Cochlear Implant College Basketball Player Greg White

Greg White's college basketball coach had no idea he was deaf.  Because Greg hears so well with his cochlear implants, his coach assumed that his player was simply ignoring him during practice one day.  It took a teammate telling the coach that Greg was deaf for the coach to know!

Mark Znidar of the Columbus Dispatch writes:

White's hearing was never brought up because he has never considered it a problem. He can pick up low-level sounds such as an eraser on a blackboard and soft rain on the roof of a car because of a hearing aid in his right ear and a cochlear implant in his left.

He speaks clearly, although people have asked if he is from a foreign country. There is a hint of what can best be described as baby talk in his speech.

White has a 3.2 GPA through two years of college at Ohio Wesleyan, is a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, all while starting on the basketball team.

These accomplishments wouldn't be possible, White said, had his parents, Richard and Cathe, not decided to raise him in the hearing world after his deafness was diagnosed at age 8 months. He was outfitted with a hearing aid at 9 months and enrolled in a private school when the family lived in Whittier, Calif.

"Everybody in our family is hearing and everybody we knew could hear, so we said Greg would remain in the hearing world," Mrs. White said. "If you don't begin oral training in a child's first years, he or she always will be behind. When he was an infant, I would be so verbal with everything. Greg has worked so hard to get this far. It's a credit to him."

Interestingly, as we have discussed on this blog, the White family was approached and told what to do with Greg.  They were told that their son should be raised in the deaf community.

"A specialist gave us his card and said, 'Get back to me because your son is so deaf that he will never be able to talk,'" Mrs. White said. "I'd like to talk to that man now. There was such a big push at the time to enroll him in the deaf culture."

Whether you've experienced pressure to be involved in deaf culture, or whether you are a member of that community and have faced pressure to be involved in the hearing world, Greg White has the interesting experience of belonging to both, as he recently began playing in the World Deaf Basketball Championships.

"I had to learn sign language," White said. "Playing basketball with the deaf has been a great experience. But I'm glad I'm part of the hearing culture. I have my parents to thank for that."

Congratulations to Greg White, and when you get frustrated with helping your children hear, read, and grow, just look at what hard work can do! P.S. Remember NBA cochlear implant basketball player Lance Allred?

"The Ends Justify The Means?"

I have mentioned the raging debate over whether cochlear implants are destroying "Deaf culture" or not, and have been trying to learn more myself. I understand that as a hearing person ("hearie"), I cannot fully realize what it is like to be Deaf (Deaf with a capital "D" is often used to refer to deaf persons who do not have an implant, and are not aided, and deaf without a capital "D" is often used to refer to deaf persons who have some degree of hearing either through hearing aids or cochlear implants) - just as I cannot fully see what it would like to be an African-American. However, I just don't agree that cochlear implants are evil, and I don't agree that by having Drew implanted that I am "not accepting him for who he is".

I am somewhat active on All Deaf, a message board which has many different sections, or topics. I originally went there to find out more about the Deaf Culture and others views on cochlear implants, hearing aids, or whatever type of things they are talking about. I have found valuable information and some very helpful people, but a good deal of discussion on the "Hearing Aid and Cochlear Implant Page" centers around the debate over whether children should be implanted, or whether anyone should be implanted. It can get uncomfortable in there!

This thread, titled "Cochlear Implants Causes Injuries and Death By Electrocution" (take a look) was started by a man who supposedly read a study in the Journal of American Medical Association that indicated people were dying from using cochlear implants.

To save anyone from unnecessary worry, he completely made it up. If you read through the thread you'll see that I challenge him, and he admits it was faked. Later he even admits that if parents went to bed worried that their child might die from electrocution that "his work is done". He was actually proud that spreading misinformation may cause parents anguish over whether their child might be killed.

If you are interested in this debate, I suggest you read that thread. I don't want people to think that ALL people who aren't in favor of cochlear implants think that way, but I think there is value in knowing that some people out there will spread any kind of misinformation they can in order to cause fear or uncertainty about the use of cochlear implants.

It's sad, because parents are just trying to do their best for their child, and wading through lies like this make it difficult to figure out what they should do. It is also sad because people like this cast a bad light upon other, non-hearing, non-implant deaf persons and their Deaf Culture, which probably hurts their way of life more than any piece of technology ever will.

Youngest Child in Ohio to Receive Simultaneous Implants

It is amazing to me how many things have been in the media recently regarding deafness and cochlear implants. I don't remember seeing so many things about the deaf community and cochlear implants before Drew was born deaf, but then again, maybe I am just noticing it now, since these story lines impact my life in such an emotional and personal way.

The local CBS affiliate did a Pediatric Health Source piece on the youngest child in Ohio implanted simultaneously (a title we are hoping Drew will soon take over!). We were so excited to see this story, bringing awareness to congenital hearing loss and cochlear implants in Columbus. In the story you will see the Doctor and auditory verbal therapist that will be working with Drew. We have become friends with this little boys family and are so happy to see his progress, as he has been hearing for only three months! (Notice in the video the babbling he is doing. It makes me cry every time to watch it, as I sit waiting on the day Drew will babble like a "normal", hearing baby).

There have also been story lines on CSI: New York and Law and Order, Criminal Intent just in the last week that revolved around deaf culture and cochlear implants. These stories were both quite interesting to watch. I have to admit that I laughed quite a few times at the "deaf culture" undertone in CSI. The Law and Order story was actually quite good as they accurately portrayed experiences we have had with "deaf culture". In one scene a deaf mother was so happy her baby was born deaf, calling a hearing child, "a time bomb waiting to explode." I guess our daughter will explode any day now!

ABC's What About Brian - An Absurd Depiction of Cochlear Implants

Last month Drew's Mom discussed ABC's Monday night drama, What About Brian. It was quite exciting because it concerned two parents struggling with how best to care for their young daughter who was not hearing, which is obviously the situation we are in right now with Drew.

We weren't the only ones who were excited. The Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing issued a press release that oozed with optimism that the show would increase awareness and understanding of hearing loss in children.

On the show, the two parents had decided to have their daughter receive a cochlear implant in order to help her hear after considering their options. Drew's Mom and I were both excited to see how the decision would play out since we are opting to give Drew an implant as well. Because we knew nothing of the many options out there to allow Drew to communicate without relying on sign language, we felt that this show would help parents learn about the option of the cochlear implant.

On the Monday, March 5th episode of What About Brian, it was revealed that the whole storyline of the little girl's hearing loss was an ill-conceived ploy to advance the storyline and have the two parents overcome their problems and get back together.

Rather than portray the cochlear implant option in a realistic light, which would help the deaf and hearing alike, ABC and the writers of this show decided to broadcast an inaccurate understanding of cochlear implants to all who would watch.

In the crucial scene, the parents and child are in a medical office with someone in a white coat in order to have the cochlear implant turned on. Here are a few of the blatant fictions portrayed in this scene:

1) The device they call the cochlear implant does not have a "coil", a required piece of the device which sticks to the skull via a magnet. This is how the signal travels from the microphone to the auditory nerve.
2) When the parents ask when the implant will be turned on, the "doctor" says that it's already on, and that "frankly, there is no way to tell" if she is hearing at that point in time.

This is blatantly false. I have seen many videos of children having their implants turned on, and they usually cry with fear of the new sense they have acquired. Hearing their mother's voice after never hearing anything is quite a shock!

Perhaps this T.V. doctor didn't think there was a way to tell if she could hear because he's not an" audiologist", the highly trained professionals that would be there to help determine if the device was working. Or, perhaps its because this doc had no equipment of any kind to assist him in making that determination.

3) These thorough ABC writers then did some exhaustive research and took a page from the "Cochlear Implants for Complete, Utter, and Total Morons" and wrote it in the script where the "doctor" prescribes a completely irresponsible course of action for this family to follow.

This character says (and I'm paraphrasing) "o.k. go home and keep a lookout for any language development." That's it. They make it out to be that there is no further action required. Plug and play. Just "keep an eye out" for any speech, any language. Just take a little peek every once in a while just to see if little Johnny is progressing with his hearing, his language.

This is not an accurate description. You are taking a child that has not had the educational sensory benefits of sound for a year. You don't just go on as though nothing has happened. If this child is going to speak, he or she will need training and education to develop the skills that have sat at a baseline of zero for a year. I resent the fact that this show gives people the impression that they can have their deaf child have implant surgery and there's nothing else to do. That is a dangerous message to send to parents who may not understand the importance of this decision for their child.

4) Ultimately the child gets an ear infection within a couple of days, and they see another "doctor" in what looks to be an emergency room. The "doc" looks in the ear and says something like "I take it she had a cochlear implant". The tone of this statement sends the message "This always happens with cochlear implants".

This quack then says in a short, condescending voice to the parents "Listen, I'm not an expert, but your daughter can't hear anything out of that ear", and leaves.

My questions on this ridiculous sequence are 1) how that doctor can say the girl can't hear when he's not an expert on hearing; and 2) why this doc would think that (even if he was an expert) that shining a little light into an eardrum and looking in the outer ear canal would help him determine if the implant, which is IN THE INNER EAR, is working).

This depiction of the activation of the cochlear implant was revolting. It would be one thing if ABC simply did not do their homework and thought that most viewers wouldn't notice if they just faked it. However, to me it seems to have a clear anti-cochlear implant message.

To me, this episode of What About Brian says "if you give your child a cochlear implant, they'll get an ear infection and lose all their hearing you evil, selfish parent." It fits right into much of the garbage I've seen written on other blogs that compares people with cochlear implants to robots and vampires.

It's a shame that a topic such as this, which could have brought a lot of good was instead simply used as a plot device and ended up simply spreading false impressions.

Your comments are welcome.

Cochlear Implants Do Not Eliminate Deaf Rights

Recently we described how we were kind of at a standstill. We have some tests scheduled for later in January, and a CAT Scan in March. We are attending counseling sessions and so forth, but with no visible signs of the hearing aids working, we are just doing our best to learn about the various viewpoints on Drew's hearing.

If you've followed along, you've probably seen the video footage of various children being exposed to sound for the first time after their cochlear implant surgery, which we find exciting. On the other hand, I have also posted some links to the other viewpoint - one in which the implant technology is viewed (in the words of some) as genocide of the deaf culture.

Michelle Dawson has a blog called "The Autism Crisis: The Science and Ethics of Autism Advocacy". In her January 2, 2007 entry entitled "How Human Rights Dissapear", she expresses her concern that the cochlear implant technology may be contributing to the dissapearance of basic human rights of deaf people.

In this entry, Ms. Dawson responds to an article that appeared in New Scientist Magazine entitled "Ear Implant Success Sparks Culture War"that asked:

COULD the end of sign language for deaf children be in sight? A spate of new studies has shown that profoundly deaf babies who receive cochlear implants in their first year of life develop language and speech skills remarkably close to those of hearing children. Many of the children even learn to sing passably well and function almost flawlessly in the hearing world.

This article continued:

Geers agrees deaf culture may be under threat, but says "there is no hostility here. People are doing this so that deaf people can live in the hearing world, marry who they like, and work where they like, and so that hearing parents can have their children as part of their culture. But it must seem like genocide to the deaf."

Ms. Dawson responded to this section of the article stating:

Now deaf people who remain deaf are not only considered to lack "normal" language, their basic human rights have vanished. They can no longer marry who they like or work where they like. That is, they lack some of the very basic human rights that benefit and protect non-deaf people and which non-deaf people can take for granted. "Hostility" is beside the point.

Setting aside arguments about culture, this is a demonstration of how human rights disappear. A group of people has their essential human differences pathologized. Their basic human qualities are then denied--because their differences have become unacceptable. A treatment is then promoted that promises to eradicate their pathology and make them normal, or at least make them appear to be as normal as possible. When a human difference is classified as a pathology and then declared treatable, those having this difference--in this case, deaf people--no longer have rights as themselves.

Pardon my possible ignorance, but I just don't see as how "promoting" the cochlear implant "treatment" is eliminating "rights" of deaf people.

First, what rights are being referred to? In my reading of the blog entry, I don't see a description on what rights have dissapeared since the advent of the cochlear implant technology. When the quoted article states "People are doing this so that deaf people can live in the hearing world, marry who they like, and work where they like", the author is obviously not suggesting that the non-hearing deaf do not have these "rights". Rather, the author is suggesting that having the ability to hear may increase the opportunity to hold certain jobs unavailable to those who can't hear, the opportunity to meet and converse with possible mates that hear, and so forth. The use of cochlear implants does not reduce the "rights" of deaf people in the way suggested.

Second, the entry insinuates that the cochlear implant is responsible for "pathologizing" the deaf person's "essential human differences". I don't mean to be crass, but deaf persons, blind persons, persons of a different race or culture, persons with an illness or disease, or anyone with a special need of any kind has been "pathologized" for hundreds, if not thousands of years. We are only beginning (in relative terms) to break through some of these issues due to education of the public at large. Why is the cochlear implant villified? What has changed other than giving those deaf people who wish to use sound to communicate the chance to go that if they wish?

Earlier in this country's history eugenic sterilization was implemented to "combat" the "problem" of the mentally ill, mentally retarded, and yes, even the deaf. This map below shows states that had implemented such a program as of 1921.

The idea was to prevent anyone with these "pathologies" from having children who could pass along the genetic "defect". This program continued until even after World War II when some began to feel uncomfortable with the similarities the sterilization program had with Adolph Hitler's dreams of a superior race of Aryans and matching quest to erradicate the Jewish faith.

Some "deaf culture" advocates would have me believe that the cochlear implant itself is similar to the tanks and ammunition of Hitler's army, with the population of the U.S. bent on advancing a holocaust against the deaf race. I feel that this is disingenuous.

The subjects of sterilization in America, and the victims of the holocaust were unwilling subjects. Not only were they unwilling subjects, but they lost the ability to do something due to the aggressor (ability to have children, and ability to live, respectively).

The "subjects" of cochlear implant surgery either 1) choose the surgery as an adult after an informed decision, or 2) have the surgery as a child, before they can make an informed decision for themselves. As far as I know, no one has ever been forced by the government, or a third party to have the implant.

Now, there is a sub-issue in this whole debate concerning whether parents should be permitted to have their child implanted. I will leave this issue alone for the moment, since it deals with wholly different issues such as what rights a child has, the responsibility of parents, when a person can give consent, and so forth.

Finally, my view is that an adult or child with profound loss at high db's loses nothing by having the implant. Should the adult wish to not hear for any reason, they can remove the processer and have the relief of silence. Should a child grow up and decide they do not want invasive noise in their life, they can similarly remove the processer and have quiet.

The only real loss I can see (assuming a successful surgery) is the loss a child faces when his parents choose not to have them implanted. Studies show (see above article) that children who are implanted earlier in life can develop higher level language skills than those who are implanted later in life. By deciding to let your child decide later in life whether they want an implant, the decision is made to not develop these language skills that can never be regained fully. I would rather ensure my child have these skills, and then decide not to use them, rather than decide on their behalf not to develop them in the first place.

From what I've seen, the deaf community is a proud community, and they have reason to be. However, I don't believe that the anger I have seen toward children and parents with cochlear implants is either warranted or fair. I certainly don't wish to impair the rights of others, and I don't support the "destruction" of the deaf, non-hearing community. However, I don't believe that the implant can be fairly described as a weapon in such a holocaust. It simply gives choice to those who wish to utilize its technology. Those that are not interested may choose to ignore it.

It seems to me that there is an outcry from some to eliminate the choice to have an implant, especially in young children. To me, should that outcry be heard, that is where a real loss of rights would occur.

Deaf Culture Controversy

I have found a wonderful group on Yahoo! for parents of children who are deaf and either have been implanted or are pursing implantation. These parents have a wealth of information on cochlear implants, the latest technology, helpful hints for surgery and habilitation. CI Circle has been a great resource for me. The part I love the most is all of the stories about their implanted children and how well they are doing with listening and speech.

The main topic that has been discussed over the last few days has centered around "deaf culture," primarily the negative opinion of those in the deaf community toward cochlear implants, especially in young children. One mother found a deaf culture forum where a posting stated that it "should be illegal for parents to have children implanted." Another was talking about classifying children with cochlear implants as "artificial hearing". The deaf community does not accept those with cochlear implants. The additional argument here is that they are not an accepted member of the hearing world either.

This whole topic got me thinking, and got me really fired up! I wholeheartedly agree that Drew is perfect just the way he is. He has all of his cognitive and physical abilities, and could have a wonderful, happy life without ever hearing. But why should I not take advantage now of the wonderful technology that would allow him to be a part of my hearing world? Why should I wait, giving up the formative years of listening and speech, so that he can make the decision after it is too late? And would I not be doing Drew a disservice by not doing everything I can today to give him all the world has to offer? I do not want to ever think about Drew, ten or eleven years old, signing to me "Why did you choose not to let me hear? Why didn't you have me implanted?"

More importantly, I do not understand those in the deaf community that feel as though they should be able to impose thier will on others. I have found this attitude toward cochlear implants from hearing individuals that work in the field as educators, speech therapists, etc. While I understand that there is concern about the deaf culture dying as a result of cochlear implants, unless you are a hearing parent that has given birth to a deaf child, how can you have such strong views and positions on a topic that has not directly impacted you? Unless you have stood in my shoes, I certainly do not think that you should pass judgement on my decision.

I have been surprised many times along this journey with Drew. I don't think anything is more shocking to me, however, than the negative attitude of so many toward those with cochlear implants. I will not judge you for choosing not to implant your child. I would hope that you would extend me the same grace.

If you have an opinion, please leave a comment.