I am often surprised at how, even in today's time, the general population knows and understands very little about deafness and hearing loss. For those of you who read this blog and are involved in E's life, I thought it was time to provide a little information that may help you to better understand...
About 1 in 1,000 children are born deaf or hard of hearing.
90% of all deaf children are born to hearing parents.
50% of the time, no known cause can be identified.
Not every deaf person is a candidate for a cochlear implant. The cochlea and auditory nerves must be intact and that is not always the case.
Not every deaf person who IS a candidate for a cochlear implant wants one.
Cochlear implants do NOT cure deafness. They are a tool that artificially simulates hearing.
With a cochlear implant, the recipient does not hear the same way that hearing people hear. "Hearing" is an active process and takes practice and concentration to "learn" how to interpret the sound input.
Not every cochlear implant is successful in terms of providing hearing and speech. The results vary from person to person. Implantation does not automatically mean a person will "hear" or speak normally.
When the external portion of a cochlear implant is not on, the implant user is as deaf as he/she ever was. Natural hearing will not be restored.
Research shows that only about 30% of lipreading is fully comprehended. Do not assume that a deaf or hard of hearing person can just read your lips. While they probably are quite skilled at lipreading, it is not precise and errors in understanding can be serious in certain scenarios. This is why interpreters must be provided when requested (medical and legal especially!).
Being deaf is not considered a disability in the state of North Carolina.
The majority of deaf people do not consider themselves to be disabled just because they cannot hear.
The terms "deaf" or "hard of hearing" are acceptable. "Hearing Imparied" is unfortunately still commonly used among hearing people, but is not the correct term to use.
Speaking more loudly, slowly or exaggerating the movements of your mouth actually make it more difficult for someone to understand you if they are reading your lips.
There is no universal sign language. Signed languages differ from country to country just like spoken languages.
Most importantly: ASK QUESTIONS. Do not be afraid to ask questions and gain understanding. I welcome questions. I do not welcome stares and assumptions.
Hi! I have a question....is your son still adding to his sign vocabulary, or is he preferring spoken language at this point? My son has just gotten his first CI, and I am signing and talking to him. I hope I can make signing fun enough that he gains and maintains fluency! I also think an ASL toolkit for parents of babies on the CI track would be a great project.
ReplyDeleteHe still adds sign vocabulary, but he has started to lean toward preferring spoken language. I suppose this makes sense being that he is surrounded by hearing people all day. We do encourage him to keep his signing though. Some days he prefers to sign and others he prefers to speak. I like the sign days better because it is still difficult to tell what he is saying sometimes. If he wants to tell you something that he thinks is really important or he REALLY wants your attention, he will sign. As he gets older, I'm sure we can better impress upon him the need to keep up his signing, but right now, we just have to follow his lead.
DeleteI happy to have found this blog! I hope you are still posting a bit . I have been taking a sign language class this summer,my instructor is deaf and so we learn a lot . I only have 3 more classes but am hoping to sign up for the 2nd session.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog because I was googling the red sox shirt in sign language. One of my classmates wore that same shirt and I would love to buy one! Thankfully we are headed to Boston soon I hope they still have some!