Does a cochlear implant eliminate the need for, and benefits of, Sign Language bilingualism?

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The subject of cochlear implants and language acquisition is a topic which is highly debated within the deaf/Deaf and medical communities, and understandably so. It is an emotional topic which is influenced by the complex history of the Deaf community, to which medical professionals are most likely oblivious.

While some believe that a cochlear implant is a 'miracle cure' and that learning Sign Language should be discouraged due to the perceived negative effects on English acquisition, others highlight the fallibility of cochlear implants alone and strongly advocate Sign Language as the first language of Deaf people and as a vital tool in connecting them to a community who provide invaluable support and a sense of identity.
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4 comments:

  1. Jenette Watchorn20 April 2013 at 19:24

    I like the stand you've taken that NZSL be complementary to any programme of "rehab" offered to deaf children, and that it continue to be offered to cochlear transplant patients. I also agree with the point you make about individual choice and the apparent lack of information offered by medical professionals. A counter point that came to mind while I was reading: regarding the matter of individual choice, how does this apply to parents making choices on behalf of their under-2 children?
    Also, a wee critique - you might want to think about using more "hedging" language as some of your statements came across quite strongly eg the last sentence ('scuse caps, I'm not shouting, but can't find another way to highlight!)"...majority of deaf children and their families are either not fully informed or specifically misinformed at diagnosis ..." MAJORITY v a number of? ARE NOT v may not be? SPECIFICALLY MISINFORMED v ? and "have significant effects on educational opportunities" HAVE v can have? Unless, you have hyperlinks to stats or evidence to support such strong claims.
    That " which have" in the last line- what are you referring to here? NZSL, the med/tech advances, or all three? I was confused here.
    Also, what exactly is THE PROBLEM - "...individual choice - I strongly believe that the problem arises when..."?
    Finally, I found the image of "signing" confusing where it sits next to the paragraph that starts with "...cochlear implant..." - would it be better up near the title somewhere? Plus, check your line-spacing

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    1. whatever28 April 2013 at 20:26

      Hi Jenette,

      Thanks for your comments! I'm still in the stage of working out the exact structure of my argument and will definitely go back and check for logic and hedging language at the end to polish it up.

      In terms of the image, I understand what you mean, but since the introduction is comparing cochlear implants with NZSL acquisition in general I think I feel comfortable with it where it is at the moment. I'll keep this in mind for future images I use, though, thank you. :)

      I agree, and the spacing is annoying me but it's something which Blogger has done independent of me! I'll have to go into the HTML code and see if I can get rid of any odd spacing at the end.

      I appreciate your feedback and will definitely welcome some more once I've made the rest of my posts!

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  2. Ana Banana29 April 2013 at 15:39

    Appreciate that it's still in the tweaking stage, but perhaps replacing the signing image with a photograph of a cochlear implant at that point...? You might also want to clarify cochlear implants not being a "solution" to deafness -- who thinks that, doctors, parents, educators -- and "even a successful implant..." -- define successful, unsuccessful, etc. -- though you could provide the clarification later in the blog. It's a strong introduction to a pretty emotive topic.

    Have you had a look at Rachel Benedict's video on the ASDC website? She discusses that point of medical contact pretty well.

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    1. whatever6 May 2013 at 22:54

      Hi Ana,

      Thanks for your comments. I'd probably prefer to move the image if it's confusing for people where it is, but I'm comfortable with having that particular image since the overall topic is about sign language as well as CIs.

      I'm definitely planning on elaborating in regards to 'solution' to deafness, 'successful implant' etc, I'll do this in the second section when I rewrite it.

      I hadn't seen Rachel's video, thanks so much for the tip. It's useful to have a link which backs up the message which we know from anecdotal evidence is often the case for parents when their child is diagnosed.

      Thanks again!

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