We were told our son was deaf when he was 22 months old. Immediately after diagnosis we were propelled into the audiology, medical and sensory support systems. Confusing, scary places for parents of a young child, desperate to do the right thing for him and not knowing what that right thing is. We were given hearing aids but our son still couldn’t access all of the sounds needed for speech. Eventually we decided to go down the cochlear implant route. Cochlear implants were introduced as an option for profoundly deaf children in the UK in 1989 amidst much controversy, viewed initially either as a ‘cure’ for deafness or a eugenic tool for the eradication of the Deaf community. Whilst increasing numbers of deaf people are choosing cochlear implants and the Deaf community is increasingly open to the use of this technology, there is still significant opposition to parents choosing cochlear implants for young children rather than waiting for them to reach the age where they can make their own decision… Click here to read the full blog post on the Cost of Living Website
