Does anyone here have any experience with the Cochlear Implant?

[HeyManThatsCool]

Especially with young children

[Old Mouse]

1. No, I don't

But I worked (briefly) with one of its co-inventors on an unrelated project.

Do you feel it works well?

[murray hill farm]

2. I dont personally..but

worked for many years with deaf children in Michigan. Not everyone is a candidate for cochlear implant, but for those who are..it is a wonderful thing. If your doctor recommends it for your child, do it.

[NC_Nurse]

3. I've taken care of adults who've had them

but only in the recovery room. I can tell you the risk of nausea and vomiting is increased because of the work they do on the inner ear. I would search some med links like the Mayo clinics for instance. I have a website for my book that has a links page if you're interested. Go to:
www.healthhistoryandwellnessjournal.com
and then choose the health links page from the menu on the left side of the page. It's free and will take you to many medical sites and you can search the procedure.

Good luck!

[HeyManThatsCool]

4. I have a 4 year old in my class who has one-

Just got it a few months ago-
so she is just now hearing & developing language.
Her family isn't from America so it is a bit of a different situation, but everyone is working hard to help her.

I've noticed that she has a lazy tongue. Does anyone know of any excercises that I can have her do? Today I had her practice sticking her tongue out & licking a tootsie pop, which was hard for her to do. Her therapists are suggesting that she also eat different textures of food (crunchy, soft, chewy etc.)


I was wondering if the lazy tongue was normal for children with the cochlear. (I've asked her therapist some of these questions but since they dont like her parents (I think b/c they are foreign) they are actually kind of obnoxious about her & blame everything on her parents)

[noamnety]

5. If she's been deaf for a few years

She wasn't making the full range of sounds, getting the motor skills that a tongue would require. I doubt it's related to the implant, just has to do with the way language develops in general - like how some people can't discern and make sounds from different languages if they weren't exposed to the sounds as a child.

I had a lazy tongue as a child, and one of the things I had to do was put a tiny orthodontist rubberband, like you'd use on braces, on the tip of my tongue, and put that against the roof of my mouth, and practice swallowing without dislodging the band.

Also, see if she's getting buck teeth. I was starting to develop that from my tongue (which I swear was too big for my mouth, or so it felt) always pushing against my front teeth. We caught it early enough that instead of getting braces, we were able to correct it by having a weird molded thing with a handle that slipped between my teeth and my lips - I'd put it there and tug on the handle while watching tv for about ten minutes a day. It strengthened the lip muscles enough that when I smiled it pushed my teeth back into position.

[ultraist]

7. It's likely just delayed motor skills development, as was said

Using straws is said to help as are obstacle courses. Anything that works the nuerological connections/synapses of motor skills.

You could also give her 3 and 4 task commands. For instance, ask her to: go to the front of the room, sharpen your pencil, put your pencil on your desk and go to the back of the room.

These are the type of things they do in physical therapy for motor skills issues.

Most children get caught up and she has not really had the same chance to use her motor skills with speech as other children.

You may want to Check out All Kinds Of Minds Institute and Dr. Levine's work. (They have a website).

[murray hill farm]

8. What u think is lazy tongue..is not due to the implant.

If you listen to deaf children talk, it is how they learn to speak because they cannot hear the distinct and delicate sounds while learning to speak. So what sounds like lazy tongue is just language that is typical of deafness. It is not a matter of exercise of the tongue that is needed, it is rather time and being able to hear language clearly. She will develop more developed language skills as she is able to hear and make those subtle distinctions on her own...and as she is able depending on her ability to hear those distinctions..so, rather than tongue exercizes..just assist her with speech therapy as she is able..and be patient. This is a whole new world to her.

[mainer]

6. my nephew had one at around age four, I think

there was some controversy whether that was too old -- that maybe he had been deaf too long, and the sudden input of new stimuli would drive him crazy. He's now about ten, and he's doing well, and talking quite normally, although when he gets fatigued, he'll turn off the device to get some much needed and restful silence. I don't really know many details, because he lives in norway.