Present signed communication to families as a complement to, not a fallback from, oral communication, with information-giving repeated and extended¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 2 claims (1 for, 1 mixed) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 2 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The study recommends that implant programs advise with caution about the range of likely outcomes, recognising that families are influenced by hopes as much as by information, and that information-giving be regularly repeated, extended, and evaluated through ongoing discussion and counselling. It urges making information about sign language and the Deaf community accessible before and after implantation, and making clear that communication mode "need not be an either/or option". Sign exposure is framed as providing fuller access to cognitive development and communication competence across situations.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Information-giving processes should be regularly repeated, extended, and evaluated through ongoing discussion and counselling.

Constraints¶

• Families are likely to be influenced by their hopes and aspirations for their children as much as, if not more than, by the information they have received.

Target Learners¶

• parents deciding on cochlear implantation for deaf children
• children with cochlear implants

Target Learning Goals¶

• informed implant decision-making
• fuller access to cognitive development and communication competence
• connection to Deaf community and identity

Claims¶

• A substantial proportion of children with cochlear implants used some form of signed communication despite parents' initial expectations otherwise [+M] (many implanted children used some signing despite parents' expectations)
• Parents' postimplant experiences of children's outcomes largely matched their preimplant expectations, with about four fifths reporting expectations met [~M]

Related Strategies¶

• Support children with cochlear implants in school as if they were hard of hearing, with ongoing professional development and strong clinic-school communication links: the same study's recommendation for schools

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Punch, R., & Hyde, M. B. (2011). Communication, Psychosocial, and Educational Outcomes of Children with Cochlear Implants and Challenges Remaining for Professionals and Parents. International Journal of Otolaryngology. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/573280