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dc.contributor.advisorPeters, Roberten_US
dc.contributor.authorHoffman, Amber L.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2010-04-28T21:42:01Z
dc.date.available2010-04-28T21:42:01Z
dc.date.issued2002en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://digital.library.wisc.edu/1793/40455
dc.descriptionPlan Ben_US
dc.description.abstractParents need to make complex, tough decisions about their children’s welfare all of the time. This is especially true for parents of deaf children. One such decision for parents of deaf children is in deciding how their child should communicate in the world. These parents need to decide if they want their child to live in the Deaf community or if their child should live in the hearing world. This is a hard decision to make since it touches all aspects of the child’s life. A relatively new decision that parents need to make is in deciding if their child should receive a cochlear implant. The topic of cochlear implantation is a highly controversial topic and both sides of the debate are passionate about their beliefs. Individuals who favor cochlear implantation feel it is in the best interest of the children. Cochlear implantation gives the children a chance to hear the world around them. Many parents feel that they want their child to have as “normal” of a life as possible. The Deaf community opposes cochlear implantation. They visually demonstrate their discord by the ASL sign for cochlear implant. The ASL sign for cochlear implant contains a two fingered stab to the back of the neck, indicating a “vampire” in the cochlea (Tucker, 1998). Members of the Deaf community do not view their deafness as a disability. Rather, many Deaf individuals view themselves as a minority group that has its own distinct history, language, and value system. The belief that being Deaf is a culture is mainly based on ASL. This form of communication is a distinct language with its own syntax and grammar (Crouch, 1997; Tucker, 1997). Many individuals who are Deaf do not perceive being Deaf as a problem. Kristin Snodden received a cochlear implant in 1990, at age 15 (Swanson, 1997). She described it as “the darkest period of my life. When my parents confronted me about this implant…I was shocked, because I did not think there was anything wrong with me physically, emotionally, and mentally” (p. 931). It is apparent from the readings that cochlear implantation is a highly debatable subject. Parents want to do what is in the best interest of their children and the researcher wondered if parents were faced with an abundant amount of pressure when deciding on cochlear implantation for their children. The researcher wanted to examine how much pressure is placed on parents from the Deaf community versus the hearing world. The research attempted to answer the following questions: 1. What types of pressure were felt by the parents when deciding on cochlear implantation? 2. What community placed the most pressure on the parents? 3. Did the pressure change the parent’s view of cochlear implants? 4. What percentage of deaf children of hearing parents received cochlear implants? 5. What percentage of deaf children of deaf parents received cochlear implants? This study included parents in Wisconsin and Minnesota who had to decide upon cochlear implantation for their children. The decision by the parents had to have been made before the child reached age 10 to qualify for this study. Parents who chose to allow their children to receive cochlear implants, as well as parents who decided against implantation were included in this study.
dc.publisherUniversity of Wisconsin--Stout
dc.subject.lcshCochlear implantsen_US
dc.titleTypes of stress placed on parents of deaf children when deciding on cochlear implantationen_US
dc.typeThesis
thesis.degree.levelM.S.en_US
thesis.degree.disciplineVocational Rehabilitation


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  • UW-Stout Masters Thesis Collection - Plan B
    This collection holds UW-Stout Masters Theses within the Plan B format. Theses pre-1999 are located on microfilm and will need to be requested from the archives. Contact archives@uwstout.edu for access.

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