G'day Everyone.
The CI battle is back again. You want to know where a CI can be forced on a deaf kid against her wishes and against her parent's wishes? Well, here's proof!
Watch this video: http://deaftvchannel.com/blog/news-alerts/father-did-not-agree-to-ci
When you watch this video, it gives you sympathy for the father and his daughter, but anger for his ex and for her parents. As I said, forcing CI upon deaf children is equal to a permanent child abuse. Hearing parents should WAIT until a reasonable age that a child can understand why parents want to put CI on a kid. Not force it upon them.
BUT, for many hearing parents out there, since you forced CI upon your deaf kid, do yourself a favor: When your kid grows up and says he wants his CIs out of head (that's his right to protect his body), then you better listen, obey, and let him have the surgery to take his CIs out.
Deaf Children ought to be permitted to wait till they are deaf adults to decide if they want the CI or not. Being forced upon them causes them many problems.
End the madness. End the use of CI on kids NOW!
Semper FI.
Update: A reader has informed me that there was a similar topic on the front page of the sign newspaper March 2010 issue. Just check that out too. Thanks!
12 comments:
I don't agree with doing something against someone's wishes. I also don't agree with making such a huge decision like implanting your child without fully involving both biological parents. I don't think doctors and professionals should be pushing for implantation. They should just provide the information and let the parents decide.
However, parents are going to do what they feel is best. We cannot criticize them for that. Don't judge them until you have been in their shoes.
Also, what would you say to deaf adults, I personally have known, who decided to get CIs and then get angry at their parents for not implanting them sooner? But, I guess it is better this than to be angry for your parents for implanting you as a young child. I cannot imagine what that must be like.
I would like to think that most people understand that their parents were only doing what they thought was best. You make it sound like parents who implant their children with CIs are doing it because they want to intentionally damage their children. It is no fun for them either.
It's a huge decision. We have to leave the parents alone and let them make the decision. All we can do is provided them accurate information and let them fully understand the risks involved.
(e
e, Just think of the child. Parents may have the right idea, but it's the child's body. I think I know how the child feels.
When it was in the 1960s, I enjoyed the bliss of deafness. My parents refused to learn sign language (and they still refused at present time). I was forced to wear hearing aids. It put me in a state of total rebellion for years. My parents and I fought like cats and dogs. Trust was no longer there. I was angry and hurt.
Today, I still have a hearing aid, but I'm thankful it's not attached to my body permanently.
For these kids of CI, they don't have it so simple. Parents may think they know best for the kid, but they don't. These parents are in for a fight of their lives the moment the CI is put on their kid.
My dad honestly wishes, before he died, that I was never forced to have my hearing aid on me. He respected my deafness and use of sign languge. He knows I get along better with deaf people. I can only wish for mercy on his soul.
I think there's some misinformation, I was watching the video the father said that the daughter would respond to her having CI depending on her mood from day to day. Some days she is OK with it and other days he is not. I think that the one thing that was wrong was that the father was not given opportunity to sign the waiver to allow CI to be put on his daughter, the step father's signature was on that form. I think we need to get more factual information before jumping to conclusion. After all, there are always more than one side to a story.
Clearly the mother had full custody of the child. A surgeon would never open himself up to a lawsuit by not getting permission from a custodial parent.
miss kat.. I think there's a lot more going on than the mother just having full custody. Nobody's not listening to the kid in all of this stuff. Obviously, her parents told her they wanted her deaf kid to "hear" or else they'd cut her off. her biological father wouldn't think of putting CI on her. obviously this will go to court later and later on in life, this poor mother will face a rebellious deaf kid from hell. So see what happens later.
Sorry, but I disagree. I was born hearing, became deaf at 2 and half years old, and got implanted by choice at 20. I missed out on a LOT - my speech could have been much better during my youth, which would have prevented a lot of fights because of how I spoke. Implant or not, I'm still deaf, it changes nothing. The optimal time to get an implant is when you are young, because your brain is plastic and still growing. It's much more hard to be able to understand spoken speech once your brain has developed and become hard-wired. My best friend implanted his daughter, and she LOVES it. She's got the best of both worlds...
Now, you can't always fully involve both biological parents... If the parents aren't together, then whoever has legal custody has the decision, and that's usually for a good reason. Yes, it's wrong that the stepfather signed the paperwork, UNLESS his ex married the stepfather, THEN legally, the stepfather can sign.
Sherlock Steve, if the kid grows up and doesnt want to wear the implant, the kid doesn't have to. It IS the legal custodial parent's right, not yours, not the deaf community's. You may wish for mercy on your dad's soul, but keep in mind he did what he thought best for you. I had issues with my parents as well, miscommunication was the norm, but it wasn't just their fault, just as it wasn't just your parents' fault for the troubles you went through... You, and I, perpetuated a good number of those troubles. I wish for mercy on your soul, just for thinking that you have the right to tell others what to not do with their kid(s).
How do we know what the kid feels? I would like to hear from her.
If I missed that information, let me know. Or if you know where we can get her side of the story. But, like GAMAS said, there is not enough information to jump to a conclusion.
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I am deaf but lost my hearing later in life. My younger sister, however, was deaf as a young child. That gives me some perspective on what is going on here. I do think deaf children should be given implants at no cost at around the age of 3 or 4 so that by the time school comes around they will be able to be mainstreamed if that is possible and wanted.
But the idea that a judge who has no medical training whatsoever is permitted to force anyone to keep either hearing aids or implants on all the time, shows the stupidity we are watching as lawyers and not doctors are setting up our new medical system.
What that judge does not understand is that both aids and implants create non-stop noises that are beyond unpleasant and when an opportunity comes during the day or night to cut off that sound, deaf people do it as a matter of course.
And to force a child to over-use the implant will teach her to hate it and never make the most of it. It would be better to let her find out on her own that some things are worth going through the aggravation for. If she is at a friend's birthday party, she will want to hear. The one time she would have to wear them would be in a mainstreamed school environment. But if that uneducated judge keeps going his way, that young lady will not learn the plus side of the implants and when she really must use them.
If judges are to intervene this way, I seriously believe they should also hold MD degrees so that they are equipped to find the best answer to what is a medical issue.
And how a step father is permitted a vote is beyond me. If the child's natural parents cannot agree then again, it's a medical choice.
And signing parents have to understand that times have changed and yet there is no reason in the world why a deaf child cannot become bi-lingual in a sense and participate in both worlds to enjoy life to the fullest possible extent.
But that judge is committing child abuse maybe just out of ignorance but he must be stopped from rendering cruel decisions that may damage a young girl for the rest of her life. He ought to listen to the recordings that have been made of what the world sounds like to deaf people with aids and implants and decide just how many needless hours of that chaos he would be able to put up with on a daily basis. It is living hell and there is just no doubt about that.
But the child's doctor should make some decisions here with neutral advice (not from manufacturers of aids or implants). Too much of that buzzing and squealing will lead to a very unhappy human being. I know when I am home alone I take my aids out just to get away from all that noisy world of electronics that the judge apparently is unaware of.
One can only hope that he will at some point become better educated on this subject matter because as it stands now, he isn't fit to sit on that bench.
First of all, I just discovered this blog. I know first hand about this case. The bio dad is deaf. He allowed the first implant of his child when she was 13 months old ONLY because he was not FULLY informed. By that, I mean he was told of the risks and benefits, but was not told he could stop the procedure by writing a letter of dissent. He would never have agreed to her having it if he had known it would be used against his relationship with his child. Second, he and the bio mom have JOINT custody. Yes, she is the custodial parent, but that doesn't mean she can make decisions alone. She should have informed him. The doctor, wrote a letter to the court full of hearsay. He wrote that the bio dad forced his child to remove the CI when with her dad. THIS was NOT true. The judge allowed this hearsay. The bio mom has dropped her charges only because the judge signed the order of 2009 not knowing the wording didn't say-"all her waking hours" but rather said "all their working hours" which was too ambiguous. The new order of 2010 now says she must wear them all her waking hours but can have them off up to 2 hours a day. It also says this can't be discussed in the media. Please go to this website and read the article and the comments: http://community.advanceweb.com/blogs/aa_1/archive/2010/05/12/this-is-just-ridiculous.aspx
The above will quote the new order on the subject.
There is also a man in New York state that has gone through the same thing. You can read the appellate court's decision on it at this site:
http://www.lexisone.com/lx1/caselaw/freecaselaw?action=OCLGetCaseDetail&format=FULL&sourceID=bcfbd&searchTerm=eWbi.YCOa.UYGW.UdaG&searchFlag=y&l1loc=FCLOW
The child in the Idaho case does decide to wear her implants when she feels the need. The court should not be deciding for her or she will become rebellious. It is a shame that the courts can't stay out of it. But money is to be made my attorneys and judges and the whole affair is disgusting and a shame. More can be read about this at this blog site below:
http://audismidaho.blogspot.com/
Check out this on this case:
http://community.advanceweb.com/blogs/aa_1/archive/2010/05/12/this-is-just-ridiculous.aspx
And this:
http://audismidaho.blogspot.com/
And this, a different case in NY:
http://www.lexisone.com/lx1/caselaw/freecaselaw?action=OCLGetCaseDetail&format=FULL&sourceID=bcfbd&searchTerm=eWbi.YCOa.UYGW.UdaG&searchFlag=y&l1loc=FCLOW
The bio parents of this child in Idaho have JOINT custody. The mom is the custodial parent, but she is to inform the bio dad of things which she doesn't do. The doctor who did the surgeries wrote a letter of hearsay to the court saying the bio dad forced his child to remove the CI around her dad. This was NOT true. But the courts believed the doctor even though there was plenty of photos to prove him wrong!
Well, it is sad. Parents who think that putting a CI on their deaf kid will make their life "better". By saying "better" meaning THINK, ACT, and GROW-UP like a hearing person with the CI on 24/7. But by the time the kids discover their true origin of nature, they will have a choice: remove the CI and learn sign language or combine both. Parents should accept deaf kids as they are. Rebellion by these kids are a last resort.
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