Cochlear Implants

Cochlear Implant is a device that will help a person’s ability to hear. The cochlear implant is put behind the ear. The implant consist of two major pieces one on the outside and one surgically inserted behind the ear. The microphone, electrode array, speech processor, and transmitter all work together to make the implant function. The microphone picks up the sounds. The speech processor organizes the things sent from the microphone. When the  simulator receives things from the processor it turns them into electric impulses. The electrode array makes sure that the impulses get to the auditory nerve. The implant is not perfect but it recognizes a decent amount of sounds.

It is best for the baby to receive their implant at the age of 12 months. Babies that receive the implants at 12 months tend to hear and communicate better. When a Deaf child starts to use the cochlear implant it will take a lot of training at first. Some children will be faster at understanding how to use it but others it will take more time.

PROS: 

It gives the Deaf children the ability to hear their voice, become better at their speech and understanding what they are saying.  Also, Children will have a better understanding about speech and a better understanding about what some words mean. Children will be able to hear things that are around them. For example, children will be able to hear a car coming and it will be less likely to be hit by a car.

CONS:

General anesthesia can affect the child’s body in many different ways and can cause damage to their brain. Cochlear Implants can cost Injury to the facial nerve. This can happen when the doctor is doing the surgery.If the person gets a implants later in life it is a little bit harder for them to adjust verses when they are younger.

Educaton

There are all kinds of education for the deaf. Such as Day Schools for the deaf, Charter Schools, Residential Schools, an Early Intervention Programs, and Public School Placement Alternatives.

Charter Schools use public funding and are almost the same as private schools except the use public funding. Public funding means that they receive their funds from taxes from the people. These schools go by a bi-lingual education and teach English through sign language. In charter schools they have a more open say for the people. The people get to voice their opinion on the way things are done at the charter school.This type of school really goes off of choice. For example the whole community comes together to voice their opinion about something and it gets taken for consideration. Where at other schools the rules are firm. Things are the way they are and they don’t change.

Residential Schools are for the most part is a school where deaf children can go and be under supervision by a deaf individual to receive their own culture. The interesting part about this type of school is that the child will be able to stay there and receive constant communication and be surrounded with plenty of other deaf personnel. Since majority of deaf children are born with hearing parents the deaf culture many times is not passed down to the child.So sending them to this type of school would be very beneficial for the child to learn about his/her culture.At this school they are given the tools to be self dependent.

Early Intervention Schools are there to help the child not run into a language barrier. This school helps to make sure the child has all they need to be successful in one language.The best time for a child to be put in this type of school is the moment you find out that the child is deaf. It is best that you start from birth because the earlier you put the child in the better.

Not to mention Free College! As long are the child has documentation that they are deaf school is free. It doesn’t get any better than that. You don’t even have to worry about how to pay for college for the child.

Laws

The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) expresses that deaf people have the right to have a interpreter present in school.

Americans with Disabilities Act protects deaf people from any type of discrimination. For example, they will be protected from discrimination against housing, employment, telecommunications, and public transportation. A lawsuit can be filed if a deaf person is denied the following because they are deaf.

Air Carrier Access Act

This act make sure that hard of hearing and deaf people have access to the same information as everyone else on any airlines aircraft. Any screens on the aircraft most have captions at all times.

Twenty- First Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010

Section 102 states that all new phones must be compatible with hearing aids. Section 104 states that things on the internet must be accessible to people with disabilities including captions. Section 202 states that all the devices have a captioning option.

ASL Classes

Words By The Handful is a place where parents can go and learn American Sign Language with their baby. The class helps there parent to  communicated with their baby and start to get to know them better. There are some benefits for children that have a hearing aid or a cochlear  implant to learn ASL. For example, it will be easy for them to understand the words because they are hearing the words at the same time. Also, some high school teach American Sign Language so that they can socialize with other students that are learning the same language. There are online classes and you can check books at the library.

You can take classes class in Houston and learn how to communicate with your children. Some of  the schools are listed below.

• Lone Star Cy-Fair
• Lone Star North Harris
• University of Houston

 

 

MLA Citation

“Baby Sign Language Classes in Houston.”   Wordsbythandful.com. Mimi, May 2012. Web. 09   Nov. 2015.

BELISOMO, RANDI. “Implants, Signing Let Deaf Kids Be   Bilingual: Experts.”Reuters.com. N.p., 15 June 2015.   Web. 09 Nov. 2015.

Andrews, Jean F., Irene Leigh, and Mary Thelma. Weiner. Deaf People: Evolving Perspectives from Psychology, Education and Sociology. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2004. Print.

Berke, Jamie. “Education – Charter Schools for the Deaf.” About.com Health. N.p., Mar.-Apr. 2011. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.

“Residential Schools.” If My Hands Could Speak. N.p., 11 July 2010. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.

“Deaf Rights Resources.” Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing: Federal Laws. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2015.