf child born to a hearing parent. The parent refused to let the child learn ASL, and made the decision for the child to receive the implant. The child had an easy time adjusting to the new experience and was very happy to have the implant; the child later embraced the deaf community/culture once old enough and even learned ASL. In return peers and others in the community embraced the person who received the surgery. The parent had a hard time accepting the deaf culture, but once the child adopted the culture the parent found a new appreciation. The teacher stays in contact with this person, and so far has had no problems with acceptance.
Even though there may be circumstances where people are not so welcoming to the cochlear implant, so far I have not met anyone with a story to tell. A major argument that I have been presented with is hearing parents deciding to have their deaf child implanted. One point of view that I found in an article by Kristin Shafer was that the cochlear implant is consider ok from the deaf view, as long as the person made that decision. Kristin states:
“Cochlear implants are often seen by the larger hearing population as a cure for deafness; many find it unfathomable that a person would choose to be deaf if an alternative existed. It may come as a surprise, then, that there is a controversy over the device within the Deaf community, especially in regards to the implantation of young children. Many Deaf people believe that implanting children before they are old enough to make the decision themselves could, and likely will, result in the end of Deaf culture. However, it is believed that the earlier it is implanted, the better a device will work; from the hearing perspective, the more likely it is that a child will learn to speak.”
This statement gives an idea to those of you who are unaware of why there is a controversy. I do agree that the person should make the decisions for them self, but when it comes to the young child I believe the parent should make the choice. I want to hear other people’s opinions on this topic and hope readers will join in on posts.
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