Lessons Learned: How Studying Cochlear Implantation Reveals the Context in Which d/Deaf Identities Are Formed
Temas
Detalles
With the exponential increase in the use of cochlear implants, much has been written about how cochlear implants may have changed deaf identities. Recent research documents a trend toward a more hearing-oriented identity with potential for positive psychological well-being. In this chapter, a hearing sociologist and ethnographic researcher highlights how the clinical context shapes both parental decision making about obtaining cochlear implants for their deaf children and the far-reaching influence that hearing-oriented systems have on this decision-making process for parents, deaf individuals, and deaf communities. The author describes the nature of these hearing-oriented systems and highlights issues related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status for cochlear-implanted children. The potential implications for these children are considered. There is a need for research that broadly examines the question of whether and how cochlear implants change the long history of narratives of finding one’s Deaf identity.
En I. Leigh y C. O’Brien, Deaf Identities: Exploring New Frontiers.