Opposition to cochlear implantation for children appears to be diminishing within the Deaf community, according to new findings by researchers at Gallaudet University, in Washington, DC. These findings were published in the May issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.

The topic of implants for children has been debated among people who are deaf or hard of hearing, educators, parents and others. There has been disagreement over the appropriateness of the technology for children, especially if they are too young to decide for themselves.

Additionally, approximately 90 percent of parents who have children who are deaf are not deaf themselves. These parents generally have had little, if any, experience with people who are deaf or understanding of deafness. However, perceptions may be changing, partially due to new research on the implants.

John Christiansen, PhD, and Irene Leigh, PhD, of Gallaudet, investigated the changing attitudes of parents in the Deaf community and parents of children who are deaf regarding pediatric cochlear implantation. They combined the data from two studies.

The first study, conducted by the Gallaudet University Research Institute (GRI) in the spring of 1999, included the results of 439 questionnaires filled out by parents of children with cochlear implants. The second study consisted of 56 interviews with parents of 62 children with implants and one without. The children represented by the studies ranged in age from 2 to 20 and were between 15 months and 17 years when implanted.

Sign Language Is Supported

Overall, the researchers found that "while parents frequently receive conflicting information about educational and communication options for their child, they generally support [sign language] before and after implantation."

Half of the children signed at home and at school after getting an implant.

According to the GRI survey, most parents (62 percent) would have liked their child to receive an implant earlier because they believed it would have better facilitated the development of spoken language. More than half (54 percent) of these parents were very satisfied with their child's progress a year after implantation.

The children with cochlear implants were educated in a variety of educational settings, including mainstream classrooms (34 percent), partially mainstreamed environments (24 percent), and classes for children with hearing loss (13 percent).

"Mainstreamed children with implants often continue to require classroom support services, and children with implants are frequently not isolated from deaf and hearing peers," the authors wrote. "Opposition to pediatric cochlear implantation within the Deaf community is giving way to the perception that it is one of a continuum of possibilities for parents to consider. To ensure optimal use of the cochlear implant, parents need to remain involved in their child's social and educational development."