Deaf Backgrounds...

I was watching See Hear (a Deaf related programme on BBC2 on TV) It was about 4 different deaf children from different backgrounds. There was:

A child with a deaf family
A child who had a cochlear implant at 18 months old who mixes with both hearing and deaf children
A child with a hearing family
A child who from a hearing family that signed AND speech. They then changed the child to a hearing school so had to mix with hearing people.

I thought it was very interesting to see different points of view from different backgrounds; however I was angry and thought the deaf family were selfish to deny their child a cochlear implant because the rest of the family was deaf as the child will still have been deaf. I always thought that parents would want the best future for their child so why is it right to deny their chance of hearing and stay in their silent world to suit them? They could learn to sign AND hear! If she grows up and decides she wants a cochlear implant to experience the hearing world she will have lost out on months or years of speech and listening skills because she has been in her deaf world for so long and it would be more difficult to adjust?

I have always seen myself that I am deaf with a cochlear implant therefore I have the best of both worlds. It hasn’t changed my outlook because I have a cochlear implant and I can hear with it on, I am still interested in the deaf world as well as the hearing world and have both hearing AND deaf friends regarding I am not fluent in British Sign Language and I have good speech thanks to the help of a cochlear implant and speech therapy.

I was brought up with a hearing family and feel they made the right choice to give me a cochlear implant when I was 9 years old. They sent me to hearing schools with the help of teachers of the deaf and in High school where there was a deaf base so I had interaction with other deaf children as well as hearing children. I feel it has shaped me into the person I am. An adult who is deaf with a cochlear implant who has good speech and basic finger spelling sign language which I want to learn more! I can also be sociable with both deaf AND hearing people.

Rant over :0) Thank you for listening!