Introduction

[Guest guest]

Hello, all! I've been lurking for a couple of weeks, and now that my implant

surgery date has been set for February 1st, thought it was time to introduce

myself, and to express my appreciation to all those who have been posting and

of such help to me.

I'm 9th generation Deaf, and also adopted 2 Deaf children. I was very much

against cochlear implants until just recently, when I saw that the MAP

community and parents were realizing that the CI advantages and benefits needed

to be

balanced with the social and language needs of deaf children. Having grown up

in the late '50s and early '60s where the " controversy " was " sign at the risk

of never developing speech " , or " use binaural hearing aids at the risk of

losing it all " , and " heaven forbid any parent allowing their child to be

contaminated by Deaf Culture, " this was a very important issue for me. I'm happy

to

see that this sort of cycling mindset is going into an ebb stage.

I was identified as deaf (severe to profound loss) when 2 1/2 years of age,

went to several deaf education programs for a short time, but by kindergarten,

was attending regular education program with speech services only. I was

trained " aurally " by my hearing mother, who utilized strategies from several

different programs, including the HEAR Foundation and the Clinic. I

graduated with high academic achievement from a small coastal high school in

Oregon, but was instantly stymied when I entered a large university (BYU) in

1975

with no interpreters or services of any kind. I also found that my social

group WAS with the Deaf Community, and after five years of struggling on my own,

finally graduated with a B.S. in Communicative Disorders. I went on to get my

Deaf Education certification and later a M.S. and have worked in several

administrative jobs in the postgraduate, nonprofit community based programs,

vocational rehabilitation, and now back in the education field as a school

administrator.

Through the years, I functioned quite well utilizing my hearing aids, speech

reading, and closure skills, until a dose of erthromycin in 1986 dropped my

hearing threshold 30 decibels. After that, I was not able to enjoy music any

more, and oral communication was much more difficult. It has steadily dropped

until it is virtually total at this time. This means I am completely unable to

use any aural skills, which are vital to communicating with my mother (now age

80). The major reasoning for implant now is so that the quality of the time we

have left (and may it be many many more years!) will be positive with less of

the frustration from not being able to communicate.

So, there you have it. Please be thinking positive thoughts and prayers for

me on February 1st! And, wish me luck in the final decision as to what make of

implant to choose by Monday!

Janet Johanson